Released birds - the numbers

[Limitless]

Just because the nostrils don't show evidence of a blinder doesn't mean it's a wild bird. More and more commercial operations raise non blindered birds. Keeps the releases more discreet and helps keep the illusion of "100% wild birds." Remember, only licensed preserves have to mark their birds to identify released vs. wild for harvest reporting. Toe clips and cutting of a specific segment of wing feathers are two methods employed to mark non blindered release birds. It's this methodology and the lack of reporting requirements that make the annual GFP estimated pheasant harvest numbers laughable.

I've shot a fair number of roosters in The Mount Rushmore State, blissfully unaware of their questionable lineage. I thought the easier harvesting, versus Minnesota roosters, was simply a matter of the MN birds facing more pressure -- more hunters per bird. There was always a recognition that some small number of SD birds were the product of an unholy union between pure, wild birds, like those found in Minnesota, Iowa, and other states, and pen raised genetics. Now we find out that not only is that number probably much higher, but we have oodles of preserve coddled roosters crowding out the native birds, and getting in our bags, secretly posing as the real deal! Heck, that's not even counting the wild birds suffering from acquired EPS (Easy Pickin's Syndrome), where they become slow and lazy from hanging around the overwhelming numbers of tame roosters flooding the public and private lands each year. By the way, as an aside, I heard a rumor that pen raised birds favor the easy living life of South Dakota's elaborate ditch lands. It does make sense now why so many residents have an extra affinity to knocking down ditch chickens.

I feel dirty. Is there a soap of preference that South Dakota residents use, or do you just get used to it after a while?

 

[Ky Setter man]

This whole subject I find so ironic. A couple years ago I made the statement that I always heard SD released birds so they could keep hunters coming as it was their best tourism dollars .
I Was piled on by a lot of you posting in this section how that was not true and that I was some sort of moron for saying it. Well well,now it seems I was right. Thats why I go to NW North Dakota. Never been close to any preserves there. And cant say 100% but I can say Im 99.9% sure I've never killed a pen raised bird there. I've hunted in every state that has pheasants except Wash and Idaho. And have never seen anything like ND.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

This whole subject I find so ironic. A couple years ago I made the statement that I always heard SD released birds so they could keep hunters coming as it was their best tourism dollars .
I Was piled on by a lot of you posting in this section how that was not true and that I was some sort of moron for saying it. Well well,now it seems I was right. Thats why I go to NW North Dakota. Never been close to any preserves there. And cant say 100% but I can say Im 99.9% sure I've never killed a pen raised bird there. I've hunted in every state that has pheasants except Wash and Idaho. And have never seen anything like ND.

The State doesn't release a single bird. Maybe that's where the confusion was. Don't know. About 600k are released on preserves. Somewhere between 50k & 400k (I believe in the 50-100k range) are released by private non-preserves. Regardless of how many, they're released on a relatively very, VERY small portion of SD land, are basically all killed immediately one way or another, & are almost negligible in relation to a wild population that's probably in the 8M-9M vicinity right now.

 

[Bob Peters]

The state doesn't release birds huh? An anonymous source from wikileaks claims this dossier was found in the governor's garage next to her corvette. Not sure if this was before or after she got her big promotion to D.C. I can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of this report or its contents. But a peep inside would surely put an end to this question.

 

[Goosemaster]

Hmm. Interesting. It could be said that I hunt 3 fairly popular small areas in southeastern & east-central parts of the state. I check every single rooster I shoot, & once in a great, great while end up with a flare nare. I saw 1 on the side of the road this past season, who was lucky I already had my limit. Unbelievably stupid, as are all others I've encountered driving around areas where there are more preserves. 3 of the 4 I've ever shot (ope, 4 of the 5; I just remembered another one down by Platte) have acted very differently than a wild bird. The other, I suspect, had miraculously survived a year in the wild, as he acted sort of wild & it almost appeared his nares had begun to "heal". I just don't get them in my part of the state & I'm happy for it.

I did. They were very dumb acting, and were very easy to shoot. They didn't have hardly any tail, and they saw me coming, they were out on a road, and they basically just walked into the dedge, and flushed when I got up there, but they were slow and stupid.

 

[Goosemaster]

I did. They were very dumb acting, and were very easy to shoot. They didn't have hardly any tail, and they saw me coming, they were out on a road, and they basically just walked into the dedge, and flushed when I got up there, but they were slow and stupid.

This was in Montana 2 years ago. It's the only time I've encountered these pen-raised birds.

 

[Goosemaster]

I've shot a fair number of roosters in The Mount Rushmore State, blissfully unaware of their questionable lineage. I thought the easier harvesting, versus Minnesota roosters, was simply a matter of the MN birds facing more pressure -- more hunters per bird. There was always a recognition that some small number of SD birds were the product of an unholy union between pure, wild birds, like those found in Minnesota, Iowa, and other states, and pen raised genetics. Now we find out that not only is that number probably much higher, but we have oodles of preserve coddled roosters crowding out the native birds, and getting in our bags, secretly posing as the real deal! Heck, that's not even counting the wild birds suffering from acquired EPS (Easy Pickin's Syndrome), where they become slow and lazy from hanging around the overwhelming numbers of tame roosters flooding the public and private lands each year. By the way, as an aside, I heard a rumor that pen raised birds favor the easy living life of South Dakota's elaborate ditch lands. It does make sense now why so many residents have an extra affinity to knocking down ditch chickens.

I feel dirty. Is there a soap of preference that South Dakota residents use, or do you just get used to it after a while?

I hunted Dakota in January, and I don't think I came across any of those slow dumb birds. I don't check the nose of a bird or anything like that, that's just not something I'm going to do.

 

[Goosemaster]

One time I was watching a video, of some ass grabbing group hunt, and these roosters were flying right at these guys, and none of these guys were very good shots, probably city boys at a preserve.

 

[birddude]

Lot's of #'s and data floating around. If there's one thing Iv'e learned through the years. Don't believe everything they feed you.

 

[Glock]

Lot's of #'s and data floating around. If there's one thing Iv'e learned through the years. Don't believe everything they feed you.

The government or the members of this forum?

 

[Limitless]

I hunted Dakota in January, and I don't think I came across any of those slow dumb birds. I don't check the nose of a bird or anything like that, that's just not something I'm going to do.

We must have been close enough to ND that we weren't affected.

 

[Haretrigger]

The government or the members of this forum?

Spit coffee.....lol

 

[gim]

wild population that's probably in the 8M-9M vicinity right now.

8 to 9 million wild roosters?

I'm extremely skeptical of that number. But since there is nothing even close to a count being done anymore, I can't deny or confirm it with any data. I think there's more roosters in that state than anywhere else, but trying to gauge just how many there at any given point is nothing but a stab in the dark.

 

[birddude]

Spit coffee.....lol

I might be paranoid, but they may be one in the same.

 

[A5 Sweet 16]

8 to 9 million wild roosters?

I'm extremely skeptical of that number. But since there is nothing even close to a count being done anymore, I can't deny or confirm it with any data. I think there's more roosters in that state than anywhere else, but trying to gauge just how many there at any given point is nothing but a stab in the dark.

That's based on 44 years of being the most avid pheasant hunter I know, studying the GF&P's published data, creating my own spreadsheets to analyze it, and relating it to my experience in the field. Times are good right now, & those times correspond to an estimated population of 8M-9M wild pheasants, not just roosters. My guess is that on opening day, roughly 40% of them are roosters & that we'll shoot 40%-50% of those.