Affects of stress during tough winters

A lot of people feed pheasants, successfully.
Put the feed close to the cover.
Never along a road.
You got to keep it up until Spring thaws.
So what if deer and turkeys eat it.
 
big controversy over attracting predators when you feed pheasants....fact is the wind usually blows off parts of fields and leaves corn/milo exposed and the birds do just fine....lots of remote areas where the birds do just fine without human intervention.
 
hunter94 said:
big controversy over attracting predators when you feed pheasants....fact is the wind usually blows off parts of fields and leaves corn/milo exposed and the birds do just fine....lots of remote areas where the birds do just fine without human intervention.
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Not trying to pick on you hunter94 but that was not the case last year for most the whole 5 state region. When it comes to pheasant sustainablity you have to manage for extremes and not hoping the birds aren't stressed or relying on the lucky winds to blow snow off for food (this last comment is for the rest of the thread.)

I'm anxious to see how the Pheasant Camp Lodge is holding up and will try and send some pics back from the New Years hunt.
 
UGUIDE said:
Not trying to pick on you hunter94 but that was not the case last year for most the whole 5 state region. When it comes to pheasant sustainablity you have to manage for extremes and not hoping the birds aren't stressed or relying on the lucky winds to blow snow off for food (this last comment is for the rest of the thread.)

I'm anxious to see how the Pheasant Camp Lodge is holding up and will try and send some pics back from the New Years hunt.
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i never feel picked on, in extreme cases, some feeding might help, but like every good intention, some downside can exist...i have seen lots of hillside fields covered in deep snow and dirt scrached all over, where pheasants are feeding....and in SD some years past....if the birds have good winter roost cover, they will find the grain.
 
It all boils down to common sense, just do what you want for your birds where you get to go, or on your property. If you don't have property and birds to take care of, it is really none of their business to tell a person how to take care of their birds.:D I have been doing what I do for years and the birds do fine. The neighbors all have thanked me after I started years ago, and thats all enough satisfaction for me. And it's nice to see them in the yard all winter. I can keep an eye on how there doing, and if anything is after them. I don't have much of a problem with predators at all. And when I do, they go to a peaceful place quickly. I like them in the yard next to the pines, rather then out in a field 200 yards scratching for hrs. They pick and git, and don't stick in the open very long this way.:thumbsup: I feel what I do here works for me, and I will simply keep doing it. If I lived in the region with 2+ feet of snow, I would not be hunting any more, but I would be feeding them all winter, and plinking predators. Each area may have different circumstances going on that will determine if you should do anything for the birds, the only way to figure it out is trial and error. In my trial at my little tiny corner of the universe, I have found out doing nothing results in nothing to shoot to my dogs the following season. And they do get flushed fairly regularly all winter, dogs know there there too.:D keeps em on their toes.
:cheers:
 
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Another thing in the article is cover, Again common sense, if you look in my photo it is my driveway and there is pine trees right next to the birds, grass, gravel, grit etc. It works well. I totally agree not to put corn on a road or highway. I have seen what that does. I scoop it up if I see it. Corn can be cheap if you know where to look. I get all I want for free all year. 12 months out of the year. Every local elevator that has a roller mill has a room that spills a bunch on the floor, lots. Cracked, wheat, oats, beans all together most of the time. They have to throw it away. They are happy to have me come and clean up for them all I want. I never take it all, theres just too much. So it costs me about 10 minutes of my time once a month.:thumbsup:
 
After the last couple Winters in Extreme NE MT and a good part of ND there would have been NO pheasants survive without feeding, I'm not kidding, 3-4 feet of snow and NO thawing weather and no bare fields.
The rancher I know puts the screenings on piles in the grove, hundreds of pheasants daily. His neighbors the same and the guys with cattle feed even more. [thanks Y'all] I wonder what they would say to some rookie that sez "winter feeding pheasant won't work":rolleyes:
And no! there is little predator problem. Coyotes are always the worst predator on Wintering Pheasants and folks out there know it and keep them educated at the least.:thumbsup:

If predators are a threat to feeding pheasants where your at, you ain't going to have much for pheasant hunting anyway.

Rookies should listen to those that know, maybe learn something.:(
 
mnmthunting said:
After the last couple Winters in Extreme NE MT and a good part of ND there would have been NO pheasants survive without feeding, I'm not kidding, 3-4 feet of snow and NO thawing weather and no bare fields.
The rancher I know puts the screenings on piles in the grove, hundreds of pheasants daily. His neighbors the same and the guys with cattle feed even more. [thanks Y'all] I wonder what they would say to some rookie that sez "winter feeding pheasant won't work":rolleyes:
And no! there is little predator problem. Coyotes are always the worst predator on Wintering Pheasants and folks out there know it and keep them educated at the least.:thumbsup:

If predators are a threat to feeding pheasants where your at, you ain't going to have much for pheasant hunting anyway.

Rookies should listen to those that know, maybe learn something.:(
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wow......thanks, us "rookies" appreciate your humble opinion! :D
 
I'm not so sure one flush isn't simply a null point with regards to hens. IMO a lot of energy is exerted during a strong flush and the birds that don't flush strong simply aren't alive at this point.

I envy the guys who can feed birds over the winter. Here, besides contending with a deer bait ban that makes feeding other wildlife challenging, hawks really hang around too much and I think that feeding would be detrimental by making them easy pickings. Just this morning I watched a red-tailed hawk mousing in my front yard.

I've pretty much called it quits for the year - hopefully this choice pays off with a good hatch next year! :cheers:
 
FCSpringer said:
It all boils down to common sense, just do what you want for your birds where you get to go, or on your property. If you don't have property and birds to take care of, it is really none of their business to tell a person how to take care of their birds.:D I have been doing what I do for years and the birds do fine. The neighbors all have thanked me after I started years ago, and thats all enough satisfaction for me. And it's nice to see them in the yard all winter. I can keep an eye on how there doing, and if anything is after them. I don't have much of a problem with predators at all. And when I do, they go to a peaceful place quickly. I like them in the yard next to the pines, rather then out in a field 200 yards scratching for hrs. They pick and git, and don't stick in the open very long this way.:thumbsup: I feel what I do here works for me, and I will simply keep doing it. If I lived in the region with 2+ feet of snow, I would not be hunting any more, but I would be feeding them all winter, and plinking predators. Each area may have different circumstances going on that will determine if you should do anything for the birds, the only way to figure it out is trial and error. In my trial at my little tiny corner of the universe, I have found out doing nothing results in nothing to shoot to my dogs the following season. And they do get flushed fairly regularly all winter, dogs know there there too.:D keeps em on their toes.
:cheers:
Click to expand...

I like your thinking Mister:cheers:
 
1GB said:
I'm not so sure one flush isn't simply a null point with regards to hens. IMO a lot of energy is exerted during a strong flush and the birds that don't flush strong simply aren't alive at this point.

I envy the guys who can feed birds over the winter. Here, besides contending with a deer bait ban that makes feeding other wildlife challenging, hawks really hang around too much and I think that feeding would be detrimental by making them easy pickings. Just this morning I watched a red-tailed hawk mousing in my front yard.

I've pretty much called it quits for the year - hopefully this choice pays off with a good hatch next year! :cheers:
Click to expand...

Predators flush them all times of the year. Trapping has always been best in cold snow covered areas. Fox, yotes have little fat and are on the move more hunting. They will push them and pick off the singles like they do quail at night. Birds do not see well in the dark and become easy meals they are stuck where they land in the dark, even owls will take a shot at them.:(
 
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