Another South Dakota Report

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
Uncle Buck, I am encouraged by your report and that is exciting to hear. I just got back from a week out at farm getting equipment ready for spring planting and here is my take on the state of the pheasant union:

-Just driving around there was not a lot of visible signs of birds.
-My west farm and east farm are 6 miles apart and the west farm did not winter very many birds at all. The east farm had a large shelterbelt and good milo food plots on leeward side and reports of 300+ pheasant were wintered there. They had access to 5 - 1 acre milo plots and they picked them all clean which I have never seen before. That was what was above the snow line. Now that snow has melted they have access to a whole new batch of food from what was folded over and laying on the ground.
- My belief is that if birds did not have access to a large shelterbelt and close food source they stood a good chance of perishing and I assume many did. This is backed up by fact that most all other cover and food sources were filled in with snow and thereby eliminated all food/cover benefits.
- I was encouraged when driving around west farm and marking corners of new CRP that I did kick out a few roosters and several hens. I believe birds will begin to disperse and migrate back to good nesting areas and the roosters will stakeout new territory. March was nice and mild and all the snow is pretty much gone now so that is huge.
- Another benefit of the way snow filled in cover is that it did not pack it down and thereby the nice grasses that were standing in the fall were preserved and will create good nesting structure and cover.
-Surviving birds now have access to unlimited food sources and the cover is good now too.
-Not much crowing going on now but might be too early to tell but that will be another indicator of mortality rate. I suspect mortality could be between 50-75%. A good hatch could be the equalized though as these birds can really rebound.
 
Good info/Lab

Great information!!!!! Wish I had the land like that to give you guys reports also. I hunt near Geddes, so I'm always interested to hear the news for that area.

My lab just turned 7, and I'm not sure what's up with her, but she just seems like she gets more sore after taking trips to the park to run her. Her back legs were shaking this past week, I hope she doesn't have hip dysplasia. She doesn't want to jump up on her couch and the bed much, and just seems weak or something. Might be Arthritis, have to put her on some Glucosimine.
 
Saw two roosters sparring yesterday. The areas I saw the two big bunches of birds had fair to good cover. I did not see them when they were at their worst, but both had slough areas that I beleive did not fill in completely like the smaller ones did. Only one had foodplots--I do not know how they survived at the other one.
You really do not see the hens at this time of the year. The dog got into these birds while walking down section lines or I would not have seen them. Lots of hens. Too many roosters northwest of Siox Falls but the ratio looked better in Sanborn and Miner.
 
I took my dogs out to one of my favorite public hunting area this morning for some exercise and saw a fair number of birds. Not the numbers I saw in the same area last spring, but yet it was quite encouraging. And of the birds I saw most were hens. I would say there was a 10:1 hen/rooster ratio. Now if we can just get some good nesting conditions we should be okay this fall.

Only negative to this morning is that one of my Britts got into a skunk. So now I have that to deal with the rest of the day. :mad:
 
Dakotazeb said:
I took my dogs out to one of my favorite public hunting area this morning for some exercise and saw a fair number of birds. Not the numbers I saw in the same area last spring, but yet it was quite encouraging. And of the birds I saw most were hens. I would say there was a 10:1 hen/rooster ratio. Now if we can just get some good nesting conditions we should be okay this fall.

Only negative to this morning is that one of my Britts got into a skunk. So now I have that to deal with the rest of the day. :mad:
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Sorry to laugh DZ on the skunk but I had a close call too last week too. I have two large trees in yard and branches hang over bird cleaning shed and grain bins. We burned all old wood outbuildings except for a old pump hose that looks like an outhouse. I was looking in the doorway one day thinking I have to do something with this. Well next day I am standing on top of this thing cutting branches down and out runs a skunk (oderless thank God). I could have got blasted real easy on the ground the day before.
 
Hopefully that's the last skunk for the year. Once you have that smell up your nose it's hard to tell what smells and what doesn't. Her kennel is in the backyard airing out and my Expedition is in the driveway doing the same. I soaked her down with a product I have called SCOE 10X and let that sit for a while. Then I washed her good with the peroxide/baking soda/dish soap solution and then a deoderizing shampoo. She still stinks. She took a direct blast to the left side of her face and eye. When she came out of the weeds her face was just yellow with the cluey, stinky stuff. Just have to let the rest wear off. Problem is, she's a house dog. I plugged in my ozone air purifier machine and have it sitting on top of her kennel. That machine has done wonderful things in getting skunk odors out of rooms or vehicles.
 
Dakotazeb said:
Hopefully that's the last skunk for the year. Once you have that smell up your nose it's hard to tell what smells and what doesn't. Her kennel is in the backyard airing out and my Expedition is in the driveway doing the same. I soaked her down with a product I have called SCOE 10X and let that sit for a while. Then I washed her good with the peroxide/baking soda/dish soap solution and then a deoderizing shampoo. She still stinks. She took a direct blast to the left side of her face and eye. When she came out of the weeds her face was just yellow with the cluey, stinky stuff. Just have to let the rest wear off. Problem is, she's a house dog. I plugged in my ozone air purifier machine and have it sitting on top of her kennel. That machine has done wonderful things in getting skunk odors out of rooms or vehicles.
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Your a better man than me. When my dog got blasted two years ago I would not even let him ride home in the trunk. I can't imagine the dog in the house even after being washed.
 
get a gallon of a cider vinegar and rub her down with it. let it sit on her for 10 minutes and then do your bakingsoda/peroxide, dishsoap bath again.
really works well.
try visine for the eye.
my britt took what sounds like an almost identical blast this fall.
the above concoctions worked well.
hope it helps.
 
The last day of our hunt in SD back in Oct, one of the pups found a skunk. Momma dog hears pup fightin and comes into save the day, grabs the skunk. I come in to save momma and she and I both get sprayed. I left some really good boots, pants and sweatshirts in SD and I am still trying to decide if my shell belt and vest will survive. Her dog vest didn't survive and her ecollar was already being sent back for a charging issue so fortunately that was not an issue but I am sure they loved me when they opened the box .

The dog still stinks to this day when she gets wet and I have tried everything mentioned above except the cider vinegar. I guarantee I will try that this weekend. Good luck with losin that stink!

I talked to farmer friend around Miller, he said he weathered a good amount of birds because of shelter belts and grain being transferred and spilled. He had talked to another guy who was able to take a look at a dead bird and said the breast was very diminished in size and it appeared to have been starving.
 
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As I read about the skunk issues I have this mad wrinkled (what the heck were you thinking dog) look on my face.
It brings back bad memories with a shorthair I use to own. It was not spring till she found her third skunk.:( I feel for you and only hope i can make it one more year without a skunk issue.
A person would think a dog can point a bird 20 yards sometimes more could figure out that some animals stink. Good luck to you man.
 
Natures Miracle also makes a skunk solution that works pretty good. I start with the peroxide and baking soda, and finish up with the natures miracle since you let it dry on. My last skunk encounter was mid December in South Dakota. Luckily one of my farmer buddies had a hose in his shop attached to warm water that he let me use. I was forced to use cold water in below zero temps one year and the dog was looking rough when I was done.

I've had enough trouble over the years I've learned to keep rubber deer gutting gloves and a cheapy poncho in the dog bag along with the skunk supplies. At least my clothes don't stink when I'm done cleaning the dog and I just chuck the poncho.

I just pitch the dog collar strait away. Of course I don't pitch the ecollar receiver, but the rubber collar that holds it has to go. For some reason rubberized collars hold onto skunk smell like nothing else.
 
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