Feeding Pheasants during Tough Winters

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BradK

New member
I am from the Twin Cities area, but hunt both in Southwest Minnesota and Central South Dakota. I was wondering other than local landowners, does anyone help feed the birds in a tough year like the one we are now into. Does the State of South Dakota do any feeding, I know Minnesotas DNR does not. Do many of the local Pheasant Forever Groups come into play here. I would think other than helping to obtain habitat this is an area where they could be a big help to the pheasant poulation in a particular area. If anyone from the Lincoln County Chapter in Minnesota reads this please respond. Thanks.
 
Most of the conservation groups say not to feed the birds as that actually leads to more bird deaths from predators and also freezing outside of good cover.
 
I am going to feed my birds and shoot the preditors. I have corn out now in the drive way next to the pines. I started out in the field that they were using on there own and slowly moved it closer to cover, they folowed. I have ran into plenty of Pheasants forever members putting out food for birds.
 
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FCS, I don't read where they are saying feeding is wrong but if $ are expended better to channel towards habitat that feeding. More of a macro big picture philosophy than the micro short term dump corn after big storm thinking.

I also know the local PF chapter provides a lot of corn for members to feed in winter so ????????

Another way to put it, is if you have the habitat you don't need to feed.
 
UGUIDE said:
FCS, I don't read where they are saying feeding is wrong but if $ are expended better to channel towards habitat that feeding. More of a macro big picture philosophy than the micro short term dump corn after big storm thinking.

I also know the local PF chapter provides a lot of corn for members to feed in winter so ????????

Another way to put it, is if you have the habitat you don't need to feed.
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I guess I miss read that artical. I thought it said it may do more harm then good, If they are talking food plots instead of feeding, that would make sence. But we have cover, I just doubt they eat it. Creating any habitat is always going to benifit.
Also it may be more of a factor in those areas that there are thousands of birds. When we have the few we do, I will feed them so I have somthing left. It seems that where there are huge #'s they group up like that anyway. In my situation I don't have to worry about them competing for food. I also see them all over way out in the middle of wide open areas way away from thier cover, all on thier own sturggling to find food. The cover lacks food sources though. If we could be educated on cover types that are perrenial food sources through winter I would be all over that.
 
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Depends on the situation. Good cover that doesn't drift over during hard Winters is the key, long term.
Pheasants will use a lot of energy looking for food in heavy snow. You got cover, heavy snow, scatter food in several areas near the cover.
There's always going to be predators and most will survive and killing pheasants is what they do. Good cover is also good for the ground dwelling predators.
My opinion is a feeding area minimizes the time pheasants are exposed to the flying predators and keeps up the energy to help keep them safe from the ground attack.
 
mnmthunting said:
Depends on the situation. Good cover that doesn't drift over during hard Winters is the key, long term.
Pheasants will use a lot of energy looking for food in heavy snow. You got cover, heavy snow, scatter food in several areas near the cover.
There's always going to be predators and most will survive and killing pheasants is what they do. Good cover is also good for the ground dwelling predators.
My opinion is a feeding area minimizes the time pheasants are exposed to the flying predators and keeps up the energy to help keep them safe from the ground attack.
Click to expand...

This is what I notice as well, when I had no food out they spent all day out in the field scratching around, as soon as they found the food they come in and eat and are gone back in the brush in a matter of minnutes. But I only have around 20 birds feeding right now, not hundreds.
 
I put out corn and grit at a few places today. Tomorrow I will put more out at other places in the county. I have never done this before but I think it is the right thing to do right now.
 
I did the same thing. Saturday I bought several 40 pound bags of shelled corn and dumped them on the ground. I chose a location in a grove of trees within a 100 yards of a cattail slough, and today after reading all the reminders to place grit, I dumped buckets of gravel from the county gravel pile.
 
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