Feeding the Birds??

J

jonnyB

Well-known member
An interesting article in the Minneapolis Tribune today - pro's and con's , about feeding the pheasants during the bitter winter month's.

In Mobridge, several years ago I observed pheasants, about a block from town - in flocks, feeding at a park.
The DNR in the area frowned on feeding the birds, but the townspeople thought otherwise and spread corn, and they came, lots of them!

Anyone feeding the birds? Your thoughts?
 
OK, I used to feed them all the time every year. Right in my driveway. Always had a decent group. I quit last winter because of all the DNR tales etc. Thought I would see what people that are smarter then me were talking about. This year I did the same. I had the worst season since the 90's and this winter there is one starving rooster left feeding on the highway each day scrounging for grass blades. He does not look to happy. So, that's my experiment. I am going to dump him some grub and will go back to feeding my birds every year for the rest of my life, unless we don't have winter.;)
 
There has been some research proving benefits to feeding. It can bring females through the winter in better condition and improve reproductive effort. However, you can't feed using wrong methods or lazy approaches. The effort can have exactly the opposite effect if you set the buffet for predators and make those birds susceptible to increased mortality. Also, care must be taken to not use feed infected with any of a variety of toxins, fungi, etc. Perhaps providing adequate food plot groceries is a better option, but if that is not available, plan 2 may well be to feed. In a normal year, it might not be necessary. However, during periods of intolerable conditions, it may mean the difference between sustaining a population or suffering a plunge.
 
I usually leave food plots or standing corn. That is a good way to feed birds, but a couple of winters back I had 10 acres of standing corn near home. I would watch the pheasants go back and forth from by trees to the corn all winter. But even that got buried so they quit using it. Then I started carrying two 5 gallon pails every mornning and night. It did not last long, it was gone in 20 minutes, but I think the ones that got some liked it.
 
I wouldn't call my approach lazy. It is put in a plowed area where it is easy feeding, not out in deep snow, near cover, mature spruce, brush etc. The feed is straight from the roller mill at the local elevator, as good as it gets. The lazy part is not doing it the last 2 years and listening to others.:D Not going to happen again. Nothing has changed here cover wise in a 10 mile radius. 1 field went out of crp, but another replaced it. And they are a couple miles away. 170 acres next to the house is fed land. No problem with predators. 2 bad winters and no sustenance is the problem. Many always resort to blaiming it on cover loss, predators what have you. But there is only one explanation for the birds croaking off here. Harsh climate, and no grub. There is 0 food plots in the entire area, loads of cover.
 
I wish some owners here would do food plots, but they just don't. I am doing some this year and will also feed in the tough times. Farmers here just don't care. They feel they spill enough. Well thats fine if you don't get freezing rain and deep snow with 30 below for 2 months or more. Pen birds are fat and healthy, they have no cover, but have food.
 
Feeding the birds during a winter like this is almost essential if there are no food plots and heavy snow. Just feed them in a common sense spot near good winter cover and grit. A gravel road next to evergreens sounds like a perfect spot to me.
 
It was. worked great. Took pics right from the front window, and could count them each day. I trap off all the predators. As far as I know I never lost a 1 to a predator. I rid the area of feral cats even. Coon are denned up. There are no hawks, the only predator is the occasional fox, and some yotes. But very rare. They would not be able to get close to the birds. For one, they just wont because of the location next to the house, and hr of day feeding. Deep snow getting to them, while they are on grass, gravel, hard surface, and could spot a struggling animal pouncing slow through the snow to get to them. And simply flush way before they got eaten. Yes, the perfect spot. I think part of the thought process needs to come from the "walk a mile in our shoes" theory. People from down south have no real clue what were dealing with here. We live it, work in it, play in it, and know when we cant survive in it. I love it when everyone on forums, TV, PF, DNR blame numbers drop on loss of CRP. Not the case at all in many areas. If you take a 20 mile radius, or even more. Nothing has changed cover wise for 50 years, except a few more patches went in CRP. (The case here) You have loads of cover, I mean way plenty. No, way, way way, plenty. Sloughs and cattails and willows, woody cover.Cover no man can get in. Now, hawks are gone, they migrate south.
(why they speak of them down there is my guess) Birds galore. Everywhere there is a hundred here, 200 there, awesome hunting. Then here comes 3 severe winters in a row, with bad periods of freezing rain, snow depths that covered the ground a few feet deep. And big time below 0 temps for 2-3 months straight, with wind chill of 40 below common. No one feeding birds, and 0 food plots. Now ask your self what happened to the thousands of birds that were here just a season or 2 before. Same thing happens in Nth Central IA where our farm is. There is way more CRP in that area. Never used to be "any" ever. Always birds. Some close by farms were given to the state and are now perpetual cover, big tracts. Same exact story, same result. So my suggestion is to stop listening to people telling you in the "winter belt" not to feed the pheasants. Feed em :thumbsup: You will be happy with your decision. When you go get cracked and ground corn from the local roller mill and dump it in your driveway in 30 below, it will not spoil on you trust me.. If you get spoiled to begin with, well that's that. I like the cracked and ground corn. My guess is it also has some soy meal, and ground wheat in it as well. It is a powder almost, and comes straight from the grinder. I feed the pen birds the same thing and they do great. If you get whole corn they need gravel exposed too. Any local elevator, well most will have a roller mill.:thumbsup:
 
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Wintering pheasants will try to find feed, no matter what.
In Winters like this in MN and surrounding states it is VERY tough going. what food is available is scarce and risky. Like road shoulders and other wide open areas. They may have to in these conditions expose themselves to danger for hours, including severe cold. Just to find enough food to survive.
So, any feeding is better then none. Feed placed near roosting cover is best and to keep the supply going until Spring thaws is best.

Fact is, if not for artificial feeding there would not be wild pheasants in North America. Be it spilled grain, Winter cattle feeding areas, grain bin waste or a feeder put in a bird Wintering area.

By all means, feed the birds.
A scratch mix for chickens at the feed store is good. Cracked corn and wheat.
 
When the people refer to "predators" what are you talking about? Has anyone else but me noticed that the hawks are all but gone from up here this time of year? There is no other predator that will nab a bird feeding on a wide open hilltop scratching for food. I know Owls stick around, but they are not out during the day. Maybe if they spot a critter in the big woods they will go after them in the day hours. But I just don't see the threat some refer to when feeding the birds. ???? In southern states this time of year, sure. But there is most likely no need for feeding to begin with down there either. So where, and what are the "predation" issues and "real" data, that comes from feeding pheasants in the frozen north? I doubt you can find any such data that proves anything in that regard. Just pure speculation. Now my findings from doing what I did are not funded studies for the federal government, just what I will call hick knowledge of my back yard.
 
PS there is "plenty" of evidence however that shoot holes in or contradicts the "predator" tales of raptors feeding on your fed late winter birds. The raptor migration studies and proof are out there and have been for eons, that relate to them leaving the northern range in the fall every year. With very few remaining in the area through the winter. (for food). There is little to no concern up here for predation from birds of prey during the dead of winter in the northern most parts of the US. 0 data to support such claims other then small pockets of pure speculation and media propaganda. Ask them to come up with data. Then look to the studies that have real data on raptor migration. Then drive around and see if you can spot one in MN right now in rural areas.:thumbsup: For the life of me I just can not understand the "don't feed the wild life" idealism that has cropped up the past few years. Again, no data. And I am purely talking about up here in Nth MN. I don't claim to know a thing about any other areas I don't, or have not lived in.
 
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Good point FCS! Some of us live where the raptors migrate to, others where they have migrated from. Different story all around!
 
About mid March We'll see them here on every power pole. :eek:
Hawks of all kinds. Some will nest some will move on North.

The eagles Wintering on the Crow Wing River. Are feasting on Winter killed swans. (probably skin and bones)
The open water below the dam is 1/4 of normal Winters and normally will support a couple dozen swans through the Winter. Started out to be a hundred or more.
Now maybe none will make it?
 
I see no problem with feeding pheasants

1) if feeding continues until winter is done
2) feed locations are in reasonable distance to suitable winter habitat
3) paid by sportsman's organizations

Hunting permit fees designated for pheasants should go to habitat preservation and habitat development. No releasing birds, no feeding them.

Pheasants, turkeys and deer in many western states survive tough winters by moving into working ranches. Those birds often provide the restart button for populations decimated by a really tough winter.
 
Owls are effective predators when the upland birds are forced to roost in poor cover ... exposed in snowed over woody shelter belts.

My uncle used to talk about flocks of partridge (huns) going from a dozen to 4-5 over the period of a month (January or February).

A healthy population of upland birds living in reasonably good habitat can withstand predation by man, mammal, snake and avian fowl.
 
When I lived in MN the public lands I hunted always had feeders stashed on them. I believe it was pheasants forever that set them up. They were always tucked away from wide open areas to protect from aerial predators. I'm assuming this did not have a negative impact as they continued doing this all 4 seasons I hunted MN. Some of the best public hunting I ever had.
 
Prairie Drifter said:
Good point FCS! Some of us live where the raptors migrate to, others where they have migrated from. Different story all around!
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You got that right.:thumbsup: And besides that, most of those areas there is no need to put out the food, the snow depth is most likely not there, or the extremes we deal with here. We are now at 62 days below 0. And bad snow. So this year being one of the worst in history will certainly take a tole without feeding. It is what it is I guess. But yes, your pheasants are perfectly safe in 99.99999% of MN from raptors right now.:thumbsup:
 
shorthairs4life said:
When I lived in MN the public lands I hunted always had feeders stashed on them. I believe it was pheasants forever that set them up. They were always tucked away from wide open areas to protect from aerial predators. I'm assuming this did not have a negative impact as they continued doing this all 4 seasons I hunted MN. Some of the best public hunting I ever had.
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Many of those will not have grain in them until after season, and raptors have flew the coop.:thumbsup: But they leave it for years.

Funny BM talked about the huns. I saw a nice bunch of about 20 yesterday in Ottertail County:eek: I couldn't believe it. I am driving up there tomorrow and dumping some crushed corn and wheat out for them. I will be working there for a few weeks.:thumbsup: First flock I have seen in 4-5 years. Yes owls can be an issue, but not for feeding for the masses. Most places offer cattail sloughs they are safe from owls. But there is some areas where its the farm grove and that's it. So Yes I spose they will get a few. But still far less then the boy who cries predator up here so to speak when feeding. I never see the hawks coming back till the geese do. And by then you don't need to feed any more, fields have plenty of thaw.
 
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