Pheasants - Cold?

For the areas of SD I frequent I am not worried. There has been cold and some snow but no major ice that will negatively impact birds IMO. I expect if we get a good spring the hatch will show some very good numbers. Lots needs to happen between now and next fall obviously but winter kill, at least so far, is not on my radar as an issue.
 
I wish I knew exactly the role cold played on pheasants. Certainly the extreme cold can stress them and cause them to burn more calories than normal as their body regulates its temp. But I firmly believe that with adequate thermal cover and easy access to food, a pheasant actually freezing to death would be a pretty rare event.
 
Golden Hour said:
But I firmly believe that with adequate thermal cover and easy access to food, a pheasant actually freezing to death would be a pretty rare event.
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I agree. Not saying they aren't immune to extreme cold but as long as they can find appropriate roosting cover and food, they will generally survive. It's when we get really deep snow that basically removes their roosting habitat and their ability to find food, or a layer of ice, that will result in higher mortality rates.

That being said, it's not even March yet. An ice storm or a catastrophic weather event could still occur. I hope the extreme cold is over though. It seems to be, at least for now.
 
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