Pheasants Forever food plot mixes

Tall trees make pheasant cover a challenge

Fishspike, I agree 100% with 1Pheas4. We have the typical L shaped treebelt on the north and west side of our property. The hawks n owls love the tall trees, to dive bomb the birds along the food plots. We plant the taller sorgum or millet to give the birds cover so the hawks can't get to them once the stuff is up and growing. I'm a big fan of both millet and sorgum, even sunflowers along the edges works well to give the birds relief from above. We plant a variety every year of sorgum, millet, sunflowers, corn and some times a small grain. If the plots are to small it makes it too easy for the coyotes to corner the birds.

good luck viking
 
Thanks. I have a few questions. We are trying to distinguish between nesting cover and winter cove. Is nesting cover a perennial? I get winter cove is a annual but wen you till it up in spring then there is no cover? I apologize for basic questions.

Fishspike
 
For ideal pheasant nesting cover you need last years growth of perennial grass with the green new grass growing up in it.
Young pheasants need the cover and tenting effect of old growth grass. Rain wind and hail all common through the pheasant belt.
Areas with good wood/brushy cover are also essential, think canopy.
 
Planting

This probably a really dumb question but do do guys plant blizzard buster every year? In the same spot? I get planting food every year but the cover thing has me perplexed.
 
Fishspike said:
This probably a really dumb question but do do guys plant blizzard buster every year? In the same spot? I get planting food every year but the cover thing has me perplexed.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand your question Fishspike so maybe I'm not answering it:eek: but yes you can plant blizzard buster each year on the same ground. You'll have to remove the previous years growth in the spring.

Nick
 
Fishspike said:
Thanks. I have a few questions. We are trying to distinguish between nesting cover and winter cove. Is nesting cover a perennial? I get winter cove is a annual but wen you till it up in spring then there is no cover? I apologize for basic questions.

Fishspike
Click to expand...

Fishspike, Nesting cover can be annual, perennial, or even biennial as in the case of wheat. They will use both grassy cover as well as broad-leaved cover as in alfalfa. Some covers have as many perils as they have benefits. Those might be harvest operations, an inability to protect from hail or frozen precip, etc. Often, the best nesting covers are those where they are large enough to give security from predators and have sufficient brood cover as well so chicks coming off of the nest don't have to travel to find the necessary insects that they need.

Winter cover varies with the part of the pheasant range you live in. The further north you go, the more the woody component plays a role. It is hard to find an annual cover that will remain cover with several feet of snow. Many annual covers also won't stand up to the wind in open terrain. Often, pheasants use winter cover that they may not frequent in any other part of the year because it is too dense to use as nesting and brood-rearing cover.
 
Thanks

I am getting it now. I just thought plowing under winter planting the chicks have no cover but I see a need for both. Thanks again. Is anyone else having a issue seeing the different seeds on Pheasants Forever website?
 
Fishspike, it is important to understand the full annual habitat requirements of pheasants in order to manage a parcel of ground to produce and support them. Generally, the LAST cover type you should be looking at for producing and increasing a pheasant population is any "food plot" type cover. Food plots become useful after the nesting and brood-rearing season. You have to hatch and grow them before they "need" what is provided by most food plots. These grassy and herbaceous covers and their proper management are necessary to set the stage for increase in the population. If you are surrounded by crop stubble on two sides, the food plot will be of less value than if there were no crops available at all. Yes, a food plot with no harvest conducted will not only have more food pounds per acre than stubble, but if of the right varieties, will have those food reserves available during periods where it won't be in the stubble. However, in order for this plan to be complete, you have to make sure that the nesting, brood-rearing, escape, and loafing covers are available first! The "woods" will be of limited benefit to pheasants in most of those contexts. It may provide escape and loafing cover from some perils, but it may also expose birds using it to other perils as well.
 
Fishspike said:
I am getting it now. I just thought plowing under winter planting the chicks have no cover but I see a need for both. Thanks again. Is anyone else having a issue seeing the different seeds on Pheasants Forever website?
Click to expand...

They take them off for the winter but in a month or two they should be back up on the website store
 
Food Plots

We plant food plots every year on the same piece of ground. Some of the Pheasant Forever products are suppose to produce multiple years, but we replant the ground anyways.

We are lucky enough to have 140 Acres of CRP to our South and an additional 300 plus to our east, plus a wild life production area of 900 Acres one mile to the SE. So nesting habitat is pretty much taken care of. Plus we have a couple of 20 Acre sloughs very close by.

Our old farm stead has tall old elm trees which I would love to replace with Cedars, lilocs, and other shorter winter protection cover. The hawks and owls love to dive bomb the pheasants from these taller perches.

You have to work with what you have and what is missing from your local surroundings to help the wildlife.

We plan on digging in a couple of stockade water tanks in our low sandy areas to hopefully keep some of the birds closer by providing a natural water source.

We have also added a few apple and swamp oaks for thier nut and fruit value, more for deer than anything else. we have put tight woven wire fencing around them so the bucks don't tare em up with thier racks.

sdviking
 
Fishspike said:
I am getting it now. I just thought plowing under winter planting the chicks have no cover but I see a need for both. Thanks again. Is anyone else having a issue seeing the different seeds on Pheasants Forever website?
Click to expand...

The seed mixes are back up on there website now.
 
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