Question on pheasant hatch

J

Justice

New member
Can anyone tell me what the effects on pheasant population this latest snowstorm will have on the bird count in the Grant county area where I usually hunt? I would think not good, but if only lasts a day or so maybe not. Sorry, just saw the post below, any new information would be great!
 
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I don't know 14" is a lot of snow. If they don't turn the wheat over I would think it would stay wet so long that it would be a late harvest and they will have time to re nest.
 
They should be well fed. Feeding's not a problem. That's leaves cold. I can't imagine that's a problem. Sure they lost some eggs. But quail are like feathered rabbits. Unless other weather related problems appear, should do well with all the greenery. The long range forecast looks great.

Snow is the problem in NW Missouri. It's only a factor when the birds cannot feed because the snow has crusted and remains that way for weeks or months.
 
Weekend storm

I have read mixed reports on the Kansas wheat website regarding the outlook for wheat recovery. Sounds like it still may be too early to tell but there were some fields that they believed were already recovering from the storm. Sounds like there are a bunch of different scenarios that could have occurred (whether hens had already laid their eggs, whether they stayed on the nest and potentially suffocated, wheather they were in the process of laying but not incubating, etc.

For the wheat that does not make it I'm wondering if they will till it under and plant milo, thereby significantly impacting the nesting acres??
 
I haven't heard of any wheat that will be zeroed out due to the storm. Crop insurance won't evaluate it for 10 days so we don't know for sure. I have talked to several friends out there with wheat, and they all are surprised at how it is standing back up. There are some broken stems, especially on the primary tillers. That could actually help with hatching phez because that may promote more secondary tillers, and could delay harvest. One thing I know for sure, the snow didn't stay on long. Even where they had a foot it's pretty much all gone. If any wheat is zeroed out from the storm, which I don't think there will be, it probably will go to milo due to the good moisture this spring. The wheat market spiked Monday, was pretty steady yesterday, and was lower today when I checked it although I haven't seen the close. I know of two commodity brokers recommending shorting it because they are hearing the damage isn't as bad as first believed, for whatever that's worth. Here are the results of what the wheat tour found yesterday.

http://www.agriculture.com/news/cro...-for-difficult-first-day-of-kansas-wheat-tour
 
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The recent South Plains snowstorm had no adverse effects on pheasant population or pheasant hatch. With a few warm days in March and many warm days in April many hens have started laying. The eggs already laid did not freeze and the hens that started their incubation did not suffocate.

The moisture is always beneficial in the South PLains.

A few thing to consider, the ground or soil temperature probably stayed around 45 or 50 degrees. The eggs are close to the ground. No hard freeze. Snow, around 32" rapidly melted and with high winds (no hard freeze) created plenty of ventilation. The fat incubating hens that set tight on the nest should be fine.

Montana and North Dakota get May and sometimes rare early June snows, yet they still have plenty of wild pheasants.
 
Preston1 said:
The recent South Plains snowstorm had no adverse effects on pheasant population or pheasant hatch. With a few warm days in March and many warm days in April many hens have started laying. The eggs already laid did not freeze and the hens that started their incubation did not suffocate.

The moisture is always beneficial in the South PLains.

A few thing to consider, the ground or soil temperature probably stayed around 45 or 50 degrees. The eggs are close to the ground. No hard freeze. Snow, around 32" rapidly melted and with high winds (no hard freeze) created plenty of ventilation. The fat incubating hens that set tight on the nest should be fine.

Montana and North Dakota get May and sometimes rare early June snows, yet they still have plenty of wild pheasants.
Click to expand...

Wishful thinking! http://www.kansas.com/news/business/agriculture/article147969339.html
http://www.world-grain.com/articles...={6F1AEA38-C0DE-4C31-9C95-E1FB208BBB7E}&cck=1
 
I think birds will be okay. The snow hit early in the nesting season. If nests were lost they (thankfully) have time to start over.

As for hens that suffocate to death by staying on the nest, for such a thing to happen temperatures need to be very cold. When they suffocate it's due to ice forming within their nostrils and/or beaks (red-ice). The ice expands and cracks their skulls, beaks, nostrils open or blocks air-ways. Again, very cold temperatures are needed for this issue to occur.

:cheers:
 
1pheas4 said:
I think birds will be okay. The snow hit early in the nesting season. If nests were lost they (thankfully) have time to start over.

As for hens that suffocate to death by staying on the nest, for such a thing to happen temperatures need to be very cold. When they suffocate it's due to ice forming within their nostrils and/or beaks (red-ice). The ice expands and cracks their skulls, beaks, nostrils open or blocks air-ways. Again, very cold temperatures are needed for this issue to occur.

:cheers:
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I thought for that to occur you needed freezing rain and or drizzle that it wasn't because of frigid temps. The problem with this snow was that 20 inches came down in a very short amount of time. Some reports are that over 1000 head of cattle were killed. Farmers around Scott City have not seen very many pheasants since the blizzard.
 
westksbowhunter said:
I thought for that to occur you needed freezing rain and or drizzle that it wasn't because of frigid temps. The problem with this snow was that 20 inches came down in a very short amount of time. Some reports are that over 1000 head of cattle were killed. Farmers around Scott City have not seen very many pheasants since the blizzard.
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If I remember correctly, you also said the ice storm the first of January was going to kill them all. I had the best hunts of the year the last of January. I think we can all agree that was a bad call. This snowstorm affects on the pheasant hatch is negligible. If anything, the moisture will be a good thing.
 
Never said that at all. You must like to stir turds. Lots of wheat fields laying flat here this morning. Had 3 inches of rain in an hour with high winds. It was bad down south too. Tornado around Garden City.
 
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