Reproduction?

KBell

KBell

New member
Sad news from the home place. The four roosters are still doing well on the farm. The single hen has gone on to other adventures. A check this morning revealed her to be the victim of a hawk kill. Birds of prey make it appear as though a scattering of feathers/parts in a 3 to 5 foot circle. The fox carries off his prey for later consumption--little evidence. The wiley coyote eats his on the spot--everything I might add.

It will be interesting to see what those four bachelor boys can come up with this spring. They have 400 acres to search for love. Happy Valentines day boys!
 
400 acres is quite a chunk. What do you have for habitat, and how much in different covers? Must have spent a lot of time out there to have a concise census knowing there's only five, now four, birds. Any neighboring habitat?
 
Our family farm has a center creek with 100 foot wide buffers on each side. This is one half mile long. On the south side we have a honeysuckle and high bush cranberry thicket that is 200 feet long and 50 feet wide. On the north side we have 40 acres of switchgrass that has three rows of evergreens all along the north edge. On the east and west fencelines we have 1/4 mile long switchgrass strips that are 100 feet wide. My son and I planted(and have in past years) four 1 acre foodplots of sorghum, sunflower seeds, and millet. You could say that we farm part of it for pheasants.

The other properties we hunted have sloughs, ironweed thickets and patches of switchgrass in them. As I stated in the first post, we have done well in these areas in past seasons. We had an okay year last year even though the numbers were down.

We knew the numbers we had heading into spring based on the trailcam pictures we obtain from the eight rows of cedars and pines that form a 200 x200 foot "L" shaped grove around my parents original farmhouse.

We have a neighbor that traps much of the "fur" off of the place.

Our homeplace has always been the envy of area hunters and a great indicator of bird populations in our area. My neighbor has shared in June that he hadn't heard the cackling like usual but at that time I did not pay much attention to it.
 
KBell said:
Our family farm has a center creek with 100 foot wide buffers on each side. This is one half mile long. On the south side we have a honeysuckle and high bush cranberry thicket that is 200 feet long and 50 feet wide. On the north side we have 40 acres of switchgrass that has three rows of evergreens all along the north edge. On the east and west fencelines we have 1/4 mile long switchgrass strips that are 100 feet wide. My son and I planted(and have in past years) four 1 acre foodplots of sorghum, sunflower seeds, and millet. You could say that we farm part of it for pheasants.

The other properties we hunted have sloughs, ironweed thickets and patches of switchgrass in them. As I stated in the first post, we have done well in these areas in past seasons. We had an okay year last year even though the numbers were down.

We knew the numbers we had heading into spring based on the trailcam pictures we obtain from the eight rows of cedars and pines that form a 200 x200 foot "L" shaped grove around my parents original farmhouse.

We have a neighbor that traps much of the "fur" off of the place.

Our homeplace has always been the envy of area hunters and a great indicator of bird populations in our area. My neighbor has shared in June that he hadn't heard the cackling like usual but at that time I did not pay much attention to it.
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Sounds like a great place with plenty of winter cover. Glad to hear you have someone trapping. I've had someone trapping my land in Iowa too, for the last three years. I think it makes a difference. Only thing I can think to do is cut down taller trees hawks and owls perch in. Power company wouldn't like it if we cut down power poles, neighbors might not appreciate it much ,either. Never thought of using trail cams to conduct census, pretty smart!
What do you have for brood rearing habitat? Any other habitat?
 
That's not good news KBell. Similiar situation around here, there are few roosters and fewer hens. Even if they had awesome nesting season I'm not seeing how they will recover. Given your habitat situation, I'll keep repeating myself this is more than weather and predators.
 
I hear you pheasantaddict. I checked my four trailcams again this evening and saw three of the roosters on them. No hens. These boys better get used to going stag for the spring dance! It definitely won't be a Sadie Hawkins dance for them!:mad:

You can't make something from nothing.
 
My students this semester have been great! With all of the nice weather and easy winter they have not exhibited the signs of cabin fever like years past. They have experienced spring break most of the winter.

As for keeping them in line, teaching at my level is more facilitation than discipline. If I had to discipline like the lower grade and middle school teachers must today, I would have left the profession long ago! I am blessed to be a college professor in the state of Iowa. Great kids, learning matters and our institutions are doing all they can to provide a great education.
 
Update!

After Sunday's brief snowstorm I checked the trailcams on Monday and have observed the following. Three roosters who appear to be in very good condition. Two hungarian partridge and they were in good condition. Three deer and one skunk.
 
Don't give up hope you may just be surprised. I met the DNR in IA doing a study on radio collar pheasants. They would frequently move up to 20 miles. You may just have a few hanging around a ways away by some easy pickin food source. They might return. If not, when the cackeling starts, they should draw in some surounding hens.
 
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