The Hatch Doesn't Matter.

niceshot

niceshot

New member
Today being June 7, which in my region is probably the peak of the hatch, any avid pheasant hunters thoughts should turn toward pheasant chicks. Yes, of course the hatch matters, because if no chicks hatch their will not be many roosters to shoot this fall. My point is, the hatch is a minor variable, and in reality a "constant" with little variability.

"Range-wide fluctuations in pheasant abundance are caused primarily by variations in hen mortality, with reproductive performance playing a subsidiary role."( PHEASANTS: Symptoms of Wildlife Problems on Agricultural Lands. Published 1988.)

Case in point. This August when South Dakota GF&P conducts the roadside count the report will indicate 6.something chicks per brood. Brood size has been incredibly, I would argue Divinely, constant for the past 50 years.

So worry about Anthropogenic Global Warming if you must, because I have good news. The Creator of the Universe has the hatch covered.
 
say what

WOW WOW WOW?????????????WOW:eek::eek::eek: ITS NOT ALL ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA. SOUTH DAKOTA ENJOYS THE BEST PEASANT HUNTING IN THE COUNTRY. what about the rest of the country? i dont know . wow, dont mean to piss you off . but wow woe. maybe i misses your point.....
 
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niceshot said:
Today being June 7, which in my region is probably the peak of the hatch, any avid pheasant hunters thoughts should turn toward pheasant chicks. Yes, of course the hatch matters, because if no chicks hatch their will not be many roosters to shoot this fall. My point is, the hatch is a minor variable, and in reality a "constant" with little variability.

"Range-wide fluctuations in pheasant abundance are caused primarily by variations in hen mortality, with reproductive performance playing a subsidiary role."( PHEASANTS: Symptoms of Wildlife Problems on Agricultural Lands. Published 1988.)

Case in point. This August when South Dakota GF&P conducts the roadside count the report will indicate 6.something chicks per brood. Brood size has been incredibly, I would argue Divinely, constant for the past 50 year


So worry about Anthropogenic Global Warming if you must, because I have good news. The Creator of the Universe has the hatch covered.
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Way too many BIG words for me!!!! LOL
 
niceshot said:
Today being June 7, which in my region is probably the peak of the hatch, any avid pheasant hunters thoughts should turn toward pheasant chicks. Yes, of course the hatch matters, because if no chicks hatch their will not be many roosters to shoot this fall. My point is, the hatch is a minor variable, and in reality a "constant" with little variability.

"Range-wide fluctuations in pheasant abundance are caused primarily by variations in hen mortality, with reproductive performance playing a subsidiary role."( PHEASANTS: Symptoms of Wildlife Problems on Agricultural Lands. Published 1988.)

Case in point. This August when South Dakota GF&P conducts the roadside count the report will indicate 6.something chicks per brood. Brood size has been incredibly, I would argue Divinely, constant for the past 50 years.

So worry about Anthropogenic Global Warming if you must, because I have good news. The Creator of the Universe has the hatch covered.
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What's your point? In layman's terms.
 
dakotazeb

great point , jmc can back me up on this point , his point is a red herring at best. :rolleyes:
 
I think his point is that the brooded counts will indicate an average of around six chicks per hen, but the real question is how many hens survived the winter.
 
jmac said:
WOW WOW WOW?????????????WOW:eek::eek::eek: ITS NOT ALL ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA. SOUTH DAKOTA ENJOYS THE BEST PEASANT HUNTING IN THE COUNTRY. what about the rest of the country? i dont know . wow, dont mean to piss you off . but wow woe. maybe i misses your point.....
Click to expand...

I actually live in Iowa, and hunt pheasants in several different states. South Dakota just has some of the best recorded pheasant data, at least they did until they recently updated their website. Question, have you ever been pheasant hunting in South Dakota?
 
So I get that the hatch numbers are consistant. I had always thought it was chick survival the mattered in the fall.
 
quail hound said:
I think his point is that the brooded counts will indicate an average of around six chicks per hen, but the real question is how many hens survived the winter.
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I still think that is a Riddle. Or it could be a Riddle!!!! I do get your point. some hens may have 2, some 5, some 9 that survive to the Fall, but the average is 6.:thumbsup:
 
moellermd said:
So I get that the hatch numbers are consistant. I had always thought it was chick survival the mattered in the fall.
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Yes. I see your point, in that "hatch" may not be a precise term. I do think hatch, chick survival, and brood size are all trying to quantify the same thing. The actually data will be generated by state game departments each August. The best data that I have seen comes from Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. The brood size counted in South Dakota in August has been between 6.0 and 7.0 every year for the past 50 years, irrespective of the weather in the months of May thru August.
 
Interesting perspective Niceshot. Does this also then imply that winter survival cover would be a higher priority than Dense Nesting cover if a choice had to be made.

I just had to mow some new trees this week. I planted sweet clover, alfalfa and tall wheat grass in between the row. It was sweet! and killed me to clip it but at 4 feet tal it was choling the trees ever with the fabric. Wonder where those damn birds nest but I hope they just Git R Dun.
 
Yes UGUIDE, I really believe the key is how many hens you can get thru the winter. Some good research shows annual hen survival rates of 30-35% are typical of self-sustaining populations. Less than 30% population declines, and greater than 40% suggests a growing population.
 
Good,:thumbsup: because most of what made it at home here was all hens and a few shoosters. Kinda neat to also see some we let go that still have bands on there legs from other years that have chicks. I have been told that hens are only viable for a year or two years, but the one I saw was from 3 years ago and saw 8 chicks. We used the colored bands. Is there any real proof of how long a hen does a good job laying? Game farms basicly use them 1 year. I have used them a couple. And did notice less eggs.
 
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IMO, Hens going into their second nesting season as a percent will be more successful raising chicks then the first timers. Probably not many do a third year.
Sure, this Falls pheasant population will have a lot to do with the number of hens that nest.:)
Also how many hens did well on their first nesting attempt.
Late hatched chicks may be good for hunters come OCT, but are not mature enough to survive early cold snaps. In other words Winter mortality will be high on late hatched chicks. Therefore less hens nesting for the following Fall hunt.
 
niceshot said:
jmac, what's a red herring? Is that a type of pheasant in Arizona?
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niceshot ,
i miss read your thead to much :cheers: and yes a red herring is a phz in arizona, its called roadrunner.:cool: any way my bad , and my apology for posting, that no offense intended:):)
 
jmac said:
niceshot ,
i miss read your thead to much :cheers: and yes a red herring is a phz in arizona, its called roadrunner.:cool: any way my bad , and my apology for posting, that no offense intended:):)
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I would not feel to bad Niceshot deserves all the crap he gets.
 
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