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Post by Sunshine on Feb 25, 2008 6:30:04 GMT -5
on your property? are they expensive and do you think a high enough percentage survive to make it worthwhile?
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Post by Earl8656 on Feb 25, 2008 8:23:13 GMT -5
Never stocked any game birds. The Wildlife associationused to turn out quail for the bird dog trials. They survived for at least 1 1/2 months. but we never saw them after that. i have seen some pheasants that survived, but I never saw them in any huntable numbers. I don't think they have the instincts to survive predation by hawks and foxes.
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Post by Sunshine on Feb 25, 2008 10:15:24 GMT -5
so basically its like when they stock trout around here? They dont survive theyre just stocked to give people something to do for a few short weeks?
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Post by Earl8656 on Feb 25, 2008 10:37:20 GMT -5
That is my opinion, but I don't have any facts to prove or disprove.
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Post by Sunshine on Feb 25, 2008 12:12:28 GMT -5
thats ok, most of the people who post on here dont. ;D
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Post by Earl8656 on Feb 25, 2008 12:13:59 GMT -5
I know
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Post by Sunshine on Feb 25, 2008 12:20:00 GMT -5
take sam for example........................ ;D
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Post by letinmfly on Feb 25, 2008 12:51:40 GMT -5
Not worth it on my property. I don't have the cover they'd need to hide and get away from predators. No need to feed the yotes even more.
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Post by Earl8656 on Feb 25, 2008 16:51:40 GMT -5
We had some Tennessee boubon quail that we turned out one time(for the field trial), they had good cover and good feed....they got so fat they couldn't fly 20 yards...lol
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Post by huntwithdogs on Feb 25, 2008 20:57:44 GMT -5
Check and see if your state has a release program. I don't know if the East caters to such a thing for hunters or not. If the state does though, you can sign up for free game bird stocking, however, you must allow public hunting access.
I release pheasants every year for the Fish and Game. I know it is a program for hunters, and NOT for brood stock purposes like they'd have you think. The percentage (over here anyways) of released pheasants surviving thier first year, are as bad as 10 percent and sometimes even worse.
Pheasants are not costly if you buy them young. Pen raise them till they get a few colored feathers before you release them. If you water them in open containers, and feed them off the ground, it will help in thier survival later. You have to have underbrush, tall grasses or plants, a water source, and grains or grasses that produce grains for them to survive well.
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Post by Earl8656 on Feb 26, 2008 6:06:49 GMT -5
We don't have a program like that, that I know of. pheasants do very poorly around here, even if they have good cover.
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Post by tctrppr on Feb 26, 2008 6:49:33 GMT -5
Tried it with quail. Stocked quail = feral cat treats Won't make that mistake again.
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Post by Sunshine on Feb 26, 2008 10:06:27 GMT -5
tc, how big were they when you released them?
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Post by tctrppr on Feb 28, 2008 20:33:52 GMT -5
Full-grown.
Released near one of the largest farms in the area. Should have been plenty of food and cover. Guess being hatched in incubators and pen-raised, they didn't have the benefit of momma's teaching about avoiding predators. They didn't last a month. Sure was nice to listen to them of an evening, though.
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Post by Earl8656 on Mar 2, 2008 2:04:43 GMT -5
the only way to have birds is to keep the predation down, cover and food quanities up. Hawks and owls, which there seems to be more of now than everand everything from skunks,opossums,racoons,foxes and yotes are after quail.
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Post by wheelers on Mar 7, 2008 9:40:46 GMT -5
Tried pheasants but didn't work.
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Post by scansy on Mar 8, 2008 17:54:03 GMT -5
Here in PA, the Game Commission stocks pheasants. They dont' expect them to make it a year. Heck, the spots where they stock them are huted so hard it's almost dangerous to be there. The rest are just food for the "wild" animals.
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