espringers
★ Legendary Member
so, i've got a bunch of pheasants to release. i started with about 200 and must have 160-170 left. lost some do to mostly controllable circumstances. but, that tends to happen every time i raise the darn things. learn a bit each year.
in the past, i have basically raised them till they were 8 weeks old and then opened up the door and kicked them out to fend for themselves. this year, we made a flight pen and they have been going outside for the last 4 weeks or so. some don't even bother to go back inside at night and they have gotten much more protein than broods of the past. so, these are pretty big birds already and were born april 20.
after a bit of reading, i noticed a lot of talk of "controlled release". which from what i gather would involve giving them a water and food source outside of the pen and then letting them come and go from said pen as they see fit. based on what i have seen in the past, that seems like a bit of a difficult thing to accomplish because when i open the pen door, i fully suspect them to essentially disperse all over the damn place and i don't expect to see them hanging around the pen much after they decide to leave. but, i am willing to try it anyway.
i've got a springer that loves them. but, she does a good job of looking and not touching. so, here is my plan... in about a week or two, i plan to put a big pile of food about 20 yards away from the pen and a few more scattered throughout the property. then i plan to open the pen gate one morning and let them do their thing. i suppose i can put some waterers out too. but, there is a lot of slough water around for them to drink (and drown in). so, that's up in the air still. because of predators, the pen gate will get closed every night. so, they won't be allowed in unless they come back during daylight hours.
that's the gist of my plan. have any of you guys done this? any specific things to do or not do? thanks!
in the past, i have basically raised them till they were 8 weeks old and then opened up the door and kicked them out to fend for themselves. this year, we made a flight pen and they have been going outside for the last 4 weeks or so. some don't even bother to go back inside at night and they have gotten much more protein than broods of the past. so, these are pretty big birds already and were born april 20.
after a bit of reading, i noticed a lot of talk of "controlled release". which from what i gather would involve giving them a water and food source outside of the pen and then letting them come and go from said pen as they see fit. based on what i have seen in the past, that seems like a bit of a difficult thing to accomplish because when i open the pen door, i fully suspect them to essentially disperse all over the damn place and i don't expect to see them hanging around the pen much after they decide to leave. but, i am willing to try it anyway.
i've got a springer that loves them. but, she does a good job of looking and not touching. so, here is my plan... in about a week or two, i plan to put a big pile of food about 20 yards away from the pen and a few more scattered throughout the property. then i plan to open the pen gate one morning and let them do their thing. i suppose i can put some waterers out too. but, there is a lot of slough water around for them to drink (and drown in). so, that's up in the air still. because of predators, the pen gate will get closed every night. so, they won't be allowed in unless they come back during daylight hours.
that's the gist of my plan. have any of you guys done this? any specific things to do or not do? thanks!