Huns

[Jakezilla]

So if pheasant rehabilitation have not worked wel historicallyl.Would smaller,more vulnerable birds like huns and quail?

Personally I believe it didn't work because of the way they went about it. The guys running the show were probably waaayy to educated and definitely lacked common sense. I believe it is doable with quail and pheasant in my area but it involves closing the season, planting a crazy amount of birds (thousands), using pen raised birds, and looking into some form of predator (raptor) control. If there ended up being a somewhat stable population after a couple years just be sensible about the season. Only have it open 2 or 3 weeks for the year and make it pheasants only and suggest only taking 3 birds per quail covey. Like Jaycee said I doubt there is enough habitat to have a population big enough to handle Oct - Dec hunting pressure like the good ole days but it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to do something. PR had one of the best ideas in taking it out of government control and put the project in the hands of local conservation groups.

[terrym]

They need to come up with a model that will float financially long term. Relying on a government grant these days is dreaming so yeah some sort of private long term setup is what is needed. Not sure if you could find enough bird hunters to fund stocking and gaining private land access. Then again I don't know what it would cost to compensate land owners and pay for the amount of birds needed to get it up and running. Would I as a bird dog guy be interested in investing? Sure, but if it is in the Windsor/Sarnia corridor then then the driving logistics make it tougher. I'm a member of a pheasant club which is really handy when you want to pop out 2-3 times a week for a couple hours and put some birds in front of your dog. That type of setup seems to work financially as it has been in existance for years.

[Jim Davis]

Great thread guys, a lot of information here. I remember in the mid 1980's in the Lynden area at my parents property where I hunt now, we would see grouse in the bush, I haven't seen one for a long time. I think there is suitable habitat out there with enough acreage for grouse but not Hun's

[jaycee]

by Jakezilla, but it involves closing the season, planting a crazy amount of birds (thousands), using pen raised birds, and looking into some form of predator (raptor) control.

A good number of years ago a friend of mine raised and let loose about 200 pheasant chicks [ after they were able to be on their own].
He did this for 5 years , released them on his sons property of just over 200 acres .
No one hunted them other than the owls and hawks and foxes, it was amazing to see the number of hawks that were around the area.
You could go out at any time of day and see 8 to 10 sometimes more , red tailed hawks plus coopers and marsh hawks . At night time you could hear the owls .
Poor pheasants could not survive and breed on their own , as when winter arrived they had to contend with foxes and coyotes also there were cats wandering around that we always figured would kill any young birds .
Predators are always a problem.
My old friend after seeing all his work go for naught just gave up and said "well it looks like you and I and your dogs just won't have any pheasants to hunt unless we go to a game farm ".
I miss my old friend , he passed away a number of years ago , his son and I still talk about some of his fathers efforts at restocking pheasants "to feed the hawks ".

[terrym]

I wonder what Hawk tastes like?

[finsfurfeathers]

A good number of years ago a friend of mine raised and let loose about 200 pheasant chicks [ after they were able to be on their own].
He did this for 5 years , released them on his sons property of just over 200 acres .
No one hunted them other than the owls and hawks and foxes, it was amazing to see the number of hawks that were around the area.
You could go out at any time of day and see 8 to 10 sometimes more , red tailed hawks plus coopers and marsh hawks . At night time you could hear the owls .
Poor pheasants could not survive and breed on their own , as when winter arrived they had to contend with foxes and coyotes also there were cats wandering around that we always figured would kill any young birds .
Predators are always a problem.
My old friend after seeing all his work go for naught just gave up and said "well it looks like you and I and your dogs just won't have any pheasants to hunt unless we go to a game farm ".
I miss my old friend , he passed away a number of years ago , his son and I still talk about some of his fathers efforts at restocking pheasants "to feed the hawks ".

great he released 1000 birds however what did he do for habitat? Did he double the width of fence rows and let them fill in. Did he leave fields fallow and leave corn stalks cut high and left for winter cover? Without cover predation will always be a factor. Can always pen raise your own birds and release them when you ready too hunt no need really to go to a game farm if you have your own property.

[yellow dog]

great he released 1000 birds however what did he do for habitat? Did he double the width of fence rows and let them fill in. Did he leave fields fallow and leave corn stalks cut high and left for winter cover? Without cover predation will always be a factor. Can always pen raise your own birds and release them when you ready too hunt no need really to go to a game farm if you have your own property.

Yup all this was done for nothing because of no habitat improvement.

[jaycee]

great he released 1000 birds however what did he do for habitat? Did he double the width of fence rows and let them fill in. Did he leave fields fallow and leave corn stalks cut high and left for winter cover? Without cover predation will always be a factor. Can always pen raise your own birds and release them when you ready too hunt no need really to go to a game farm if you have your own property.

The old farm was left in pretty much in an overgrown state , no crops were grown till his son was ready to fully take it on .
The fields had all natural wild grass's low brush and hawthorn trees,, they looked like a natural to support pheasants , a creek runs through the property and it had some low land around the creek all of which pheasants like , the natural food water and cover were around but so were that predators.
The habitat was there that is why he figured it would be a good idea to raise and release the pheasants , but sadly it didn't work out .

All you have to do is look around at all the game farms that do exist , they are constantly releasing birds and they are not all shot off , what happens to all those that escape the hunters guns ?.
These game farms do have the habitat but you very rarely see birds running around all over the area again why ?.

[finsfurfeathers]

assuming that property was a pheasant paradise with cover and 12 month food source as you state there will be pheasant there. Not 200 strong as pheasants are not flock birds and will disperse between themselves. The 407 corridor where I live still has wild pheasant. Rarely see them until winter and at most may see a rooster and a couple of hens. I hunt pheasant a Hullet and would love them to tag all released pheasant as I sure there is a carry over population problem is come late Nov every farm from Clinton to the 401 is plowed over leaving noting but bare earth field with hardly no fence row cover. Predator control is not going to make any difference if that's what you are eluding too.

[yellow dog]

The old farm was left in pretty much in an overgrown state , no crops were grown till his son was ready to fully take it on .
The fields had all natural wild grass's low brush and hawthorn trees,, they looked like a natural to support pheasants , a creek runs through the property and it had some low land around the creek all of which pheasants like , the natural food water and cover were around but so were that predators.
The habitat was there that is why he figured it would be a good idea to raise and release the pheasants , but sadly it didn't work out .

All you have to do is look around at all the game farms that do exist , they are constantly releasing birds and they are not all shot off , what happens to all those that escape the hunters guns ?.
These game farms do have the habitat but you very rarely see birds running around all over the area again why ?.

The reason the left over birds don't survive is the number of weeks the birds are. At six weeks of age is the prime timeline for them to naturally adjust to its surroundings with a food source and no hunters shooting at them.