Pheasant Release program

[bkln]

Hi Fellaz,

Have a quick question regarding Pheasant Release program, the season starts Oct 1st but I have read on DEC website that they will still release some on Oct 9/10. What's the etiquette on these days, you just don't hunt and let DEC do their work or do they close the place for hunters while they releasing the birds? I can't imagine that releasing the birds and shooting them at the same time is a good combination. Let me know, Thanks

Mark

[wdswtr]

Most times that I have seen the releases taking place its after shooting light. Next day its like a war zone. It gets scarry in some areas after the releases have taken place. I dont hunt on the weekends because of all the hunters. tuesday or wednesdays are usually pretty quiet but birds are few and far inbetween at that point but I would rather hunt fewer birds than be competeing with other hunters for the same bird and hitting the deck everytime a shot goes off lol.

[ejp419]

As far as I know they aren't releasing any around my neck off the woods, Greene

county, and I think that's great. Ya, pheasants taste good, but its not really hunting to me. Might as well throw some chickens out in the field and shoot em. I bow hunt next to one of the only areas around were they released birds and it's like world war 3 crack of dawn. Hope it's done with honestly..

[wdswtr]

Yeah if it was only that easy, theres not to many things in life better than watching your hunting dog work some birds and getting a crack at one. Unfortunetaly I bet 80 percent of those shot you are hearing is like opening day of shotgun in southern tier, nothing but misses. It is not as easy as one thinks. To hope its done is taking away from a heritage that goes back many many many years. Just because it isnt your cup of tea doesnt make it right to wish it away for all the ones who love hunting for pheasant.

[ejp419]

There's not alot of hunting to it. I been in the same area all my life,41 yrs. There's no more native birds due to the increase of foxes and coyotes.The pheasants are raised in a pen. Hand fed. Thrown out in the field one evening and the next crack of dawn getting shot! I have hunted pheasants before. Alot! Had a Germen shorthaired pointer for 12 years. I agree it's great watching your dog work, but to think what happens is hunting, I don't think it is. Find some native birds maybe...

[landtracdeerhunter]

A local hunt club releases farm raised birds on neighbors land next to where we bow hunt. Not the pheasants I remember hunting with my dad and grandpa of yesteryear. You find piles of feathers everywhere today. Modern day pheasants are not even close to wild. They walk ahead of you and all barely scared. Every year back in the 70's, my brother and I would raise 98 chicks in the 4 H pheasant program. They would start you off with 100 chicks, and 100 lbs. of feed. and we would take it from there. A DEC officer would release them at 12 weeks of age, on the back of the farm. Sure, you would loose some to natural forces, but the ones remaining were sure be a challange for a good bird dog. You guys hunting back in that error, sure know what I'm talking about. Of coarse, 4H kids have changed so much, I don't know if that program would even work today. It was a program that worked then, and it would be nice for it to come back. I remember being very proud raising them, and always did well in 4H.

Edited September 5, 2011 by landtracdeerhunter

[Doewhacker]

Wow some people just don't get it, , releasing Phseants is how they were introduced to this country to begin with. And Pheasants run ahead of you because that is what they like to do, ever seen a driven field hunt in South Dakota on t.v.?

They dont just let the birds go and let hunters try to blast away at them either, DEC won't release them if the greedy guys are there waiting in the field. They release them through out the season depending on where you hunt and at different times of day. There is a whole section devoted to the program on the DEC web site that tells you where they release them but not when.

The lack of Pheasants is primarily due to one thing, lack of habitat. They have Fox, coyote, owls and hawks acrossed the country and they also have real actual habitat for the birds.

So if you have an issue with the Pheasant program does that mean you also dislike the Trout stocking program?

[landtracdeerhunter]

Guess you missed my point, or maybe I didn't state it clearly. Never said I was against anything, just that the pheasants years ago were more wild. Todays" fully raised" release birds are not as wild. Without hunting back in the 70's, it would be hard to tell what I'm talking about.

[wdswtr]

Not quite sure he was pointing a finger at you landtracedeerhunter. It truly is a great program, to get afield with your dog and family to enjoy some hunting over the dogs is a great time. If there was no pheasant release program there would be no pheasant hunting in NY. And like Doewhacker pointed out it is the way alot of things are in this state and heck this country. Trout stocking, heck there would be no salmon in lake ontario or any tributaries to name a couple. The problem is I think it affects ejp's bowhunting and he has taken a bad taste to it. Cant blame him his hunting area is disturbed but that doesnt make it right to want the whole program to disapear because it upsets one guy.

[Doewhacker]

Guess you missed my point, or maybe I didn't state it clearly. Never said I was against anything, just that the pheasants years ago were more wild. Todays" fully raised" release birds are not as wild. Without hunting back in the 70's, it would be hard to tell what I'm talking about.

Like wdswtr said, my comments werent meant for you. One thing that might also conribute to the "less wild" birds is the use of different strains of Pheasant over time. There are many different strains of Pheasants used for hunting in different areas, Chinese and Manchurian are just two of the many different kinds and I am sure the state has varied over the years.

Pheasants loose 70% of their yearly population to predation, thats a hell of a number to beat and with out lots of grain and habitat we aint gonna see a wild population in NY.

[wdswtr]

And sadly I think there will come a time when the grouse are starting to be released like the pheasants. The numbers are nothing like the days of the old when I was a kid. The rainy wet springs and predation and lack of young forest are not good. I was told a log time ago the higher the turkey population the lower the grouse population and vice versa. It was referenced as to the age class of the woods that each bird prefers.

[ejp419]

The local Sportsmens Club knows exactly how many birds are being released,when the birds are being released, and exactly where. You can even go and watch if ya wanted to. It's just not hunting to me. When I was a kid it wasn't like it is or was today. Now, with fewer and fewer spot to release their ends up being 25 guys hunting 200 acres. Mind you also all the neighboring landowners can't stand it because these hunters knowingly walk right by posted signs. They think because the pheasants were release a half mile down the road means they can go wherever the pheasants are. I know because I kick them off every year. I have all sides of sorrounding properies posted and patrolled. Wouldn't be so bad if these guys just stayed where they belong.

And as for the trout stocking program, I avoid stocked trout as much as possible. I can't stand pellet fed fish. I wish guys wouldn't follow the stocky truck around and think they are catching trout.

[Jennifer]

Back on topic.... I used to release them with the DEC in the 90s. I don't know if they still do it that way, but if it was before season, we would release them in the daylight hours to give the pheasants a chance to disperse. Sadly we had to really get onto a few guys that were obviously hanging around to illegally pop the birds after we left. Said they were grouse hunting, and yeah maybe they were, but we weren't in overly gouse-y habitat and they were acting like they were just hanging around.

I digress...

During season they are usually released after official sunset (which is legal quittin' time), but before dark (again to try and give them a chance).

[16. ga hunter]

the program is what it is one thing you will never see is the releasing of grouse they will not breed in captivity. not all those released birds are stupid either depends which ones and where you go after them. i like to go in the afternoon and work swamp thickets ect that my dog can work after the am crew dispersed/dispatched

Edited September 7, 2011 by 16. ga hunter

[Jennifer]

the program is what it is one thing you will never see is the releasing of grouse they will not breed in captivity. not all those released birds are stupid either depends which ones and where you go after them. i like to go in the afternoon and work swamp thickets ect that my dog can work after the am crew dispersed/dispatched

Grouse will indeed breed in captivity. Just not in numbers suitable for breed and release programs. Whereas pheasants readily breed and do well in the same situation.

[wdswtr]

They sure will but due to the expense to reach substantial numbers I dont believe it has been done on a modest scale. Baby grouse feed on nothing but bugs and grubs if Im not mistaken and alot of them. I read somewhere that the expense comes from trying to maintain the feeding habits of the young birds. I did alot of research before I knew any better because I wanted to raise some grouse for my property that once held numerous birds. Cant do it, illegal in NY. It illegal to even have one in captivity. From what I understood is that there are so many non native species of grouse the fear was an introduction of a non native species into the area. The time will come if the trend stays the way it is the will be a grouse raising and release program oh wait maybe not the state funds got cut drastically for the pheasantsn no money no birds.

[burmjohn]

Tell you what, after reading this thread I'd really love to try out bird hunting. I wish there was more of a population in NY, I jumped a few grouse on our property one time with my brother. It scared the crap out of me, it was in some brush along an old "Corduroy Road" we have towards the back of our property. But since then we have not jumped any other birds. My old man doesnt really deer hunt but he would LOVE to bird hunt (as he did back in the day), there just isn't anything out there. We did create two small food plots, and a lot of the stuff we planted is for a wide variety of things, but down the road the his goal is to create a nice 20 acre or so plot specifically for a deer sanctuary and a bird ground. As the issue is with most places, there are yotes all over the place. And they seem to be almost uncontrollable, even with the contests and everything they have going on in my area http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080124/NEWS/801240322 - this contest goes on every year in the town where my dad lives.

[Doc]

So, what's a pheasant? The last one that I've seen here in the valley was back in the late 60's and early 70's. We just simply don't have them anymore since most of the farms have started to grow over into woods.

[G-Man]

I am probably in a minority..or maybe a silent majority...I don't understand the put and take mentality, if you want phesant build up the habitat then release bird and don't hunt.. keep working the habitat and maybe you can build a resident population. They did it with turkey... why not try it with phesant?. i've asked around for people who raise birds and try to buy some to get released on my property which i think has enough cover and food to let em have a chance to survive. i usually get this answer..sure ill release them for nothing, then we'll come and hunt them... not what i am looking for at all.. Maybe the state could stock an area and close it to hunting and rotate huntable/non huntable release sites... right now it seems a huge waste of my taxed $ to put them out so a few pheasant hunters can shoot them.. maybe they should just go to a game farm with their dogs and pay per bird... i think the $ could be used on habitat or other programs a lot better where it would serve a lot more hunters.

[16. ga hunter]

many do go to game farms put and take is not ideal by any means but if it is offered i will use it. there are also restoration projects underway by various chapters of pheasants forever throughout the state

[bellmorekennels]

hey guys in a perfect world, pheasants would not need to be stocked, but they do. If guys want to hunt them, they have the right to do so, however enybody else feels is personal opinion. I do not hunt pheasant, I am a big rabbit hunter, and I wish the state would stock rabbits in areas that hardly have any. Good luck to all..

www.bellmorekennels.com

[wdswtr]

I am probably in a minority..or maybe a silent majority...I don't understand the put and take mentality, if you want phesant build up the habitat then release bird and don't hunt.. keep working the habitat and maybe you can build a resident population. They did it with turkey... why not try it with phesant?. i've asked around for people who raise birds and try to buy some to get released on my property which i think has enough cover and food to let em have a chance to survive. i usually get this answer..sure ill release them for nothing, then we'll come and hunt them... not what i am looking for at all.. Maybe the state could stock an area and close it to hunting and rotate huntable/non huntable release sites... right now it seems a huge waste of my taxed $ to put them out so a few pheasant hunters can shoot them.. maybe they should just go to a game farm with their dogs and pay per bird... i think the $ could be used on habitat or other programs a lot better where it would serve a lot more hunters.

If only it was that simple and the tax dollars that it would take would be astonomical compared to releases pheasants. NY just doesnt have the land for pheasants any longer. Farms are going fast, big fields of crp like in south dakota is a must. Can you imagine how many deer hunters would be complaining about there state forest being leveled to start habitat restructuring for pheasant. This is one of those topics that there is no answer for that isnt going to make someone mad with the efforts the state puts forth to seperate bird hunting from big game hunting. Then you say few pheasant hunters, you should go take a drive over to the pheasant release site in Lysander/baldwansville on the weekends. Theres more pheasants hunters there than you can even imagine at times. Orange vest and dogs everywhere lol. As far as raising your own birds anyone can do it. You order young chicks in the spring and raise them in a fenced in pen on your property and release them at a certain age, but it leads to some problems, habtat, predators, will they adapt to being fed versus feeding themselves, and costs. You can order adult birds for a fee from a game farm and they will release them for you or you can release them yourself but be prepared to pay some huge money to do that too. Now the state has a program where you can sign up and they will give you birds to raise and release for free but you have to open the land up for the public to pheasant hunt it. Pheasant hunting has a long heritage in this state and there are many more people who are in the field hunting them than you might think, to take a heritage away just because someone doesnt like it can go both ways and we as hunters need to respect each other and ban together not nit pick what we like personally versus what others like. Turkey habitat is prime in NY now and hence the reason it has worked so well in the age of the forest the state is in now. I posted earlier that turkey habitat and grouse habitat is opposite of each other. How many turkey you see roosted in a small brushy saplings that can barely support its own weight. Put and take is the way it is for alot of outdoor hunting and fishing activities without put and take the amount of money that is gained from hunters and fisherman who partake in such activities helps your favorite hunting priviledges as well. Im willing to bet we sportsmen spend more tax money on these programs than they put into making them happen.

[Doc]

the amount of money that is gained from hunters and fisherman who partake in such activities helps your favorite hunting priviledges as well. Im willing to bet we sportsmen spend more tax money on these programs than they put into making them happen.

I wonder if anyone has ever done any kind of study to see just what the cost/income ratio really is regarding the put and take pheasant stocking program. Apparently the costs are significant enough that they were talking about shutting down some of the pheasant rearing facilities. So I wonder how the costs compare to the revenues generated. Just curious.

[Doewhacker]

"Today, more than 50,000 hunters in New York pursue pheasants annually and harvest approximately 100,000 birds. These numbers are low compared to 1968 when 272,000 pheasant hunters harvested over 500,000 pheasants."

Doc the dec has done studies and has a Pheasant plan together, read through it here..

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7273.html

I know for me if I were to buy some adult Pheasants it would cost me @15-20 a pop, I bet the state gets them for less. The state gets 30,000 adult birds a year to release and the take is 100,000, so that means there are "wild" birds out there, just not so many on my side of the state..lol

[Doewhacker]

To add to my last post, I think if the landowner part of the plan were marketed to Deer hunters it would help out both bird hunters and deer hunters, or guys like me who hunt every thing. It would effectively add habitat for birds and deer, CRP programs work well out west and we all see the results there.