pheasant population

[firebug]

Hey guys I'm alittle bit worried about this blast of snow we just got last night. We ended up with about 4-6" of snow. Before that we had some freezing rain. I'll drive around tomorrow and give a report Monday. Let's cross our fingers.

[lawdog]

Yes I don't like this one bit either. We got some serious ice here in SW MN I hope it goes away REALLY FAST, but the forecast doesn't call for much heat the next couple days...

[harvey lee]

I would agree. Seems these late ice storms can do a real job on the birds. Lets hope it all melts fast and the birds do ok.

[lawdog]

AT least down here it seems to be melting away real good. The sun is real powerful this time of year even without a real warm day my trees are all cleared up and the snow in the yard is gone. Hopefully they didn't get killed by the ice, they can handle a day or two of tough food conditions if they weren't on nests yet...

[tybo]

Just took the dog for a walk and heard a rooster crow out back in a field. I'm mostly worried about any that may be nesting.

[Fishin=Easy]

The big birds should be fine. Most of them haven't laid eggs yet have they? that's all I would worry about too.

[harvey lee]

Some may have started to lay eggs but, they will re nest. Thats if they didnt die in the ice storm.

[gspman]

They're not even close to nesting yet.

[sparcebag]

Here in my area I've watched them mating,starting bout 10-14 days ago.

[muc33]

I am with GSP man, they are still sparring and doing the bean stuble waltz, dancing and showing off, getting ready to start the brood.

As for this last storm, I haven't seen what it really looked like to know what possible effects could be.

Our grass was back to green yesterday morning, so down here we are fine, I have been seeing great paring and sparring in the fields and ditches, I can't wait for a possible great hatch!!!!! Here in Nobles/Jackson county where I live we could (with a good hatch) have an increadible year as far as overall bird numbers.

[gspman]

I'll correct my statement as it was a little too absolute. I'm sure there are some that may have tried to nest. However, I think most of the birds have yet to nest. Seems like most of the broods hatch in early June. The pheasant gestation period is 24 days. That means they'll be laying eggs in early to mid May.

[Jameson]

Most of the farm is strictly off limits this time of year, but I unhappily found this nest today, 4/27/08, in our "use" area. It is located about 20 feet behind my archery target. I was looking for a couple of arrows I lost two weeks ago. No hen, or feathers seen. McLeod County. There is still some snow in the ditches.

Fairly positive it was a pheasant nest. Egg is about ping pong ball size. Have only ever seen one turkey on the property, and that was three years ago. Woodcocks are plentiful on another part of the farm this spring.

[tybo]

Went out to Granite Falls today to get in one last hunt at a preserve. On the long ride back I saw lots of hens and roosters on the side of the road and just missed one that flew across. They only release roosters at the Preserve and we saw quite a few hens but they have some great cover so that wasn't all that surprising. I would guess I saw 80-10o birds. Some places there were 10-20 together.

[harvey lee]

Looks to be a pheasant egg to me. Right color and a turkey egg is much larger.

I use to hatch, raise and sell approx 3,000 birds annually and they always started to lay in captivity approx. the 1st of April. My understanding was that the wild birds started approx 2 weeks later. I do believe they start to lay eggs due to the lenght of light per day. In captivity I could turn the lights on in the building and trick them into laying a little earlier than the wild ones.

[muc33]

No doubt there will be some eggs and nest already made, but the majority of the fun is still to come. Now until mid May, one thing to remember, a hen pheasant will only raise one brood per year, but if the nest is disturbed or abandoned she will make another, but by doing that, the size of the brood generaly goes down in size. Drive the gravels near nesting cover now from an hour before sunset to sundown and look at the courtship rituals, they are sometimes quite impressive. From now until Mid June, stay out of nesting area, not disturbing nests, do not run your dogs in cover areas. Pray for good weather, and a great hatch!

Let's keep our eyes tight to the ditches broods hatch at the 20 - 25 day range if memory serves me right, So come late May to Mid June, we should see the largest chick action. Don't mow ditches, and ask your landowners to do the same.

[firebug]

Say just wanted to give a report on the pheasants.The family and I drove about 10 miles last night and we saw close to 75 birds. So it appears that they came out of this last storm ok.

[sparcebag]

I just came from a drive to check nothern run 12 mile drive round trip 16 birds mostly hens on road side.

[BobT]

 Quote:

a hen pheasant will only raise one brood per year,

Interesting statement when I see evidence of just the opposite year after year on my place. It is very common that I see a hen in mid-summer followed but chicks of more than one size. Last year for example we had a hen that, I kid you not, that I'd swear had at least 2 dozen chicks with her in three different sizes. You could tell that she had three different hatches with her. That was extreme but I often find hens that appear to have two groups of chicks. From my experience I'm inclined to believe they can and often will hatch more than once per year.

Bob

[Tom7227]

Maybe she was just the nanny!

[B. Amish]

 Originally Posted By: BobT

Interesting statement when I see evidence of just the opposite year after year on my place. It is very common that I see a hen in mid-summer followed but chicks of more than one size. Last year for example we had a hen that, I kid you not, that I'd swear had at least 2 dozen chicks with her in three different sizes. You could tell that she had three different hatches with her. That was extreme but I often find hens that appear to have two groups of chicks. From my experience I'm inclined to believe they can and often will hatch more than once per year.

Bob

from NPWRC...

"The time required to lay a clutch of eggs, incubate them, and rear the young makes producing two broods in one summer next to impossible. It takes the average hen 13 to 14 days to lay her eggs, 23 days to incubate them, and another 8 - 12 weeks rearing the young, a total of three to four months from start to finish. If a hen were to start a clutch in early May, it would be August before she could begin again. There is just not enough time for her to repeat the process."

"Hens will adopt strays or chicks who have lost their own mothers, and a hen with young of two or more age groups is not uncommon in North Dakota. Broods accompanied by more than one hen are also commonly observed in the summer. This may represent a mixing of two or more broods, or it may be that a broodless hen has attached herself to another hen and her brood. Studies have shown that a hen pheasant may abandon her nest if she sees or hears other hens with chicks."

[2 DA GILLS]

I agree that a hen will only raise one brood a year, but will renest if a nest is lost or destroyed. Think about the scenario of a hen hatching multiple nests in a season. Is she sitting on multiple nests at one time? If not that scenario, how would she incubate eggs and raise a brood of young chicks at the same time? I do not see how it would be possible.

If there were some lost nests from the most recent snow, there is plenty of time to renest (assuming the hens survived). My concern is this trend for cold, wet weather. Once the heavy nesting activiy begins and in particular the hatch begins, that is when warm, dry weather is critical.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Around my neck of the prairie the ringnecks seemed to have survived just fine. My 70 mile round trip commute shows me a LOT of birds both in the morning and evening. Some may have died, but it's mother nature doing her thing. I can't speak for other areas but around my place they are doing well.

[huntnfishsd]

Hey guys, I was headin back to Aberdeen the other night and saw literally hundreds of pheasants (mostly hens) in a 50 mile stretch. It was great to see, but is there any explanation for the abundance at this time?? I am not up to speed on this point and just wondering what the deal was?

[sparcebag]

I'd say no brush,weeds...easier to see.

[hanso612]

I live next to St Olaf College's prarie habitat which is closed to hunting, but I walk it daily and drive by multiple times a day. I have seen 50 pheasants at a time on occasions from this half section field. The most striking thing on this piece is the lack of hens. Obviously there are more surviveing roosters than hens because of lack of hunting, but I think it is more than that. I think the roosters outcompete the hens for food and cover.

I have witnessed an upswing in possing and other courtship rituals in the last week. Hens are still being chased and are in groups with one or two males. When I stop seeing hens I know nesting has started and I will see more roosters together out in the open.

So my hope is that what you witnessed in Aberdeen, was a sign that the hens haven't nested yet and this last batch of bad weather didn't hurt any hens or eggs.

I have heard a late killing frost (not harful to birds directly) can wipe out a batch of insects that are crucial to chick survival. The timeing of this seems critical to be true but it makes sense.

The woodticks were noticeablly absent from my walk today but were out in force before the cold snap. Hans

[muc33]

 Quote:

I have heard a late killing frost (not harful to birds directly) can wipe out a batch of insects that are crucial to chick survival.

Hans you make a great point there. It is crucial for the insects to be here for chicks.... as much as we usually don't like bugs, for the birds it is critical!

[huntnfishsd]

Thanks for the info guys! I sure hope this upcoming weather system doesn't harm the birds!

[WaveWacker]

Some may not like to hear this but was working on a burn in central MN on April 24th and found a nest (luckily outside of our burn area) that had 13 eggs in it already. Shouldn't be laying too many if any at all more. Incubation time for that girl so who knows. What I'm more worried about is that we get some warm drier weather for when the chicks are hatched. Nothing takes a toll (weather wise) worse on a clutch then wet cold June.

[UGUIDE]

 Originally Posted By: huntnfishsd

Hey guys, I was headin back to Aberdeen the other night and saw literally hundreds of pheasants (mostly hens) in a 50 mile stretch. It was great to see, but is there any explanation for the abundance at this time?? I am not up to speed on this point and just wondering what the deal was?

HuntFish, one word for you on that question.....Carryover.

Harvest needed to be a lot higher to get carryover numbers down. + Mild winter = a lot of hens too.

[huntnfishsd]

thanks for the info uguide... looks like i best get busy this fall!!