bounce
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Post by bounce on Jun 25, 2010 10:46:16 GMT -5
Jeff brought a GSP pup & it's mother over for the final release of the pheasants, this was fun to watch as he brought out the pup 1st and let it chase the birds out. Then brought out mom to take it hunting them in the grass. Was good for the dogs and the birds as well in peaking their protective instinks for survival. this was a very sucsessful batch of birds for us. Now it about two weeks we will do it again.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Jul 28, 2010 11:26:51 GMT -5
I'm now two weeks into my 2nd batch of Peasants chicks, got a batch just like the 1st batch of 100 hens & 50 straight run +5 or 155 birds. Pecking has ben a real problem this time and have lost 11 so far to pecking. Also Jeff & I have now bought a Surrogator system to add to our bird raiseing facilitys, A guy we know bought it new about three years ago and never used it ever plus we get a 50x100 flyway net and a new propaine tank also a nice game bird box for moveing birds. and a nice dicount from new price. Not at all shure we needed it but we just wanted to have it I guess. I think it will be great for quail but not so shure about pheasants? Capacity on quail is 125 birds and on Pheasants it's 65. On quail you can't transfure them to other locations and not have them fly away but with a surrogator you can raise the quail were you want them and they imprint to that spot as home after released.
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Post by Jack on Jul 28, 2010 23:01:22 GMT -5
Bounce, for those of us not farm raised, could you explain what a Surrogator is? Thanks.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Jul 29, 2010 1:48:13 GMT -5
A mostly plastic 5'x10'x18"? just a close guess as I haven't mesured, Game Bird outdoors anywere incubator type home for day old quail or pheasants till 5 weeks old. Contains heat, water & feed and you only need to check on them once a week. You can place it anywere you want the birds to call it home when they are released. A new one cost aeound $2,000 and will handle 125 Quail or 65 pheasants at a time and you can raise up to 5 batches of birds a year from one if you want too, or 625 quail & 295 pheasants [if all went perfict] LOL.
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Post by Jack on Jul 29, 2010 6:02:15 GMT -5
I get it- thanks, Bounce. Being able to check on them once a week sounds great!
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Jul 29, 2010 8:11:07 GMT -5
I know a guy at Bloomfield that I think has three Surrogators and have heard him say he has had good luck with them and also total losses. so their not always a shure thing, which does make me a little aprehensive about them.
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Post by nulle on Jul 29, 2010 9:28:52 GMT -5
For the price I would want to be real sure but things can and do go wrong with anything I guess. Depends on what kind of problem he had and if it was operator error rather then the unit.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Jul 29, 2010 10:24:46 GMT -5
Got ours quite a bit cheaper + extras which helped to intice us to buy it. We din't feel a huge need for it, just a desire to use one I guess and the fact with it we can raise the quail were we want them to be. I would not be suprised if we only use it to raise quail only, as I think my other pen does Pheasants as good or better and more of them, 150 pheasents seem to be the limit to the pen I have now as to 65 limit for the surrogator. Quail in my pen now get realy hard to feed & water but it can be done as the get to flying and it would likely handle 250 quail as to 125. I think yet this year we may do 100 quail in the surrogator and 200 quail in my old pen & see how things go... ? With the surrogator we also got a 50'x100' flyway net. Wich if we decide to ever use it will keep big birds on hand, for traing dogs & ect, put up it would be about 30' x 80' I think one needs steel around the bottom also as a preditor barrior with this. So if we ever use it ? it will take some planing 1st.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Aug 3, 2010 6:38:54 GMT -5
The pecking problem is vert persistant with this batch of birds as I have lost 17 sofar to pecking.
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Post by Jack on Aug 3, 2010 7:37:18 GMT -5
So, they're a bunch of little peckers? ;D
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Aug 13, 2010 15:05:47 GMT -5
Well the 2010 pheasant raiseing seasion is now over for me as I released all my 2nd batch of birds today, about 283 survived to be released out of 310 birds. At least 250 birds were hens this year to help populate all the new idle acres now planted to bird seed, we are selves put in over 240 acers of this and neighbors have as well. So I am hopeing for a lot of adult breeding hens next spring? I may raise all rosters next spring & summer? For hopefully a fantastic hunting seasion a year from this fall? Now it's time to think of Quail to finish off this season of bird raiseing, mabe 300 quail?? Heck maybe I can even tempt bill in to comeing home next year to hunt? over SD birds lol.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Sept 19, 2010 23:24:14 GMT -5
Looking likely Jeff & I will not get any quail raised anymore this year as we both decided we have more bills to take care of than need of birds . But if things are better by spring perhapps we can now do quail & pheasants all at the same time and if we have the funds can do 100 or so quail 4 or 5 times? now in the surrogartor, I think my old pen will still be the best for pheasants. As I sat down for supper a few days ago about 30 of my pheasants walked single file past me along my row of grape vines, seemed pretty cool to me. By the way Jeff & I are both still paying off on the surrogator as well, 1st things 1st I guess.
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Sept 28, 2010 9:06:52 GMT -5
Seems the neighbors are seeing more young pheasants this fall........smiles.
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Post by deputydon on Sept 29, 2010 6:50:45 GMT -5
How's the CRP fields looking ? Nice and weedy ?
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bounce
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Post by bounce on Sept 29, 2010 13:49:41 GMT -5
Yuppers, weedy as hell and quite tall. So far I'm not so sure their seeding is that great? but we got weedy cover. Just hope the hens in the 283 birds I released do a good job of surviving till mateing next spring. Of the 300 + birds we bought 250 should have ben hens & about 50 rosters, and the wild bird numbers were the best in years, so I am very hopeful for next fall being truely great hunting. Jeff & I felt to poor for quail this fall but maybe we can still get out 400 to 700 quail next year ? depending on how we raise pheasants next year? But the surrogator could start pretty early on quail and do maybe 5 batches of 100 to 125 birds and could do two pheasants of 150 in my old pen then one quail of 200 That would be about a max year and not shure we will?
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