As released birds start to explore areas beyond the pen, Liam Bell advises on the best way to deploy feeders, drinkers and cover crops
By the time your poults have been in the pen for a month they should be feeding well, strong enough to shake off any disease challenges and, one would hope, roosting out of harm’s way. Once they have settled, started getting out and become acquainted with the area immediately outside the pen it will only be a matter of time before they start to explore areas slightly further a field.
This is the stage at which you should really start to keep an eye on things and try to limit poults’ wanderings as much as you can. if they are contented and undisturbed, they should stay within sight of the pen for another three or four weeks and keep returning to it periodically during the day.
For contented and undisturbed read fed, watered and un-harassed. Disturbance — from predators, by farming operations and inadvertently by members of the public — can and does make a difference. Predators can be controlled. Farmers, farm workers and contractors can be spoken to and asked to do things slightly differently, and someone who has come off a path or is genuinely lost can soon be put right. the closer to home the birds are for those first few days of exploring and the slower the outward move, the better.
Denne historien er fra August 24,2016-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra August 24,2016-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside