Need advice... wild pheasants

[Frosty]

Hi all... we have a lot of snow cover and a lot of wild pheasants here. Since a lot of their food is covered, I would like to feed them. This is where I need help. What can I use for a feeder that won't get buried in snow? Is there a way to feed them and not the local rabbit population? (Sorry to sound mean there, but the bunnies do a lot of damage to crops and trees so I really don't want to encourage them to hang out here.)

Any ideas? There is a flock of about 20 or so and they are roosting in the trees about 100' from my house. I would really like to help them out!

 

[zazouse]

Mabe you could place food on a platform like an old card table or a board on a couple saw horses, that way the bunnies could not get the feed

I bet they are a site to see. lucky you

 

[Pagan Prince]

IMHO a suspended food hopper should do the job. The sort of thing Used to limit rat food raids being too effective. Anything that is at chest hight and swings on a rope ?

I live in an area where they are breed for shoots and are considered a bit of a pain..... despite their beauty. Localy they are "abused" in shoots in the sense more are shot than can be consumed. 45+ per person ? The thing is... we got rabbit too. The hoppers the local brood pens have are just off the ground high enough to prevent rabit and rat issues as best as can.....

(I once had a Chinese Mountain pheasant visit for a night before returning to the wild ... sweeet !)

 

[Frosty]

They are raised and released for hunting here, too. Winters like this one where there is about 3 feet of snow on the ground is really hard on them, their food is buried. Last year I put out a shallow pan with feed, it took them a few days to go near it. The bunnies thought that was great and sometimes even chased the pheasants away from it. The hard part of a hanging feeder would be trying to keep snow out of it, and I'd need to make sure that it doesn't get buried. Maybe if I put something with a top on it, and hang it in a way that it can be raised as needed...

They are indeed a sight to see and I do feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy them. What does a Chinese Mountain Pheasant look like? I have done a quick search on line and can't find them.

 

[Pagan Prince]

Another name is the "Golden" ?

It came into my garden very tired and hassled by cats. I put it in my courtyard for the night with food and water ... mid morning it lifted off and did'nt come back

It may seem strange, but we are in the UK ..... Heck ... there's even a green parrot population south off here... so I hear.

 

[Frosty]

Ahhh... OK. Goldens can tolerate our winters, so they are very hardy. I thought about getting some. Great that you helped it out, I would love to have some show up here!

Strange thing that I noticed... we either have pheasants hanging around, or wild turkeys. Never both. I sometimes wonder if the turkeys attack male pheasants because of the blue on their heads? The turkeys have gone, so now the pheasants are back. As long as they leave my garden alone, they are more than welcome. I love watching them fly up at night and down in the morning.

 

[Robo]

In most states it is illegal to feed them.

 

[Frosty]

Quote:
Don't think it is here... there is a group called 'Pheasants for the Future' that hands out feed at cost (which was like $2.00 per bag) and volunteers put out barrels of feed for the pheasants. I wrote to the guy in charge of winter feeding to ask his advice on the best way to provide feed but got an out-of-office reply saying that he'll be gone for a week. It's pretty widely advertised when they are handing out the feed.

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
if they were raised and then released they may not be considered wildlife as opposed to born in the wild kina stuff but it is mostly against the law here to feed animals that are considered "Game" animals./ I always check with a game warden before I do something like the OP describes the fines went up here a coupla years ago LOL

 

[Pagan Prince]

These forums are enchanting !

and highly educational... did I mention fun ? The difference between nations/states/counties/regions and cultures is amazing !

I'm realy getting to like this place