pen raised pheasants

[22-250]

Have a couple questions  Do you need a flight pen to raise birds? how important is it? Also is there much intrest in a pheasant shooting preserve in w wa? What are people willing to pay to hunt pheasants ?  I think this has potential but I don' know anything about  the subject

[gasman]

Check with olddog or Birdguy, they raise birds.


I do know of a private bird ranch simular to Cooke Canyon that went out of business down south there. i believe it is around Chehailis. at least, there web site said they are done with it. I believe it was due to insurance 

[penhuntsbirds]

To run a preserve I would say yes a flight pen is a must. I think there would be a demand here on the wet side, but also that is the drawback. Soaking wet birds don't fly so well.

Cost run about $20 to 25 for roosters, 15 to 20 for hens and 15 for Chuckers. Most also seem to have a bout a $150.00 minimum

There were two preserves here before. One says they closed for insurance reasons and I'm not sure about the other one other then they no longer do it!

[Old Dog]

It's tough here on the wet side because the state requires 100 acres for a preserve, and land is so expensive.  To answer your question yes you need a flight pen, so the birds build some flight muscle.  That's more my opinion than fact

[gasman]

It's tough here on the wet side because the state requires 100 acres for a preserve, and land is so expensive.  To answer your question yes you need a flight pen, so the birds build some flight muscle.  That's more my opinion than fact

Larry, hows it going..........

sorry don't mean to 

We will talk later.

[carpsniperg2]

would be very smart we used to raise then and did not have one and we did just fine without.

[22-250]

hey guys thanks for the help. Raising some birds is something I would like to try. Apparrently it has not been very successful on this side But hey

[Birdguy]

22-250, PM me and I will give you my phone number, you can give me a call and we can talk about it as I talk a lot faster then I type. I have been raising gamebirds on the wet side for 10 years, some years good others not so much. I would recommend the largest pen you can afford. You will most likely be able to buy birds cheaper then you can raise them over here. With the cost of feed and electricity, buildings and your TIME you most likely will not make anything. If you have large barns at your disposal, and make arrangements for bulk feed and have a guaranteed clientele that will actually buy birds you may do OK. Otherwise if you have the land and desire get your clients lined up and buy the first years birds from one of the big breeders on the east side or Idaho. Feed is not cheap and holding them for any length of time is spendy. Seriously give me a call and I will be glad to share what I know with you.

[boneaddict]

NOT a cheap investment with high returns, I PROMISE. 

[jasnt]

my family and i raise pheasants,on the east side, we do not use a flight pen yet but we do have large shelters with large runs that the birds can get some flying in, not more than 20ft. but they do fly in there. we have ring necks,silver's,reaves,and red golden pheasants. we would like to start a researve in the future,we have 300acers.as boneaddit said its not very profitable at all but its a great hobby.
we also have 4 breeds of turkey and 7 breeds of chickens,also a few quail,guineas in 3 colors, and we're starting to work on water fowl.  if you have any questions shoot me a pm.

[Black Plague]

you don't "need" a flight pen...besides its easier to shoot them if they cant fly...

[Happy Gilmore]

I bought a bunch a year or two ago from a few different people in Gig Harbor. They have a very active bird club who raises all sorts of fowl. The three I've bought culls from were all very nice and knowledgable. One guy used 10' x 12' dog kennels and had a ton of birds in there. They all looked good. A different lady had a longer run and was raising golden pheasants. She had a few show birds which were amazing looking. I bought a few for an old man I know who used to raise exotic birds/pigeons for 30+ years.

I've grown up raising turkeys in dog kennel runs then moving them into larger pens as they get fully feathered. You don't need much to raise birds but clean pens and buy the right blends of foods for the birds.

[Ratdog68]

It's tough here on the wet side because the state requires 100 acres for a preserve, and land is so expensive.  To answer your question yes you need a flight pen, so the birds build some flight muscle.  That's more my opinion than fact

Who's this ol' codger who calls himself "Old Dog" ?  (Hi Larry)     Good seein' you today.  Didja git all your errands finished up on your lunch break?   

No attempt to hijack the thread... just had to give Old Dog a howdy since he referred me here today.

[Old Dog]

Charles?  Welcome aboard!

[Ratdog68]

Charles?  Welcome aboard!

   I resemble that !  Thanks

[Clumber]

A a potential customer both for personal use, and as a spaniel club(s) member who occasionally is tricked into being a test committee member or chair, I can tell you that we would very very much prefer that you have flight pens for your birds if we are buying them from you.  Even just for training use for my own dogs, I want to be semi-accurate in assuming that they will fly.  If I need a non-flyer for a particular training method, I'd rather clip the flight feathers myself rather than find out - surprise! No steadiness training today!  sucker bird!     

We have a smallish flight pen just for the damn dirty pigeons we keep around for training.  They are much better for training when they have access to flying, even a little.

I would also SUPER BIGTIME prefer to occasionally keep Chukar around for training rather than the damn disgusting pigeons....  Chukar can be disgusting too,* but at least I can eat those.

*{Yes I know you can eat "squab", but no I won't.}

[22-250]

thanks to all who offered advice on pheasants. especially Birdguy for his time on the phone. I went ahead and got some eggs, setting on them now. we'll see how this goes. If you see a guy trying to sell bird stuff you will know things did not go well    BILL