February will generally be spent doing as little as possible, and this time is about as good a chance one will get of taking a holiday. I think that is a marvellous way to begin a new year! Traditionally for me, February 2nd is lay in day – my first chance to stay in bed after the previous ten months or so working seven-day weeks.
Here, we (there are two gamekeepers) also have wild Fallow Deer populations to control. This is carried out throughout winter as time allows, but February and March are particularly good opportunities as we are not busy with anything else.
During March, a number of wild Pheasant hens and cocks must be caught and penned. These will provide us with fertile eggs, which form the basis for next year’s stock. Eggs will start to arrive early April, and from then on, my daily life gets busier!
The laying period will continue until we have gained enough eggs for our target that year, which is worked out roughly by calculating our predicted number of shoot days next season. From that number we work backwards from the number of birds we hope to shoot, the number we aim to release and rear, using percentages base of records from previous years.
The eggs are picked up several times daily, cleaned and graded for size and quality. Once a week during the laying period, which this year ran from April to late May, we set a batch of eggs in the incubator machine. The eggs remain in here for three weeks, before being transferred to the hatching machine, which offers us complete control over temperature and relative humidity. Over the next three days, the eggs will hatch.
Our particular incubator holds three batches of eggs. So, having set a batch each week this means at any one time the machine contains three lots of eggs at three different stages of incubation i.e.; one week, two weeks, and three weeks. This ensures we spread our workload over the summer evenly and hatch a similar number of chicks each week.
The newly hatched chicks are transferred to the brooder house. This is a large shed with individual units, which are heated by gas. In here, we can effectively control temperature, light and ventilation to ensure we rear healthy birds.
Once the birds within the rearing units reach six weeks of age, we enter the most crucial and busiest time of year. Now is the time to catch them up, and move them out to the woods into specially built release pens. These are open topped pens strategically positioned around the estate. Their purpose is to protect the young Pheasants from predators whilst they are gently acclimatized to life in the wild.
The next eight weeks or so get a bit hectic; as we are busy taking care of these birds in the woods, continuing with the rearing in the shed and still hatching new chicks. A typical day now starts at sunrise, and finishes at sundown. This will explain my lack of emails to anyone at this time of year!
It is always a relief to finish the hatching and rearing. By late July, the last of the young birds have been reared to six weeks, and moved to the woods. From here, I am able to concentrate on looking after these as they grow and become semi wild. Within three to four weeks they begin to leave their release pens and spread out over the surrounding land, gaining more independence along the way.
With all the maintenance completed, rearing equipment cleaned, sterilized, stored, and birds now living wild I now enter the next part of my year.
The period from August to late October is spent managing the birds over my “beat” (the part of the estate for which I am responsible for). The feeding continues, and takes up around four hours of my working day, ensuring the Pheasants stay healthy and in the area. Predator and pest control is still an ongoing responsibility to protect both farm crops and guard against excessive losses of Pheasants. Much of this is carried out at night with a high-powered rifle, adding several hours to my already long day!
Young Pheasants naturally like to spread out and wander, and now my priority daytime job is to limit this. Essentially, our main method of keeping the Pheasants on the estate is to make the habitat as attractive to them as possible, so they want to stay! This, as I explained earlier, is why we manage the habitat in this way by planting crops and trees etc. It is also the reason why land managed for game shooting is commonly regarded at some of England’s’ healthiest and most diverse countryside, of benefit to all wildlife. Most of the UK’s top conservation organisations openly acknowledge this, including the respected RSPB.
Regardless of all our efforts in providing the habitat, Pheasants will still go on extended walks. The weather can play a huge part in this, as will the amount of wild food available. As the annual autumn bounty of insects, berries and nuts become available; they will go to great lengths to avoid me and my boring food to get at these.
So, much of my days will be spent patrolling the boundaries of my beat with my team of three English Springer Spaniels. It probably sounds rather idyllic, roaming around with a gun and team of dogs out in the countryside! Well, it is pretty good – but the novelty wears off quite quickly when you have a million other jobs to be getting on with, the dogs are so tired they go on strike and it seems every Pheasant on the place is hell bent on taking up residence on farmer Blogg’s land next door!
As we move through October, the days become much shorter (and my life less hectic), and we begin to prepare and make plans for the forthcoming shooting season. The season for Pheasants runs roughly from November to February. I am always relieved to get the first shoot day over with. It is the first time we get our team of helpers and dogs into the woods, and gives us a good idea of Pheasant numbers and an indication of how the forthcoming season will go. The winter routine will consist of daily feeding, continued planning of shooting days, Deer stalking and enjoying the short days and long nights!
In seemingly no time at all, I am thinking about potential holiday plans, I am also another year older and we start all over again! |
