A feeder that we developed several years back and is easy to make, and a great project with the kids, is the "Garbage Can Feeder".
Get the big metal cans (you can use the plastic ones but they deteriorate in the sun after a year or two). Cut four two inch holes in the bottom for the gravity feed.
Location is critical...you can actually increase mortality if you put them in predator ambush areas, thus doing more harm than good. I also recommend not putting feeders out if you only have marginal cover on your property. You may feel compelled to put the feeder on your property, but if a neighbor has better cover...ask to put the feeders there. There is nothing worse than pulling birds away from great cover to marginal cover just because there is food at the marginal cover. Select thick cover that is naturally a windbreak...wide enough to knock snow down and keep it from getting into the interior and having some thermal protection. Thick willows and/or evergreens are great as long as they are 120 ft. wide or wider...anything narrower can eventually fill up with snow and cause higher mortality.
Put down one or two pallets on the ground in the location where you will put the feeder. Then put down a piece of carpet or something to keep the feed from pouring out in the pallets. Pallets are to get some elevation out of snow build up. Then put the feeder on top of the carpet and fill the feeder.
Corn is cheaper but it is also lower in protein and digestability (that is why farmers grind corn before they feed it to cattle). It is much better to mix corn with millets, Milo and sunflower as these cereal grains have higher protein contents and are also more digestable. Bring a piece of wire along to wire down the lid...it will blow away if not secured!
Drive in 4 T-posts around the perimeter of the feeder approximately 3 to 5 feet out from the feeder. Then wrap approximately 25 ft. of 6x6 inch woven wire (concrete re-enforcement wire at Menards) around the T-Posts. This will keep deer out as they will eat everything if you keep the feeder open. Using a wire snips, snipe two wires out of the squares, one high and one low, and bend around the T-post to secure the wire to the T-posts. Also fold two wire ends in at the end to secure the circle and to also allow easy access for future filling of the feeder.
One feeder will feed approximately 15 birds for 3 months if set up like this. Put two feeders on the one location and it will feed up to 30 birds.
I disagree with spreading feeders out...unless you have multiple locations with excellent cover. If you just have one location with excellent cover, then just put feeders in that area. There is safety in numbers...more eyes keeping a look out, etc. Ever try sneaking up on a huge flock of geese or a herd of deer? Not very easy compared to sneaking up on just a few.
Here is a link to what your T-post/wire set up would look like and what the food blend would look like...
http://www.habitatnow.com/store/shop/shop.php?pn_selected_category=26I strongly recommend feeders. It is not that the birds are starving to death, it is the increased mortality from exposure to predators and weather as they search farther and farther out for food. DNR studies have shown that mortality increases exponentially as the birds get farther from secure winter cover. I have about 10 feeders on each of my properties along with the food plots. The feeders help keep the birds close to the winter cover and reduce exposure. I like to say that "it is good not to see pheasants in the winter"...as that means they are tucked away nicely in their winter cover rather than along roads and out in the middle of field stubble.
We also have a saying..."Dead hens don't lay eggs". If you don't get that hen through the winter, all of that conservation cover will mean nothing in the spring for nesting and brooding since the hen didn't make it.
I also recommend putting out enough feeders to take care of the birds you have and then some...rather than putting out one feeder and trying to get back to fill it over and over again. Instead of "once you start feeding, don't stop"...my recommendation is to put out enough feeders so there is no issue about getting back to fill the feeder. It is very labor intensive hauling 50 lb. bags in to fill feeders and we all get busy doing other things...like watching the Vikes in the super bowl (when pigs fly). Just put out enough feeders and be done with it.
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Topic: Pheasants - Winter Feeding (Read 4494 times)
