Bird season is here

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 12:09 pm Post subject:

Duck season opens in the morning. Not going to be ideal weather ( 65 degrees and sunny ), but hopefully I can squeeze out a few and get the dogs some action.

WeiMe · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 6:53 am Post subject:

Scout would love to hunt ducks. She is a fanatical retriever. Usually too cold around here. That 65 degrees sounds pretty good. Laughing

Guess it is probably not the best weather to hunt ducks though.

WeiMe · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 6:11 am Post subject:

Well after a pretty good season disaster struck! Scout had a really good season for a dog with no professional training. I didn't have any problems with her chasing birds when they got up and she had some great finds. Then a couple of days ago when we were on a hike on a trail just outside the city limits a sharptail got up and she caught it! Snatched it right out of the air like a frisbee. It must have been injured because they don't usually let a dog get that close to them. It is just really frustrating because she had finally learned that she can't catch the birds. Oh well, I guess on the bright side it was a good retrieve. Wink

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:25 am Post subject:

All is not lost and no harm may have been done. If the bird was indeed injured, your dog may just chalk it up as a cripple.

ldhuber · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:07 am Post subject: cripples

WeiMe, I wouldn't worry too much about Scout getting ahold of one weak bird. Kaya is at 10 mo's with no professional training. She's gotten ahold of 2 crippled pheasants this season. After the first one, she attempted to rush the next two point opportunities to see if she could replicate that "catch." She quickly learned that it's easier to show dad where they are and retrieve after the bird is shot.

We're at 33 retrieves this season with only one lost bird (a runner real early in the season before she was really into the swing of things). I couldn't be happier with getting a Weim over a lab for hunting. I've never hunted behind a pointer before and it's proving to be a real treat.

I've grown up hunting only pheasants, but am already excited to chase some quail next year!

DanniGirl · Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:46 pm Post subject:

Nice! I wish we had pheasants out here but they're all raised on a preserve. You can only hunt them if you pay the costly fee for a guided hunt with GSPs. (I've done it before and wasn't impressed...)
Besides...I'd much rather hunt behind my own dog! We do have plenty of quail out here though... Wink

ldhuber · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:14 am Post subject: pen raised

My dad and I have raised pheasants in years past to help boost numbers after a harsh winter or cool/wet spring. Even releasing them at 9 weeks and letting them mature in the wild doesn't work. Still have to step on them to get them to fly Smile

I hunt in the extreme southeast corner of SD these days and there are a lot of released birds around, they just don't bust like the wild ones...kinda takes a little of the excitement away!

WeiMe · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 2:35 am Post subject:

We have a pretty good population of pheasants here but the problem is they are mostly on private land. I don't really have any good connections so I usually pay for a permit to hunt in the WMA's. Same problem with planted birds. Plus, they don't really plant that many. It is hard to pay for a $20 permit and not see any birds Crying or Very sad

Hunting sharptail is a lot more fun. They are usually on the CRP and there is a lot of that. Plus, the sharptails fly more like wild pheasant - but usally in a big group. Unfortunately they don't taste as good as pheasant.

anne · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:13 pm Post subject:

Stay away from pen raised and planted like the plague! A good dog can learn almost everythig from WILD birds, hardly any human training is necessary and in fact is probably detrimental until you are putting the finishing touches on your dog. It's when you live in places like I do that you have to get creative and simulate wild birds. I envy your guys location!

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2007 1:43 pm Post subject:

I agree with Anna that wild birds are the way to go. A handful of wild birds will teach a dog more than a hundred pen raised ones. However, at some point pen birds have to be used. The main problem with pen raised birds is over weight birds. Usually they are either over fed, have an undersized flight pen, or both. They are much stronger and healthier on the lighter side. Another problem is over socialized birds. If the birds aren't popping up like popcorn when someone goes into the pen, don't buy any.