# improving pheasant habitat



## WIUHunter (Jan 26, 2007)

I'm not sure if this question has been asked yet or not but I tried a search and didn't find much... 
I have about 3 or 4 miles of government acres of about 30 yards of switchgrass on either side of a small creek. I have hunted it for 2 years but haven't really had much success. I'll see some pheasants along the side of the road every now and then but I don't seem to see very strong numbers of them. 
My question, those of you who own or manage this type of area, do you put up food plots or use any other tactics to increase their numbers? Is there anything I can do to increase the number of pheasants in my area short of releasing them into the area? Once again, I know there are already pheasants in the area, I would just like to see a stronger population.
Thanks


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

dont hunt them for a season or two, also trap *****, foxes, coyotes, skunks, ect., as they are predators who find them tasty or the eggs tasty,
there wasnt many pheasants in my area but then last year they boomed because none hunts them in the immediate area and when i would go rabbit hunting i would always see a few


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

Give the local PF chapter a call. They will have a host of ideas.


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## Horsager (Aug 31, 2006)

Predator control first and foremost.

1. Feral cats
2. Skunks
3. *****
4. Badgers
5. Fox

Contacting the local PF is a great idea too.


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

pheasants forever was a good idea monson


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## WIUHunter (Jan 26, 2007)

cool thanks for the advice fellas... just curious, what type of services can the PF provide?


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

One of the things we forget is that coyotes will nail to the wall 4 out of 5 in Horsagers list:



> 1. Feral cats
> 2. Skunks
> 3. *****
> 4. Badgers
> 5. Fox


With special attention to 1 and 5. Little skunks and ***** are toast too. This spring a ***** killed a buck mink in field I was seeding and took it back to the den. The pups wouldn't eat it but she did good service for ground nesting birds. Have a little compassion on coyotes, they do a lot of benefit for bird hunters.


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## adokken (Jan 28, 2003)

How true coyotes will eat pheasants, but the good they do in controlling the other worse predators more then compensates for it, Fox and raccoon are the worst and coyotes will kill fox at every opportunity,I snared most of the coyotes in my area and all of a sudden the fox population made a come back. I trapped for years on the Clark Saylor Refuge and they frowned on me taking coyotes. And it did make sense.


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## hunter9494 (Jan 21, 2007)

agree, fox, ***** and skunks present the greatest threat. bobcats are a factor in some locations as well.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

Coyotes didn't reappear in Barnes County in measureable numbers until the mid 80s. Since then it is unusual to see cat tracks in the snow. Barn cats that hunt off the building site prey heavily on young game birds, song birds, etc. Those cats are gone now.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

> Those cats are gone now.


Amen to that Dick! Cats can really screw things up!

Mike


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## adokken (Jan 28, 2003)

I do not have cats, but have lost track of all the feral cats I have trapped and shot over the years. cats are an awesome predator and I seen a bumpersticker in Austrilia that said a good cat is a flat cat. they even drop poison for fox and feral cats from air craft there.


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## Drakekiller (Apr 3, 2002)

Hunt all you want,it will not effect the bird pop unless you shoot hens. Thin strips of cover is not good pheasant habitat.


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## coyote_buster (Mar 11, 2007)

While that may be true, he has low bird population so it will afect it more than places where there is hundreds of them.


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## Drakekiller (Apr 3, 2002)

Sorry Coyote-buster. Not hunting for a year or two is just poor advice.. You cannot stock pile pheasants. You would just miss out on two years of hunting with no gain. Studies have shownthat 93% of pre-hunt population of rooosters could be harvested without any adverse effects to the population. So WIU enjoy what you have, the only way you will get more pheasants is if you can improve area habitat.


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