# when a dog catches a hen?



## Pfeiferada (Feb 12, 2007)

i don't know if this has been covered before, but what do you guys with a hen when it won't flush and your dog grabs it and kills it? We had this happen for the 4th time in about 5 years this weekend.

fun weekend in south central north dakota. 4 hunters, 8 birds on Sat and 6 on Sun. with a little better shooting could've had limits on Saturday. Decent bird numbers. Only 2 of the birds were not from this years hatch. too much standing corn, and still a TON of beans still in the field for the second weekend in Oct. Going to be at least another week until the beans are out, if we finally get some dry weather.


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## roostman (Jan 20, 2006)

Fox Food. do not get caught with the hen, I know it sounds like a waste of a bird but better safe then sorry.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Oh come on now... that's what they make portable grills for isn't it? Sounds like it would make a tasty snack.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

A flusher with a good strong flush will do this sometimes, its really a sign of the dog doing the right thing. Wet field conditions in grass and lots of snow make it happen more often.

I like buckseyes solution :beer:


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## omegax (Oct 25, 2006)

I remember this coming up once before, and one of the guys saying that he took it along and I don't remember how it happened, but they wound up showing it to a warden who just looked it over for pellets really well. Now, I'm not sure I'd want to try that myself, and definitely not with a cleaned bird (who's to say you didn't hit it in the head?). I'm curious to know what the correct response would be from the GnF perspective.

Anybody else remember that thread?


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

$200.00 for a hen. Or you could spend the money on something else. Gee, that's a tough choice.


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## Canuck (Nov 10, 2004)

About 12 years ago my dog caught and killed a hen. My brother and I sat down and had a long conversation about what we should do. Discussed all the options and ended up burying the bird. We set off hunting again and had gone about 100 yards when my dog disappeared in the cover then proceeded to go back and dig up the buried bird. We had to bury it again and put the dog on lead until we got a good ways away. I still think about that dog a lot.

I hope the bad weather is done for a while. Four more sleeps then 8 days of ND pheasant hunting.

Canuck


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## Pfeiferada (Feb 12, 2007)

thanks for the replies, now I'll post what we did.

The first two times it happened, we just left the birds in the field, didn't want to get caught with them. Then the third time, we cleaned it and gave it to the farmer, and again this past weekend we cleaned it and gave it to the farmer.

I guess i thought that this was something that happened more often to others because it hasn't exactly been an unusual experience for us. I have 2 female yellow labs (one 11, and one 2), who have traditionally done much more waterfowl hunting than pheasant hunting, which may explain why they are so aggressive with their flushes.

But, as Dick said, probably not worth the $200 fine.

One a side note, when i lived in Arkansas I was out squirrel hunting in September or October when my old dog was 7, and i caught a glimpse of a big bird landing in some thick brush 80 yards ahead of us. I thought it might be an owl or a hawk or something going after a mouse or chipmonk or something, but when we got up there, my dog picked up the scent and ran into the brush. All of a sudden a huge fight errupted, which i couldn't see, only hear, and 10 seconds later, my lab walked out with a turkey in her mouth!! What the heck do i do now? Is any CO going to believe that my dog caught the turkey and that i didn't shoot it? I felt bad seeing a big bird like that going to waste so i did quickly breast that one out.

Anyone else have stories about their dog catching something they shouldn't?


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## indsport (Aug 29, 2003)

Our dogs catch a hen just about every year. In all but one case, the dog brought back the bird uninjured but petrified. Usually it just flies off after I get it from the dog and let it go, but I have no clue whether the bird survives over the long term.


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## gunhills (Aug 5, 2008)

:withstupid: Can't you guy's shoot hens or do you shoot them later on in the season????? :huh: :huh: :huh:


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## gunhills (Aug 5, 2008)

:withstupid: Can't you guy's shoot hens or do you shoot them later on in the season????? :huh: :huh: :huh:


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## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

Not here. It is illegal to shoot hens, as far as Pheasant go.


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## bluebird (Feb 28, 2008)

I agree I would just breast it out and give it to the farmer it happens every now and then and it is fun to see the dog do it they seem so happy when they catch a bird with out having to shoot it.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

I ventured into the pheasant forum for this topic. Our springer catches her fair share of pheasants and I can remember 2 instances where it was a hen and both times I remember eating that hen within a half hour. :lol:

On another note, I remember once my dog brought back a rooster that she had caught and gave it to my dad and when she gave it to him it squirted loose and took off, my dad and I were not prepared and that bird got away. One of those times where you swear the dog gives you a dirty look.


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## 1littlefeather (Mar 5, 2003)

We spoke with a game warden about this in the past and they said to leave it where it lays. As posted earlier fox food. Whose to say that the bird wasn't shot before and that was the reason the dog was able to catch it? It's not worth the risk. If you are caught with one then you more than likely will be fined.


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## fargojohnson (Oct 17, 2005)

If your dog kills a hen or if you do by law leave it on the ground. Once you pick it up off the ground you a guilty. If a game warden sees you picking up a killed hen guilty.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

And if you don't pick it up you are guilty of breaking God's laws of not wasting his creations. So who you going to trust.. God or the G&F??

I say take the meat and leave the stuff you can't eat for the foxes.


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## fargojohnson (Oct 17, 2005)

:justanangel:


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## Gildog (Jan 30, 2007)

we asked a game warden this once, his response was "Don't get caught with a hen."

So, should we leave it out in the field? "I didn't say that, did I? I said, do not get caught with a hen."


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Sounds like your guys dogs have some hard mouths.


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## JH00 (Sep 20, 2008)

First off, I believe 100% that you should NEVER waste part of God's creations. But nature takes care of itself... if you leave the hen, it will be fox, crow or coyote food faster than you can believe. The fox is full, kills one less live bird... the circle is complete.

Have you seen how quickly the carcass and gut pile of an elk disapears? They are alot bigger than a pheasant.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

> First off, I believe 100% that you should NEVER waste part of God's creations. But nature takes care of itself... if you leave the hen, it will be fox, crow or coyote food faster than you can believe. The fox is full, kills one less live bird... the circle is complete.
> 
> Have you seen how quickly the carcass and gut pile of an elk disapears? They are alot bigger than a pheasant.


Most of us know that.. this is a public forum so we need to not come across as wasteful of God's creations.


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