# planting pheasants



## S Goldby (Jan 20, 2008)

Picked up a few pheasants from a game ranch this morning. What is the best way to plant them in a field. My concern is that when I plant quail or chukkar my blf ends up catching half of them.


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## Geiss (May 5, 2010)

last i did any upland hunting was a few years ago... but leave the dogs in the truck, spin the bird around to make it dizzy, and plop it under a tree is what we did.


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## Wayne Beck (Mar 22, 2010)

Take the pheasant.. Tuck his head under his wing and rock him for about 15 seconds to put them to sleep.


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## Brandoned (Aug 20, 2004)

Scott, break their middle toe, that way they can't run and all they can do is fly. Make sure it's the middle toe, because if it's not they can still run. Trust me this works I've been doing it for years. Can't wait for someone to tell me how wrong this is, keep in mind your putting them out too shoot!!


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## Joe Brakke (Jul 3, 2008)

I have released a few and learned that making them too dizzy does not allow for a flush so we dizzy enough to release with out a flush once planted giving you time to exit the area. Our area was well contained, a 10 acre high grass section surrounded by open field. We even had some fly off a bit but stayed in the high grass area.

The ones that had too much rocking, over 5 seconds tended to stay asleep and the dogs just picked them up with out a flush and a shot. So we just dizzy enough to exit the area and that they do not want to fly once they are released. Then they moved to whereever and we came in with dogs to flush and shot.


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## Illinois Bob (Feb 3, 2007)

The best way to dizzy a bird that I've seen is to put the head under the wing and lay it with the head down.Then pull the legs out straight and hold them untill you feel the bird relax.I was showing this to my nephew and his friend when they were kids one day when I took them hunting a local club.We put about 12 birds in the catch pen and I told them to see if they could get all of the birds dizzy and staying put at the same time.It was pretty funny to watch them.Every time they would get close another one or two would wake up and start walking around.


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## Dixiedog78 (Jul 9, 2009)

Our training group does about 2 upland mock hunts a year with pheasants. The guy that owns the property makes wire baskets that are about 18-24 inches tall. We then dizzy the bird and tuck him into the basket. We also use natural grass and trigs to camo the basket, which also helps keep the bird in the basket also. We may loose 2-3 birds out of 50-60. The basket really keeps the bird from running and it funnels them up instrad out outwards.


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## Dave Flint (Jan 13, 2009)

I’ve planted lots of pheasants for spaniel training as well as for a few field trials. I have about 7 or 8 different methods to use depending upon the cover, the amount of time before the dogs will arrive and the “liveliness” of the birds. If you’re getting trapped birds using one method, you’ve got to try another.

While the old tuck the head under the wing method described certainly works, sometimes it allows the bird to be trapped if you don’t give it enough time to wake up.

The method I use most of the time is to hold the bird by the wing & a leg on both sides and spin the head a few seconds. Stop as soon as the bird’s head is wobbly (kind of sideways) then “flip” it w/ a flick of the wrist so it does a flip in the air and don’t look back as you quickly walk away. Birds planted this way are very seldom trapped but they might leave the area if you take too long getting back to them. To avoid this, you can tie their legs together w/ yarn leaving about 3 finger widths between them. This allows them to move around a little but they’ll still be in general area. (this is not allowed in a spaniel trial of course)

To tie the legs, take a length of yarn about 20” long & make a 2” loop in the middle. Wrap the loop end around one leg & run both ends of the yarn through it. Then tie the two ends around the other leg. The knot from the loop will leave the desired width between the legs so the bird can jump when the dog arrives. (No, I don’t approve of breaking the toe. Killing birds is a crucial part of training a hunting dog but there’s no need to make it any more cruel than necessary.)

For quail & chukar, simply hold the bird by both legs and swing him up and down until you get a “flutter” then just drop him straight down, making sure not to hit any cover on the way. (he must hit the ground). Again, don’t let the bird see you looking back at him and don’t allow your shadow to cross over him as you walk away.


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## Don Smith (Mar 23, 2004)

I've used the methods in the first two posts and they work.

The other way is to plant them by letting concrete harden around their feet and then dig the hole just enough to cover their feet. LOL


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## Denver (Dec 10, 2007)

Dizzying them and placing them in wire baskets is the best way i've done it too.


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## BULLWHITEHURST (Feb 16, 2003)

If you use 'yarn' to tie the legs together (so they can't wake up and run), then make sure that you use natural fiber (cotton or wool) and not synthetic yarn. If the bird flushes and manages to fly off then the bird will be able to peck itself free of the yarn and at least have a fighting chance in the wild (assuming the fox, bugger-bears, and such don't get em' before they can). With the right cover and conditions a 'natural flush' will be better than using the "baskets". 

Check out this link:

http://www.huntingretrieverclub.org/Forms/HRC Upland Guide.pdf


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## Dave Flint (Jan 13, 2009)

Good point about the yarn.

If your goal is to train a dog to pass a UH test, then you should use the baskets because you’ll probably see them at a test sooner or later. This is because many clubs don’t really take the UH seriously enough to find suitable cover or learn how to plant birds. (Although I’m a big fan of the HRC in general, the UH tests are a joke.)

If your goal is to train a dog to hunt wild roosters, baskets restrict the scent and can cause a hesitation or soft flush. Very few wild roosters will sit still when they hear you enter the field. The vast majority will be moving so a dog that learns how to work moving birds is invaluable. Equally valuable is for the handler to learn to read what his dog looks like when he’s making scent. It’s uncanny how often I see experienced dog men call their dogs off birds.


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## S Goldby (Jan 20, 2008)

Purpose is to let the dog have some fun flushing some birds. She loves to upland hunt, just a break from all the rules of retrieving. Not a training session.


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## Dave Flint (Jan 13, 2009)

fsg said:


> Purpose is to let the dog have some fun flushing some birds. She loves to upland hunt, just a break from all the rules of retrieving. Not a training session.


Well in that case, try dunking a bird in a bucket of water until he's soaked. He won't be able to fly but he'll give her a hell of a trailing game until she catches up to him. 

I love to watch a dog work out a trail especially when you can see the grass moving in front of them as the bird tries to escape.


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## Jared77 (Oct 7, 2009)

How big are the wire baskets you are talking about and the tops I'm assuming are open?

you fabricating them or purchasing them somewhere?


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## pat addis (Feb 3, 2008)

fsg said:


> Picked up a few pheasants from a game ranch this morning. What is the best way to plant them in a field. My concern is that when I plant quail or chukkar my blf ends up catching half of them.


only up to the neck


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## Donald Flanagan (Mar 17, 2009)

Illinois Bob said:


> The best way to dizzy a bird that I've seen is to put the head under the wing and lay it with the head down.Then pull the legs out straight and hold them untill you feel the bird relax.


+1 It's amazing what stretching their legs out will do! I've worked several shoot-to-retrieve events where I planted pheasants all day. It's difficult, because those running pointers want the birds put down hard (fast asleep), and those running flushers want them put down lightly (so the dog won't pick the bird up, causing the team to lose points). When I want to put a bird down hard, I kick a tunnel into the long grass, tuck the head under the wing, wave the bird in circles 10-15 times to dizzy, lay the bird down with his body laying on top of the wing that is covering his head, stretch the legs until they completely relax, fold some grass down over it, and walk away. I've seen birds stay in place for an hour or more like this. If I want to put it down lightly, tuck the head (no dizzying), but lay it down normally, don't cover with any grass, and stretch the legs only enough to get the bird to relax, then walk away. The bad thing is that these birds will sometimes get up and walk away, and this might not take but a few minutes if it's a very lively bird. Have fun!


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## kcjablin (Oct 29, 2009)

ccm352 said:


> Take the pheasant.. Tuck his head under his wing and rock him for about 15 seconds to put them to sleep.


Does humming a lullaby as well help?


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## Wayne Beck (Mar 22, 2010)

kcjablin said:


> Does humming a lullaby as well help?


Sure, Why not!


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## kcjablin (Oct 29, 2009)

You know how I can tell you're an animal lover?

The way you are rocking that pheasent ever so gently.

Hoping your a fan of the movie "40 Year Old Virgin" regards


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