Sporting Gun UK – May 2019

http://www.shootinguk.co.uk

Our shoot

GAMEKEEPING

Whentheshootingstops,thecountingstartsandbalancing

thebooksis nevereasy.AdamCopetellsRichard Faulks

how he makes the hen pheasants pay their way

A mound of wheat will lure the birds in

kesgoodfinancial

he season ends

Keeper’s

diary

F

inancesarealwaysoneofthemost
difficultpartsofrunninga shoot.
Makingthebooksbalanceattheend
oftheseasonandhopefullyleaving
enoughtopaymyselfisalwaysa worry.No
endofthingscancomealongtomakea dent
i b k bl ’ l l ki

justdon’tseemtobegoodmothers.Many

ofthemjustseemtodropeggsatrandom

ratherthanmakinga nest,plusbeing

a ground-nestingbird,predationishigh

anddisturbanceatthewrongtimeofyear

isalmostinevitablefromwalkersanddog

owners.Itisfarbettertohavethebirdsin

a rearing pen and control things that way.

DIYtrap

Therearemanywaystocatchuppheasants

andyoucanbuyready-madetrapsforthe

purpose.ButI swearbythetipgiventome

by John Bradshaw, a friend of mine who is

forwaystosaveormakemoney.“Catching

up”surplushenpheasantsinlateJanuary

makessense.I’llexplainwhy.Justremember,

though,thatit isagainstthelawto“catch

up” after the shooting season has fi nished.

Numbersgame

amountoffeed

birdsleftover

youcan’tjust

hemselvesinthe

you’dmorethan

cropdamagefrom

n catch 60 orso

riendNathan—

irds—hecanuse

producepoultsfor

edthatwewillgo

. Eachhencan
ggsinthelaying
percentofthose
ingroughly 24
12 chickseach.
rttoseethatit
nancialsense
chpoultI buyin
s meabout£3.75.
iveNathan 60
s,I’llgetback
nd 720 poults.
eryeighthens
d onecockbird
bethinking,why
thegroundatthe
eed?Thereasonis
nlythreetofour
ason and the hens

38 SPORTING GUN M AY 2019