Dave Parks
Well-known member
Friday we got everything back filled and started in on the flight pen pad, but decided it would be too much trouble to leave the ceanothus brush in place while working with 50'X150' of bird netting. So, Bob showed up at 7:30 this morning and we removed all the brush and we could then see the way the land laid. Bob worked wonders with that Kabota excavator and had the pad level and in great shape with 2 hours.
Here's what the bird area looks like now with the road going up to the flight pen on the left and the quail pens back in the trees where the road forks off to the right (S/W corner of the food plot is also on the left):
This is what the FP pad looked like yesterday:
And this is what it looked like when we almost finished with it this morning. It now looks like a smooth 40'X150' parking lot:
Now I can plant the pad with upland bird grasses.
Hose bib (lower right) will be a water source for the 40'X60' series of quail/chukar pens that will go into this space as soon as Bob clears the pad.
This morning Bob cleared the pad where Judy wants me to put the "Trappers Cabin". It will have a nice view of the pond below it. The dirt is perfect to work with this time of year.
Mac showed up this afternoon with his Bobcat w/ post hole auger and Sunday will will measure and mark where all the holes will go and drill'em. Monday I will start droping in the post and aand pack'em in. Once we get the pen up and working We will order the 5,000 pounds of pheasant feed that will get them through to this Fall. Now you know why Pheasant Clubs get $25-$50 a bird. It's going to cost us $1,000 to feed the pheasants for 10 weeks. From 8 weeks of age to release age at 18 weeks a pheasant eats 1 lb. of grain feed a week. 500 birds eat 500 lbs a week X 10 weeks = 5,000 lbs. The feed runs $10 per 50 lb. bag = $1,000.00. Thank goodness I'm only keeping 35 birds over the winter for next years breeding.
Dave
Here's what the bird area looks like now with the road going up to the flight pen on the left and the quail pens back in the trees where the road forks off to the right (S/W corner of the food plot is also on the left):
This is what the FP pad looked like yesterday:
And this is what it looked like when we almost finished with it this morning. It now looks like a smooth 40'X150' parking lot:
Now I can plant the pad with upland bird grasses.
Hose bib (lower right) will be a water source for the 40'X60' series of quail/chukar pens that will go into this space as soon as Bob clears the pad.
This morning Bob cleared the pad where Judy wants me to put the "Trappers Cabin". It will have a nice view of the pond below it. The dirt is perfect to work with this time of year.
Mac showed up this afternoon with his Bobcat w/ post hole auger and Sunday will will measure and mark where all the holes will go and drill'em. Monday I will start droping in the post and aand pack'em in. Once we get the pen up and working We will order the 5,000 pounds of pheasant feed that will get them through to this Fall. Now you know why Pheasant Clubs get $25-$50 a bird. It's going to cost us $1,000 to feed the pheasants for 10 weeks. From 8 weeks of age to release age at 18 weeks a pheasant eats 1 lb. of grain feed a week. 500 birds eat 500 lbs a week X 10 weeks = 5,000 lbs. The feed runs $10 per 50 lb. bag = $1,000.00. Thank goodness I'm only keeping 35 birds over the winter for next years breeding.
Dave