Summer 2011 Newsletter Links

My dad contracted polio in 1946 and though he recovered enough to be able to manage the business end of the farm – he was a paraplegic the rest of his life and could not accomplish the physical aspects of running a pheasant farm. My mom’s younger brother Jim Adamson and Jim’s wife Dot came to work for my dad in 1946. My dad ran the office and Jim and Dot managed the farm and the hatchery for the next 35 years.

At MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. we strive to be the most progressive and innovative pheasant farm in the world. Our success in market birds throughout the world has been tied to our unique genetics. In the past we have been able to import wild pheasants from China to produce our Manchurian Cross, the wildest pheasant being sold on the market. And we continue to work diligently to maintain and improve our current pheasant stocks.

MacFarlane Pheasants Inc. strives to produce the best product available for our customers. Delivery of our product must be done in a timely manner, and in our continued quest for excellence, we depend on having reliable equipment.

One of the jobs as a manager here at MacFarlane Pheasants is to answer questions that our customers have regarding the gamebird business. Whether it be incubation, brooding or any other area of concern, we like to help in any way we can. As the Hatchery Manager of what is considered one of the largest hatcheries of pheasants in the nation, I get my share of calls.

Commodity markets are markets in which any raw or primary products are exchanged or traded. To be more speceific, Agricultural Commodities (beans, wheat, corn, oats, ets) are the comodities that drive the cost of feed. This market can be difficult to understand and follow, even for the experts. To follow the markets, one must first understand some of the terminology used in them.

As near as anyone can determine I started working for MacFarlane Pheasant Farm during the summer of 1959. Bill MacFarlane's uncle, Jim Adamson was the foreman and the crew consisted of about twenty five part time employees.

There has been a growing list of projects on the farm and the need for someone to plan, budget, and oversee the projects was needed. The new position of Project Manager has been created which I have filled. The main summer project is to replace 16.5 acres of top netting that was damaged in the 2009 blizzard. It requires cutting down and removing the old netting, replacing numerous broken posts and stretching the new netting.

MacFarlane Pheasants Inc. strives to produce the best product available for our customers. Delivery of our product must be done in a timely manner, and in our continued quest for excellence, we depend on having reliable equipment.

Pen Management is like continuing education. There is always something new to learn, a better way to do things and then there are unexpected events. During December of 2009 we experienced a brutal blizzard, causing major damage around the farm but we got through that, learning what worked and where we had flaws. This unusually cold spring has presented us with new challenges.

At MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. we strive to be the most progressive and innovative pheasant farm in the world. Our success in market birds throughout the world has been tied to our unique genetics. In the past we have been able to import wild pheasants from China to produce our Manchurian Cross, the wildest pheasant being sold on the market. And we continue to work diligently to maintain and improve our current pheasant stocks.

At MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. we strive to be the most progressive and innovative pheasant farm in the world. Our success in market birds throughout the world has been tied to our unique genetics. In the past we have been able to import wild pheasants from China to produce our Manchurian Cross, the wildest pheasant being sold on the market. And we continue to work diligently to maintain and improve our current pheasant stocks.

Since 2007, MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. has participated in the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo, showing off our food products selections, talking with chefs, restaurant owners, media personnel and culinary students about our products and discussing how to fit pheasant on the menu.

The antibiotic product Aivlosin has been registered for use in pheasants by the European Medicines Agency, London. The report on a test of the efficacy of Aivlosin granules (which contains the active ingredient tylvalosin) given in the drinking water for 3 days to treat disease in pheasants due to mycoplasma compared to an un-medicated control group makes it clear from the results that a marked improvement was observed in the medicated compared to the un-medicated pheasants. The resul

I traveled with Brad Lillie this past January to attend the World Poultry Exposition in Atlanta. One of our most valuable stops we made was when we visited the Charm Sciences, Inc. booth. Charm Sciences provided information on rapid testing equipment for identifying the presence of individual myco-toxins in our feed. Over the last few years we have (as all gamebird raisers have) experienced the negative affect of myco-toxins, especially in our chicks and breeding flocks. Pheasants and

Here at MacFarlane’s Pheasants we are continually striving to become more efficient and economical.We look for ways to cut costs and retune our processes to remain competitive.With the rising cost of feed we needed to make a change in regards to dealing with leftover feed after the shipping season ends.

With a crew of five starting over 300,000 chicks, efficiency is vital. From early March till the end of August, chick season is a continual cycle of cleaning out barns, washing barns, setting up barns and moving out birds.

Mark your calendars! The date has been set for MacFarlane’s 8th Biannual International Pheasant Management Seminar. The dates are Sunday, March 4th through Wednesday, March 7th, 2012 and will be held in Janesville, WI at the America’s Best Value Inn.

This spring our office staff and hatchery staff are very busy taking orders and shipping out chicks.

It was a work in progress for several months but MacFarlanes finally made it on the I-90 attraction sign! Our main office and farm are located just 2.5 miles from I-90, Exit 177. We are easy access for travelers to stop in and see what we’re all about!