Click the image for
a larger version | Over 60 acres of pens are home to the pheasants and partridge that are shipped out each year. These pens have feed, water, and natural cover that provides shade and a retreat from humans and predators. |
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 | In 2000, we decided to try out a new design for the support system for our netting. This system allowed us to easily drop the netting in case of high winds or heavy or wet snow falls. The old system uses 2”x4” support posts down the center to support the netting, the system uses a series of pulleys, cables, and ropes. |
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 | Most of our pens are supported by 2”x4” support posts. These posts are attached to nine wire that is then stapled to the post. This nine wire acts as a skeleton support for the netting and also keeps the boards from ripping through the netting. |
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 | On our farm a great majority of our pens are set up so that all areas that hold birds have a “two door system.” This means that two or more doors must be walked through and shut before birds can be accessed. This is done to prevent human error, escapes, and keep out predators of every kind. |
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 | Our large pens lead into a lane. The lanes lead to our catchpens where the birds are caught for shipping. |
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 | Keeping predators out of the pens and away from the pens using sight barriers and electric fences helps keep pheasants safe, and in pens. Birds are not spooked as easily and tend to injure themselves less. Also, rodent control is a key to stop the spread of disease and raising feed costs. These boxes are set about every thirty feet around the perimeter of a pen. |
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 | Feeding and watering birds is an everyday job when thousands of birds are in the pens. The pens are usually full 9-10 months out of the year. |
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 | Feeding and watering birds is an everyday job when thousands of birds are in the pens. The pens are usually full 9-10 months out of the year. |
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 | Rotovating the pens is a must to control disease. Every year the earth is turned over and planted with either lambsquarter, corn, or sorghum. This dilutes the parasites that may be in the soil and provides new and ample cover for our pheasants. |
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 | A converted shingle conveyor now works as a crate conveyor to make loading the large trucks easier on those catching the deliveries. During a busy week, up to 15,000 birds need to be loaded and delivered. |
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 | We make our own crates here at MacFarlane’s. These crates hold and transport young and old pheasants. The larger style is used to preserve the long tail feathers on long deliveries. |
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 | The smaller crates are used for transporting birds to different locations on the farm as well as for summer months when the weather is too warm for larger crates. |
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click the image to view huts for sale | Automatic waters provide a constant source of water for our birds in the pens and in the barns. Huts provide shelter while the birds are transitioning to the outdoors, and feeders provide a constant source of nutrition in the pens. All three of these tools help the birds to grow into healthy, strong adults. |
