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5
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.
In February each year I draw up a plan, laying
out where each of our hatches will be placed.
This plan determines several events; the order in
which I remove adult birds for shipments to
finish the year in April, the order in which I
remove equipment to be washed i.e. feeders,
huts and water pans. This all leads to the
decision of what type of cover goes into the pen.
Our first birds were hatched on February 28th;
these birds were scheduled to go into the pens
the end of April at 8 weeks of age. If I would
have to rely on planting something in these
pens for cover I would be hurting. Generally,
pens that receive birds hatched before April
15th, do not get planted with anything. It is
our hopes that Lambs Quarter grows; ragweed
is the other type of natural cover that grows
along with the Lambs Quarter. Both these
weeds germinate early and provide good early
cover. With the cold spring we are
experiencing, cover is growing at a slow rate
which will lead to extra work for us.
Considering our early move-out schedule it is
typical that our first few hatches go into pens
with little or no cover. You may ask, how in
the world can we do this? There are
precautions we take when we grow early birds,
birds hatched before April 15th. Early birds
get put out at half the density. Our roosters go
out at 45 square feet and hens get 35 square
feet. We straw each corner of each pen with a
10’ triangle of straw to provide a layer of
protection between the cold ground and the
birds. We place a 4’ x 6’ hut for each 100 birds
going into the pen, with a minimum of one in
each corner. Without huts growing early birds
would be extremely difficult. Pans are placed
in the corners opposite of the feeders/waters,
which are filled daily the first few days the
birds are in the pen, until the birds get
acquainted with where everything is at. The
cold spring is
causing me to put
several extra
hatches out at half
density. This
means more pens
are needed, more
feeders need to be
washed, more
strawing needs to
be done and once
cover finally
reaches knee height,
and we consolidate two pens into one.
Our flight pens also receive 2nd hatches, the
first hatches are placed early enough that we
grow them to maturity, ship them out and reuse
the pen. Putting more hatches out at half
density, and using more pens early, leads to the
risk of us losing our lower undergrowth,
resulting in poor cover late season. These
challenges are because Mother Nature thought
it would be a good year to have a late spring,
once again proving there is more to learn about
pen management.
Pen Management – Graduate Level
•
Brian Klein -
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.
MacFarlane’s is the largest pheasant producer
in the United States and a part of our success
is our continuous strive to keep up on the
newest techniques and equipment in helping
make us a leader in the industry.
If you have never attended our seminar before,
now is the time to experience this great
opportunity to learn from some of the best in
the industry. Our seminar includes an intense
3 days of farm tours, hands-on necropsy labs,
presentations by industry experts and
veterinarians with an extensive question and
answer session. Included are daily lunch and
dinners that allow you time to socialize and
get to know other attendees or perhaps catch
up with an old friend. On average our seminar
receives between 75-100 attendees. In 2010
our International guests were from the UK,
Ireland, Canada and even Israel!
Whether you are new to the industry, have
pheasant experience or have attended our
seminar before, our seminar is sure to not
disappoint. There is always something new to
learn, new people to meet and what better
excuse to take a break and get away while
improving your skills to help make you more
successful. Our 2012 seminar speaker lineup
so far includes; Dr. Ron Griffith from Iowa
State University. Mr. Olivier de Chevign’
from L’envol de Retz in France. Mr. Harlan
Schaefer from Best Vet Solutions in Iowa. Dr.
Sally Noll from the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Robert Porter from the University of
Minnesota. Dr. Susan Watkins from the
University of Arkansas. Dr. Alan Pearson
from Green Lane Vet Centre in England. Dr.
Keith Branwell from the University of
Arkansas. Mr. Don Montgomery,
President/Owner of Blue Hill Gamebirds in
Kansas. Dr. Ron Griffith from Iowa State
University. Mr. Brian Klein, MacFarlane’s
very own Pen
Manager and Mr.
Jeff Spooner who
is our local
trapper. As you
can read we have
many excellent
speakers lined up
to give
presentations and
more are in the
works.
There is
considerable amount of time in planning our
seminars to ensure your needs and
expectations are met. Our goal is to make you
keep coming back! If you think our seminar is
something that you’d be interested in, contact
me directly at 608-314-3448 or email
[email protected] and sign up today.
I’d love to hear from you and better yet to see
you in March at our seminar! For more
seminar information please go to
www.pheasant.com/seminar
8th Biannual Pheasant Management Seminar
•
Mary Phalen -
Brian Klein
Pen Manager
Mary Phalen
HR Assistant