Nuisance pheasants

[jaywhybee]

Lovely birds though they are, we are having problems with pheasants in our garden. We put out quite a bit of wild bird food which attracts lots of birds but pheasants from nearby fields (being bred for shooting unfortunately) have found this food very much to their liking. We have had up to ten pheasants at a time crowding around our ground feeders (enclosed in cages - which they still crane their necks into!!) and hoovering up vast quantities. We want to limit their feeding but in a fair and humane way. I'm looking for any ideas that may assist. The cages we use have spaces big enough to allow blackbirds in and I don't want to discourage them as we did have another cage which was too small for some of the medium-sized birds to access. We're probably going just have to 'lump it', I suppose but anyway... help!

[teag1rl]

Not na answer to your question I know but: It might be unfortunate the pheasants are being bred for shooting, but I don't suppose you would see many at all if they weren't.

[Goofy]

wait till they come back into season adn bang!
If they are in your garden it's quite legal (if you have the banger and the licence of course!)

[WendyS]

I know pheasants can fly but wonder whether a bird table with an angled roof would help. The roof might act as an obstacle preventing the pheasants easily landing onto the flat enclosed surface where the food is located while the other birds will be able to access the seed freely.

I'm trying to envisage what your ground feeders enclosed in cages look like as I'm not sure I'm come across them before.

[ruthann58]

just put some large mesh chicken wire round and over them every thing else can get through but not the pheasants and pidgeons we are plauged with pidgeons gobbling everything up as soon as the food is put out

[logman]

I saw your post when it first appeared, the strange thing was I saw a pheasant in my garden, for the first time about 10 minutes later, as you say they are beautiful birds and the good thing is they're getting a four star meal, before someone pumps them full of lead !

You could maybe try a bird table thats susspended from above, I think big heavy birds like that might find it unnerving when it starts rocking, well at least for a while anyway. Good Luck..

[bluejonjo]

Pheasants are mostly ground-living game birds, and are pretty ungainly in the air (they only fly if they have to or when its time to roost) Shooters like them because they are slow and predictable.

Like logman says If you can put the food at a higher level, say on a bird table it should be a start.

Ground feeders will be what they have been rasied on as young birds in the local copses.