There are a number of factors which can help to hold pheasant and partridge poults in a required position.
Feeding, alongside other factors, plays a key role in holding birds in specific areas beneficial to your shoot. Supplementary feeding with Hold’em mixes is key to a successful season, explains Jamie Horner, sales manager at Marsdens.
He says: “Seed mixtures fill the gap and supplements the poults’ vital natural feed sources. The addition of aniseed can further help as its highly palatable, strong attractant properties and pleasant aroma stops birds from straying.”
Specific release diets support birds as they adapt to their new environment, and the increasing diversity of food they will encounter.
Jamie says: “Hold'em is a range of seed mixtures, straights and over-wintering pellets designed to reduce the risk of birds straying and keep them in tip-top condition.
“If the bird is content with the environment it’s living in, it is less likely to wander. Hold'em is the ideal supplementary feed range, consisting of highly palatable custom-made mixes, straights and pellets designed to replenish dwindling feed stocks, reducing the risk of birds straying.”
Jamie continues: “At the time of shooting, pheasants need to be fit and not fat. They need to be strong and feathered up correctly, with good tails and in healthy condition. This won’t come from feeding a low-quality, unvaried diet.
“Nowadays, the vast majority of shoots which release partridge feed unmedicated partridge pellet right through the shooting season. Keeping birds on pellets for as long as possible and not substituting for wheat too soon will help to achieve the best results and greater returns.
“Game cover can also provide a useful source of feed and cover for birds, further helping birds to stay in the desired area.”
Contact your account manager for more information.
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