Topic: Pheasants on my plot.....should i worry?

[Kea]

I was up at my plot yesterday and discovered two pheasants (fortunately discovered my spelling mistake in the header before upsetting the masses! :-[......Peasants...in case you're wondering) on my plot. No sign of any damage but I wondered then what they ate...anybody experiencing pheasant damage to crops now of in the past?

[Barnowl]

The pheasant season opened on 1st October, so pheasant are now fair game (provided they are killed humanely). Forget urban flying rats - pheasants nearly always have a healthy diet - presumably even more so if they eat off the allotments.

Yum :)

PS To answer the question, like chickens, they eat seeds, grain, berries, worms, insects, other invertebrates, fruit etc - same as many birds. Not carrion eaters.

[froglets]

...But they also have a taste for young buds in the Spring.  Discourage them noww before they nip out all your growing tips in Spring

[Barnowl]

Sorry, should have mentioned that:  froglets is absolutely right - they love tender greens so .........

.....all the more reason not to discourage them -  eat them instead!

Pot roast on a bed of puy lentils, onions, bacon, garlic and white wine works for me.

If you're vegetarian or don't fancy pheasant, try dangling unwanted cd's and/or use a bit of chicken wire round the relevant beds. This may work but they really aren't very bright birds and consequently tend to lack the imagination to be scared by imaginary perils.

[Kea]

They'd go well with my braised red cabbage!

[Eristic]

They will also eat away at any root crops if accessible. Why not introduce the birds to a nice hot oven complete with roast potatoes topped with gravy.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Nothing wrong with shooting peasants and phartridges. It's all the aristocracy are fit for, so let them have their fun.

[ACE]

phartridges.

Is this a pheasant that has been eating jerulalem artichokes ;D

[Kea]

Not mine i hope! :o

 ;D ;D ;D ;D