Wyoming Recreation and Fish Division

Fowl farms present hunters with ample alternatives this fall

Hunters can anticipate high quality alternatives to reap birds this fall

10/24/2022 9:00:17 PM

Cheyenne – It has been a difficult 12 months for the 2 hen farms that inventory pheasants in Wyoming, however hunters can nonetheless anticipate high quality alternatives to reap birds this fall.

The Downar Fowl Farm in Yoder and the Sheridan Fowl Farm — each operated by the Wyoming Recreation and Fish Division — are stocking almost 30,000 pheasants this 12 months at walk-in searching areas and Recreation and Fish wildlife habitat administration areas. Downar plans to launch between 16,000-17,000 pheasants, which is what it usually does every year. Sheridan is scheduled to launch round 12,000 birds, much like final season however down from as much as 18,000 it historically shares.

“Pheasant searching will likely be superb this 12 months in southeast Wyoming,” stated Ben Milner, Recreation and Fish hen farm coordinator at Downar. 

Darrell Meineke, program supervisor on the Sheridan Fowl Farm, stated cowl appears to be like good at most of the launch sights for birds and younger chicks seem like wholesome.

Extremely pathogenic avian influenza had an affect on a number of hen populations across the nation and in Wyoming, together with captive-raised pheasants. The Sheridan Fowl Farm needed to euthanize its brood flock as two instances of HPAI have been found in wild turkeys close to the ability. 

“This was a heartbreaking choice however we felt risking an an infection in 1,200 pheasants and the related potential for neighborhood unfold was irresponsible,” Meineke stated. “This occurred once we have been gathering eggs, so our farm was unable to collect the roughly 20,000 eggs wanted for full manufacturing.”

Meineke stated round 10,000 eggs have been gathered earlier than the euthanization, and Downar gave Sheridan about 5,000 eggs to bolster hen numbers this fall.

Biosecurity is all the time a precedence at each hen farms, however that elevated this 12 months because of HPAI.

“We improved our cleansing practices to extra successfully sanitize our tools and hen rearing areas,” Milner stated. “We’ve got eradicated visitation in periods of HPAI unfold and carefully monitored visitation all year long. We even have carried out a rigorous rodent management program. All these precautions assist reduce the affect that not solely HPAI has on the farm, however all ailments which will have an effect on manufacturing.”

Drought and supply-chain shortages are different latest challenges for Wyoming’s hen farms, however the information isn’t all unhealthy. 

Meineke stated modifications within the rules at walk-in areas in Sheridan and Johnson counties have allowed the Sheridan facility to inventory each sexes of birds for hunters at areas requiring a pheasant administration stamp. This makes stocking extra fluid and more healthy for the birds due to much less dealing with. Meineke is also optimistic birds that depart searching areas have higher alternatives to search out appropriate habitat close to these areas to breed and reproduce.

“Birds on the Sheridan and Downar farms are hatched from wild birds captured out of North Dakota and are heartier birds with higher survival intuition than birds beforehand raised,” Meineke stated.

This story, written by Robert Gagliardi, affiliate editor,  initially appeared within the Oct. 2022 problem of Wyoming Wildlife journal. Name (800) 710-8345 or go surfing to subscribe for $14.95 for 12 points.

(Nish Goicolea – [email protected])

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