Hopper feeding

 

It is more than 30 years since we started trials on our experimental shoot with various types of hopper for the winter feeding of wild partridges. When we were satisfied that this system was not just labour saving but also efficient, we recommended it to shoot owners and keepers all over the country. Further trials followed with pheasants on small unkeepered shoots where it was not possible to feed daily by hand. Since this also proved generally successful, we extended the trials to wild pheasants in outlying spinneys and belts on keepered shoots. At this point hoppers began to be used on an ever increasing scale by all sections of the shooting public, but often they were not used efficiently because their function and effect were not clearly understood.

One frequently heard the criticism that 'the birds get their food too quickly and then wander off, which causes straying over the boundary'. We repeat that this is the exact opposite to the truth! When hoppers are the cause of straying it is because there are not enough of them. This causes 'trough competition', as in poultry, because only a few pheasants can feed comfortably together at one hopper. Since the hopper is there all the time the birds will not concentrate their feeding times as they do with hand feeding. But it is no good expecting a single hopper to provide for 50 pheasants. Where this is done, a proportion will drift away rather than wait their turn. Similarly one aggressive cock can dominate a hopper and drive other birds out.

As a guide we would recommend one hopper per 12-15 birds feeding, the hoppers being spaced 1 5-20 yds. ( 14-18 m.) apart. The more hoppers there are the less often they have to be filled.

A network of hoppers can be serviced weekly by a vehicle or from strategically sited storage bins made from 40-gallon (182 1.) drums. On some shoots, filling these bins is the responsibility of a member of the farm staff, thus releasing the keeper for day-to-day maintenance of the hoppers.

Birds in cover crops such as kale, mustard and artichokes can also be efficiently fed with hoppers. If the crop has to be harvested during the shooting season, pheasants will quickly recognise other hoppers in the area as a source of supply.

One estate we know in Hampshire killed 7,000 pheasants on 5,000 acres. The number of reared birds put to covert was 4,000. The head keeper said he could not possibly have held so many birds on this type of country without the use of a large number of hoppers (more than 100) on the outlying ground.

Another example is a Sussex Down land shoot where hopper feeding has been practised for many years. The routine here is to fill the hoppers the day before the first shoot. Up to this time the pheasants are held in the coverts and crops with hand feeding. Down land birds can fly very long distances when driven and tend to spread over a big area after shooting.

As we have said, partridges also benefit from a well-planned feeding programme. Although they are hardy, in exceptional circumstances they can suffer very high losses during the winter. The average natural winter loss is about 30-40 per cent between September and March. But on one estate during the severe winter of 1962-63, when the snow was deep and prolonged and no attempt was made to feed the partridges, we recorded a loss of 77 per cent. Of course, as has been stated earlier, owing to the poor chick survival of 1962 the stock was low. The lack of supplementary feeding was the last straw.

Hand-feeding or 'trickle-feeding' of partridges is largely a thing of the past -not because it is inefficient, but because it is time-consuming. The hopper has taken its place and suits the partridge very well, because wild birds are not natural wanderers like pheasants. Feeding points can be near straw ricks or in the lee of shelter belts or hedges, in pits or uncultivated field corners.

Simple hoppers can be made for next to nothing from 5-gallon (23 1.) drums and are much used by both pheasants and partridges. Many other containers are also suitable. An anti-scavenger feed dispenser can be obtained from the Game Conservancy for use in hoppers. This will prevent food being pilfered by sparrows, finches, pigeons, rooks and others.

A dual-purpose hopper for both pheasants and partridges (a hopper for pheasants only is discussed later) can be made by cutting three or four vertical slits on opposite sides of the drum near to the base and mounting the hopper on bricks

The slits (which can be cut quite easily with a cold chisel) should be about 2-3 in. (6-8 cm.) in height and between (4-7 mm.) and (5 mm.) across - just wide enough to allow the wheat to trickle out when tapped or pecked. The top of the drum should be cut out and replaced by a home-made clip-on lid. An old discarded disc from a harrow also makes a very good improvised lid, and its weight will keep it in place in a strong wind. A small piece of wood should be firmly driven into the central hole to ensure that the lid is absolutely watertight. After filling, the hopper should be placed on two bricks, which must not protrude from under the oil drum or rats will use them as steps up to the feeding slots. It is then usual to hand feed around the hopper until the pheasants and partridges begin to use it. Once the birds begin pecking at the grain, the drums should be raised a further 42 in. by doubling up on the bricks, so that the base is now 9 in. (23 cm.) from the ground. This will stop rats and most small birds from getting at the grain, but will allow game birds to have access.

Some years ago hoppers had short slits on four sides and this is still the best feeder for partridges. In this case, if the hopper is placed right out in the open, where driving rain can beat against it, the grain in the exposed slits may swell up and jam, though a twig or a penknife blade will quickly clear any such blockage. In any case, the slits in the lee should still run freely. 4 slits 3" long x s" wide;" above bottom rim of 5 gallon oil drum 15;" long x 11" dia. The most effective type for use only by pheasants, is where the food is extracted from the bottom of the container, set 15 in. (38 cm.) above ground level. This 'peck under' feeder, which can be fastened to a stake or a tree, has several advantages. The exposed food is well protected from the weather; it is much more inaccessible to small birds and well out of the reach of pigeons, rats and squirrels.

There are several methods of construction. The simplest form is an adaptation of the slit hopper (described earlier) but with one or two slits cut across the bottom of the drum. This leaves no protruding surface on which small birds can obtain a grip. They are thus forced to hover when extracting food - or to pick up the leftovers from the pheasants. To ensure that it is completely proof against rats or squirrels it is important to see that the slits do not run close to the supporting stake or tree. Another simple type has a small panel of wire netting in the base of the drum. The panel (about 8 in. by 2in. [20 cm. by 5 cm.] ) is cut out of the base of the two overlapping layers of 8-in. mesh - or some form of metal grille - and is fitted over the gap. The grain is more easily seen in this type, but some small birds (particularly tits) can cling to the wire netting or grille and feed fairly easily.

Where oil-drum hoppers are used for the first time they should be pre-baited with a little grain scattered on straw beneath. All hoppers should have a rat bait point close by. This is most conveniently provided by a tile drain pipe using Warfarin loose or packed in polythene sachets. One shoot owner on the Continent reported that he had to tie his pheasant hoppers to tree trunks with heavy wire because the grain attracted wild boar which rolled the hoppers for hundreds of yards in order to spill out the feed. This may seem to be a rather special problem, but roe deer and sheep can be almost as troublesome. Where this is likely it is wise to ensure that the hoppers are firmly fastened to their supports and enclosed in a small area by stakes and pig netting.

 

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