Other feeding methods

Some shoots are therefore going back to this system by baling un-threshed corn at harvest time for covert feed. A small area of corn (preferably wheat) is left un-harvested by the combine and allowed to stand for a few days until it is thoroughly ripened. A baler is then taken into the field to deal with combine straw. As soon as it is seen that this operation is nearly finished, the standing corn is cut with a mower, and the baler continues straight on to it. It is important to see that the mown corn is not left lying for any length of time, since it is vulnerable to birds and the smooth swaths can quickly become sodden with rain.

The bales are then stacked near the feeding points in covert (protected by a Warfarin rat-baiting point) and covered with corrugated iron or a polythene sheet. Feeding is simple: the bales are merely broken open and spread out on staddles or feed rides as required.

The system is economical as well as practical. It is obviously cheaper to feed corn in the ear than to process the grain and the straw separately and put them together again on the feed ride. A useful game feeder which can be used both in covert and in rides in kale fields is a hollow 'silo' of straw bales five tiers high. With six rectangular bales for the base and reducing each layer by one bale, it will be found that 20 will be needed. The silo is best built on a sheet of black polythene. This should be trimmed so that none protrudes, otherwise it will trap rainwater which may run back into the centre of the silo. When the silo has reached the three-bale layer it should be filled with grain and covered with another small polythene sheet. The last two bales are placed on top of this to hold it firmly in place. Rat bait points or tunnel traps should be placed in holes made between the bales in the bottom row. The silo can be kept sealed up until the pheasants require the food, when more holes can be made between the bottom bales, allowing the birds to scratch the grain out.

The racks are usually filled with a mixture of cavings and grain and weed seeds so that the food can only fall out slowly when pecked. A dry, sheltered scratching yard soon develops all round the base of the hopper. Some types have slatted wooden sides, others are constructed of wire netting.

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