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Originally Posted by oldgutpile
Definitely not all of them. Some stats say as little as 10% will survive, but then thats 10% more than we had when we started!
I do know from experience that they are very ardent travellers. Just because you dont see them wandering around the yard a day or two from now, does not mean that they have already been killed off. We know that there are certain areas that really attract the stragglers and left-over birds. They can hear each other and flock together around large sources of feed. Feedlots in particular are a target for them to congregate. One large feedlot manager showed me a picture around his feedbunks during the cold snap. There were at least eighty pheasants hanging out, eating all the spillage.
Raptors are the biggest threat to them. Great horned owls seem to be attracted to a pheasant pen, like a drunk to a liquor store! Coyotes are also making a good comeback this last year, and they take their share too.
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I'm guessing those stats are under ideal conditions, not birds released in the middle of winter.
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“One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain.”
Thomas Sowell
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