Pheasant poult scheme: release early to hunt better

Rethinking releases

Releases carried out close to the opening of the season are now showing their limits, with both their value for hunting and their social acceptability sometimes called into question. By contrast, introducing pheasant poults (aged 14 to 16 weeks) earlier (between late July and early August), rather than pheasants, appears to be a more virtuous alternative, to be refined through successive trials.

The profile of the birds

Over the past 20 years, crosses have shown certain limits: birds too small, not very mobile, unable to fly. Breeders are now developing the “Strauch” strain, more natural and more lively.

The breeder Meyer explains: “Season after season, we work on selecting the birds, so as to obtain a pheasant well adapted to the ground, sedentary yet mobile enough to breed and to withstand predation. Our birds are reared in large aviaries, fed on grain from the farm to accustom them to food found in the wild.”

Pheasant poults given every care

The breeder Gibis stresses the importance of rearing as close as possible to natural conditions: “We offer 14-week-old pheasants from its exclusive Pur Chasse® strain, immediately adapted to the natural environment. Reared on live insects, they develop wild instinct, wariness and hardiness. They grow up in natural aviaries of 0.8 to 1 ha, with no artificial light and no human presence. Ground feeding encourages their independence, supplemented by weekly scaring sessions.

The advantages of summer releases

These summer releases settle the birds on the ground, making them better able to defend themselves. The breeder Gibis confirms: “Feedback from the ACCAs and private shoots is positive: combative birds, still present at the end of the season and seen with broods the following year.”

Adapting the facilities

For Mathieu BERGER, president of the ACCA Les Avenières, the pheasant poult scheme is a real success: “With more than ten years of experience and three of ringing, analysing the data allows us to adapt what we do: choosing and reducing the number of release points, game cover crops, feeders, drinkers, pre-release pens, control of ESOD…”

The breeder Meyer confirms the importance of these adjustments: “Setting up pre-release pens, grain feeding and watering points improve the establishment of the young game. Some customers have seen their ring return rate double thanks to these facilities.”

For his part, Emmanuel Marcel, president of the ACCA de Beaucroissant, insists on the collective dimension: “The pheasant poult scheme is an opportunity to strengthen what we do. It raises awareness of responsible and sustainable management. We are proud to have taken part for several seasons and to see its positive effects. It gives value to the work of the volunteers and creates a unifying momentum within our ACCA.”

Working on a large scale

Even though the FDCI acknowledges that the experiment still needs to be improved and that the work begun with the breeders must continue, success depends on broader mobilisation. The breeders Meyer and Gibis are convinced of it: “The more participants there are, the better the results will be. Wider coverage of the ground will help the birds to establish themselves. The involvement and information of hunters remain essential to the success of this scheme.”

“Monitored for three years, the pheasant poult scheme gives us valuable data on the survival of the birds and their establishment on the ground. Ring returns are indispensable for estimating the recovery rate. They reveal considerable mixing and dispersal of individuals. These lines of work will be decisive in restoring small game hunting worthy of the name in Isère. No, pheasant hunting in Isère is not about to stop! This scheme illustrates what we are doing and can still achieve in the department.”