CHEYENNE – It has been a difficult yr 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 Hen Farm in Yoder and the Sheridan Hen Farm — each operated by the Wyoming Recreation and Fish Division — are stocking almost 30,000 pheasants this yr at walk-in looking 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, just like final season however down from as much as 18,000 it historically shares.
“Pheasant looking will probably be excellent this yr in southeast Wyoming,” mentioned Ben Milner, Recreation and Fish hen farm coordinator at Downar.
Darrell Meineke, program supervisor on the Sheridan Hen Farm, mentioned cowl appears good at lots of the launch sights for birds and younger chicks seem like wholesome.
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Extremely pathogenic avian influenza had an influence on a number of hen populations across the nation and in Wyoming, together with captive-raised pheasants. The Sheridan Hen Farm needed to euthanize its brood flock as two circumstances of HPAI had been found in wild turkeys close to the power.
“This was a heartbreaking choice however we felt risking an an infection in 1,200 pheasants and the related potential for group unfold was irresponsible,” Meineke mentioned. “This occurred once we had been gathering eggs, so our farm was unable to assemble the roughly 20,000 eggs wanted for full manufacturing.”
Meineke mentioned round 10,000 eggs had been gathered earlier than the euthanization, and Downar gave Sheridan about 5,000 eggs to bolster hen numbers this fall.
Biosecurity is at all times a precedence at each hen farms, however that elevated this yr as a result of HPAI.
“We improved our cleansing practices to extra successfully sanitize our gear and hen rearing areas,” Milner mentioned. “We have now eradicated visitation in periods of HPAI unfold and intently monitored visitation all year long. We even have carried out a rigorous rodent management program. All these precautions assist decrease the influence that not solely HPAI has on the farm, however all illnesses which will have an effect on manufacturing.”
Drought and provide chain shortages are different latest challenges for Wyoming’s hen farms, however the information isn’t all dangerous.
Meineke mentioned adjustments within the laws at walk-in areas in Sheridan and Johnson counties have allowed the Sheridan facility to inventory each sexes of birds for hunters at places 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 go away looking 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 mentioned.