The Basics

We are passionate about establishing and maintaining outstanding bird habitat. The 3 rules of pheasant hunting are habitat, habitat and habitat. Since we are a wild bird only operation, good habitat is critical. Anybody can release birds, but if you are going to have a sustainable population of wild birds like we do, it is essential that substantial investment be made to establish, maintain and renew good habitat on a continuing basis. An old bird dog trainer once said: "No birds, no bird dog." Similarly with pheasants, no habitat, no birds.

Each year we invest thousands of dollars to create and renew outstanding bird habitat to provide ideal nesting, brooding and winter survival habitat for pheasants. Food, shelter and easy access to water are the necessary basic requirements for successful wild bird propagation. Each year we plant hundreds of acres of new food plots consisting of Milo, grain sorghum, oats and the like. We have also planted over a thousand trees in shelter belts and created stock dams to hold water all summer long.

Golden Pond

Golden Pond is a special piece of habitat on our farm consisting of a 20 acre stock dam surrounded by cattails. This is a favorite with our hunters. Pheasants gather by the thousands in the cattails around the pond. As the dogs run through the cattails and roust out the pheasants, we like to watch the jaws of our hunters drop as they watch hundreds of birds bust from the cover at once. It is not unusual to see upwards of 600 - 1,000 pheasants flush around Golden Pond. The cattails provide important winter survival habitat for the pheasants on our property. When snow falls or strong winds prevail, the pheasants like to borough down into the cattails to stay warm and protected. The cattails act like tents and catch the snow to provide shelter for the birds.

The Refuge

The Refuge is one of our more successful habitat projects. We took 60 acres of crop land that never had many pheasants in it and planted 10 acre strips of trees to create shelter belts. We used a variety of trees including rocky mountain juniper, Russian olive, wild plum and ciders. Interspersed between the tree shelter belts we planted 10 acre strips of food plots. The seed used to plant the food plot includes a variety of shotgun cane, red and white Milo and millet. The result: an oasis for pheasants. They love the all of the edge habitat created by the trees, crop and grass. On certain days, we have flushed over a thousand birds from The Refuge.

General Habitat

The majority of our property is enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and consists of intermediate wheat grass, tall wheat grass, clover and alfalfa. This natural CRP grass land provides perfect habitat for pheasants. In the spring, it provides ideal nesting conditions for pheasants to raise their young. In the fall and winter it provides good cover for the birds. Toward evening, the pheasants flock by the hundreds into the grass to roost for the night. During the day, they loaf in the grass because it provides good protection against raptors and other predators.

Interspersed in the grass are strategically placed food plots ranging in size from 1 – 12 acres of crop. We plant a variety of "pheasant food" in the food plots. Elizabeth Taylor once said that variety is the spice of life (I think she was referring to her many husbands). Apparently pheasants seem to subscribe to this philosophy as well. So, we give it to them. We plant tall cane that sprouts big seed heads, two kinds of Milo - red and white, a legume to attract bugs - clover and alfalfa and a special mix called Cattail Slough. The food plots combined with thousands of acres of grass creates the perfect pheasant factory.

Again, it all comes down to habitat, habitat and more habitat. We take this very seriously and understand how important this element is to the total hunting equation. We are always working on new habitat projects and ways to improve our property for our hunters.