dead partridge

[Born Hunter 17,832]

I was checking the pens today and feeding etc and got a call off of the keeper, there had been a stoat spoted near one of the partridge pens yesterday afternoon, he checked in the evening and everything was just fine. Anyway he told me to call him if anything was wrong once i had checked the pen. When i got there there was one dead partridge in the middle of the pen, and one still alive but very lame, could hardly move and looked a bit roughed up. Had i not known about the stoat i would have put the dead one down to the weather killing it. Is it possible that the bird died of stress as i couldnt find any sign to indicate a stoat killed them? Same with the lame one?

 

Some experienced lads views would be apreciated? Ive put a few fenns down just to be on the safe side.

 

atb ben

[alimac 882]

could be coxy or hexamiter, whats the shit looking like??? are the others cherpy enough?? if it is either of these they will start to go down hill quick, would expect more to die with in 24 hours if it is, gone are the days of emtryl so your left with flubenvet in the pellets, baycox, or tetsol 800

[Born Hunter 17,832]

could be coxy or hexamiter, whats the shit looking like??? are the others cherpy enough?? if it is either of these they will start to go down hill quick, would expect more to die with in 24 hours if it is, gone are the days of emtryl so your left with flubenvet in the pellets, baycox, or tetsol 800

 

Cheers, ill talk to the keeper this afternoon, he'll know whats what, but just wondered what anyone else had to say. All the other birds are great, real strong and looking very healthy.

[rioulike 2]

skin the dead bird and look for wounds and marks on its neck mate

[Born Hunter 17,832]

skin the dead bird and look for wounds and marks on its neck mate

 

I did do on both the birds, no aparant marks, thats why i wondered if the stress of a stoat possibly in the pen might have done it.

[Bobba_fett 117]

one thing i'v noticed with partridges is if somthing like a buzz or a fox or even a person walks past the pen they can kill themself flying into things. i dont know how big your pens are but when i 1st started helping a keeper rear partridge i ran past one of the partridge runs and they all took off and crashed into the posts at the bottom 3 or 4 stone dead.

 

but if there arnt any marks on the back of the neck or on the body all i wouldn't have said it was a stoat

[murraywatt 0]

chances are theyve just been and flown too hard into the side of the pen, if it was a stoat there would be more than one dead more likely all of them with the necks bitten down through the jugular.

 

keep an eye out if they have been through bad weather recently and they are all packing into the corners when the grounds all shitty thats when disease usually pops up if possible move the pen when the ground gets messed up, if not then through the year when theres nothing in, put hydrated lime down 3 or 4 times a year to kill of disease in the soil

 

hope this helps

[Steve McHardy 2]

chances are theyve just been and flown too hard into the side of the pen, if it was a stoat there would be more than one dead more likely all of them with the necks bitten down through the jugular.

 

keep an eye out if they have been through bad weather recently and they are all packing into the corners when the grounds all shitty thats when disease usually pops up if possible move the pen when the ground gets messed up, if not then through the year when theres nothing in, put hydrated lime down 3 or 4 times a year to kill of disease in the soil

 

hope this helps

 

did you check the neck bones was the neck really floppy sounds like the flew into the side of the pen the lame one probs caught a leg in the mesh, i used to work on a game farm and the little buggers would go mental if they got a frite just strange it was in the middle of the pen how bigs the pen an is there a feathers in a trail toward it it may have just fluttered there as the poor wee thing died. keep the fenns goin to as stoats an weasels love them.

atb wi the season

[ad22 1]

I reckon they probbally flown into the pen. We reared 5000 partridge and when we moved them to the big sheds and big runs (2500 in each) Everytime i would go into feed the runs no matter how gently and slowly i would go one of the flightly lil sods would fly so fast into something it would break its neck, back, leg, head etc.. They can kick themselves around the pen some amazing distances even when they are stone dead from flying into something.

 

Hexamiter at this stage, im guessing they are out in their release pens, is unlikely. I shouldn't worry to much, have good natural looking tunnel traps right against the pen sections and after time you will pick up what small ground predators there are mooching around the pens. If they cant get in however and its just causing them a fright then it could just aswell be fox, buzzard soaring above, sparrow hawk bombing the net, even crows sitting on the sections, looking menacing above them which will cause them to panic. Sooner the bulk are out the pen the better. Hope it all goes well.

[Relentless 12]

chances are theyve just been and flown too hard into the side of the pen, if it was a stoat there would be more than one dead more likely all of them with the necks bitten down through the jugular.

 

keep an eye out if they have been through bad weather recently and they are all packing into the corners when the grounds all shitty thats when disease usually pops up if possible move the pen when the ground gets messed up, if not then through the year when theres nothing in, put hydrated lime down 3 or 4 times a year to kill of disease in the soil

 

hope this helps

good information well done hope you find out the problem