The Unintended Keeper ( Diary of a keeping blagger )

[Stavross 15,622]

So. I’ve decided to start a new thread for the 22/23 season up at the shoot

now as you know I’ve been involved with my shoot for a long time ( 15 years or so ) my intention when I joined was to shoot it a bit, give days to others in exchange for other shooting and to get all the pest control and the deer, ( it only took me a couple of years to get what I wanted ) never to be a syndicate keeper, things changed properly last year when I was asked to run the full thing, for the last 4 or 5 years I’ve done the majority of the work up there but we always used to share the feeding. Anyway, after me moaning that this doesn’t work and getting annoyed with people who think it’s a good idea to chase birds with feeders the job was mine and not wanting to blow my own trumpet last season was the best season they have ever had and although I put a lot of work in and pheasant shooting isn’t my thing I found myself starting to enjoy it 

Right, now for the start of this season, not really the best of starts, a few months ago it didn’t look like we were getting any birds, then we were told we could have 500 instead of the 800 we normally put down, after many phone calls back and forth I’ve now been told they are coming on the 1st of September ( ) they are between 3 and 4 weeks late but we’ll take what we can get as a fair few small shoots around us aren’t going anything. I’ve put quite a bit of graft in over the past couple of weeks getting things ready, sorting water, feed, elec fences not to mention pulling a couple of late ones over the past week and dropping a couple of young gingers before having to get up at sparrow fart to go to work. Today was just some finishy off jobs, cleaning feeders, making sure there’s water all around the shoot, not just at the pens, I even took a few apples up for the deer, as we are not getting the numbers we normally do I’ve done something a bit different this year, with the birds being late and a good number of wildies about over the far side, I’ve started feeding wheat over the piggeries, I’ve had to tie the feeders to trees because the fallow like to roll them around, with the feed and the water I’m hoping to hold onto a few of them and maybe pull a few more in ( next doors ) I’m not expecting it to be like last season and they won’t be getting 8 days but I’d really like them to have some good shooting I’ll be back up there on Wednesday to put pellet in the pens and make sure everything is set for their arrival on Thursday morning, then on fox patrol Thursday night

I’ll keep you updated if any of you give a sh*t ( if nowt else it will kill a couple of minutes while you are sat on the pot )

[shovel leaner 7,650]

I look forward to hearing your progress. I miss the early mornings, the best time of day in my opinion. 
         However I won’t miss all the problems, like just about to go home at 9.30pm and realising that one of the pens had a pipe come loose in the hot weather and and I’d lost 1000 litres of water out of an IBC and have to get some in there before the birds get stressed and dehydrated. Or turning up in the morning to a fox kill . However when your shoot day goes well there is no finer feeling. I hope the release goes well . I always got a bit twitchy when I put birds to wood . I always wanted a couple of dry nights to start off . 

 

           

[FOXHUNTER 5,021]

Look forward to reading how it all goes , I'm sure it will be fine

 

[Fellman Mark 607]

Sure everything will go fine there was some good birds last year especially in that wind

[Stavross 15,622]

1 hour ago, shovel leaner said:

I look forward to hearing your progress. I miss the early mornings, the best time of day in my opinion. 
         However I won’t miss all the problems, like just about to go home at 9.30pm and realising that one of the pens had a pipe come loose in the hot weather and and I’d lost 1000 litres of water out of an IBC and have to get some in there before the birds get stressed and dehydrated. Or turning up in the morning to a fox kill . However when your shoot day goes well there is no finer feeling. I hope the release goes well . I always got a bit twitchy when I put birds to wood . I always wanted a couple of dry nights to start off . 

 

           

There’s always some drama, normally where we are it’s something to do with the public, I was talking to next doors keeper today ( when I’m not threatening him I like to get info out of him ) and he was going mental about the riff raff from the caravan park, he like me just plays at it and isn’t a proper keeper, apparently some of the chav’s had turned the water off at both his pens, he said he got there just in time ( whatever that meant ) I’ve got water butts 800 yards from his pen so they are welcome to come and drink from them

[Stavross 15,622]

49 minutes ago, Fellman Mark said:

Sure everything will go fine there was some good birds last year especially in that wind

Hopefully if everything goes to plan I’ll have you up for another go this season, maybe not the last day this time

[BenBhoy 4,706]

8 minutes ago, Stavross said:

apparently some of the chav’s had turned the water off at both his pens,

Rude of him, calling you & Glen chavs!!

[Stavross 15,622]

4 minutes ago, BenBhoy said:

Rude of him, calling you & Glen chavs!!

I wonder if he was pointing the finger at me, he should know I wouldn’t of turned the water off, now being in there scooping them up in a landing net like the child catcher, maybe

[Stavross 15,622]

When I was up there today I had a run over a part of the shoot know as the valley, it’s not somewhere we shoot now and don’t put any birds over there anymore, but with the birds been late I’m thinking of places where I could draw a few birds to make a small drive, the valley is right on the edge of our land and can be a good drive early in the season, there’s a good group of beech trees and when there’s a good amount of beech mast’s they seem to hold a few once they find them, anyway, the crop looks good this year even with the lack of water, so a feeder or two might be going over there, on the way back something  court my eye and this way 7 foot up a tree hanging off a branch, I had to stand on the quad to reach it, I’m pretty sure it’s (was) a young badger, them buzzards are brutal up there

Edited August 30, 2022 by Stavross

[Sausagedog 7,381]

That ain't no buzzard!

 

[shovel leaner 7,650]

8 hours ago, Stavross said:

When I was up there today I had a run over a part of the shoot know as the valley, it’s not somewhere we shoot now and don’t put any birds over there anymore, but with the birds been late I’m thinking of places where I could draw a few birds to make a small drive, the valley is right on the edge of our land and can be a good drive early in the season, there’s a good group of beech trees and when there’s a good amount of beech mast’s they seem to hold a few once they find them, anyway, the crop looks good this year even with the lack of water, so a feeder or two might be going over there, on the way back something  court my eye and this way 7 foot up a tree hanging off a branch, I had to stand on the quad to reach it, I’m pretty sure it’s (was) a young badger, them buzzards are brutal up there

I don’t think it’s a badger Stav , looks more like a roe doe . I reckon you’ve got a “big cat “ , where’s Greyman when you need him . He will be up there with his trail camera soon .

[Stavross 15,622]

What made me think it was a badger was it has the ridge on the back of the skull and the neck isn’t as long as it looks in the picture, shame it’s got less teeth in its head than the mother in law, it would of been a lot easier to tell, legs would also help

[Sausagedog 7,381]

2 hours ago, Stavross said:

legs would also help

On the mother in law or the badger cadiver?

[Stavross 15,622]

Well, I’m all set for the birds arrival, pellet in the feeders and drinkers tested ( for about the 6th time ) I’m feeling a little more hopeful even though we are only getting a few more than half and they are really late, quite a few have found my feeders and water butts in the centre of the piggeries, now they are there, they will stay, just after combine they were hanging around the edge of the tree side and been young and confused they could of gone anywhere, luckily the only water over there for the past couple of months is what I put there so that’s what has kept them and attracted others, when I got back to the yard there was 8 or 9 of last years making their way across the cow field towards the wood ( these were probably the ones Ben missed last season) good to see a few have hung around, I’ll be back up there tomorrow evening to check all is well and do a bit of fox patrol

[BenBhoy 4,706]

1 hour ago, Stavross said:

these were probably the ones Ben missed last season)

You're welcome