The Unintended Keeper ( Diary of a keeping blagger )

[shovel leaner 7,650]

3 minutes ago, foxdropper said:

And one out of 70,000 that can’t seem to grasp the jist  of banter .

One that can give it but can’t take it back .

Plenty on here have the crack daily without spitting dummies 3 foot .

Dont look up to failure ,ignore it and 9/10 they strive to do better .

Tim I know you personally and I enjoy your company. We are similar age’s but I’m kind of new to Forums , and this is the only social media that I contribute to . I get that you like a laugh , and so do I . But when you and Foxhunter were having a laugh in the thread with Bernard is was a bit uncomfortable, I thought, “I don’t think Sausage is enjoying it”. There are some people who relish a good old “ding dong “ and I get that , but some don’t. You know the guys on here that don’t do “hardcore banter”. Cut them a break . Let’s keep the rifle section “ friendly and cordial . If you want let off steam , you are always well received in the Terrier or general threads , they love it  

[shovel leaner 7,650]

36 minutes ago, foxdropper said:

Should be ashamed of themselves …..

anyway back to reality and the bird flu thing is getting very real .

Two shoot near me have sent off a dozen or so pheasants picked up dead .Watery mouths and thin as hell .

First indications are it’s bird flu .They are expecting all shooting to cease by Xmas .Keeper on one place already shooting birds with .22 .

Hard to know what to do 

The shoot we go to Tim has it and the last shoot day I was on there had a very “ end of season “ feel to it.  The numbers are way down on what should be there and the keeper looks gutted . I feel for him as it’s out of his hands , all that hard work . 
               I could say a few things about some shoots and the reality of what is actually happening. But this season has been difficult from the outset . The unavailability of birds from France has meant that a lot of substandard poor birds have been released this year and now the “ chickens have come home to roost “. Don’t believe everything you hear , there are so many shenanigans that have gone on . You can’t cut corners if you want top quality shooting. 

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

5 minutes ago, BEARINATOR said:

Rescue centre near bishop Auckland has got it bad as well, can see loads of shoots getting cancelled now with the winter migrants bringing fresh stuff in

I recently put this on the Stalking directory but was shouted down by the resident window licker and co who said just keep shooting and eat them

My post on there was about beaters and their wives not wanting to eat the birds in an infected area but that went tits up with me now banned yet again .

Yiu are right about winter migrants mate .I’ve a pond with plenty 

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

5 minutes ago, shovel leaner said:

The shoot we go to Tim has it and the last shoot day I was on there had a very “ end of season “ feel to it.  The numbers are way down on what should be there and the keeper looks gutted . I feel for him as it’s out of his hands , all that hard work . 
               I could say a few things about some shoots and the reality of what is actually happening. But this season has been difficult from the outset . The unavailability of birds from France has meant that a lot of substandard poor birds have been released this year and now the “ chickens have come home to roost “. Don’t believe everything you hear , there are so many shenanigans that have gone on . You can’t cut corners if you want top quality shooting. 

That’s a shame John .Cracking set up there and hard work put  in all round by all .

Im not talking of hearsay mate ,I’ve had it straight from the keepers mouth .

[David.evans 5,323]

3 hours ago, shovel leaner said:

Tim I know you personally and I enjoy your company. We are similar age’s but I’m kind of new to Forums , and this is the only social media that I contribute to . I get that you like a laugh , and so do I . But when you and Foxhunter were having a laugh in the thread with Bernard is was a bit uncomfortable, I thought, “I don’t think Sausage is enjoying it”. There are some people who relish a good old “ding dong “ and I get that , but some don’t. You know the guys on here that don’t do “hardcore banter”. Cut them a break . Let’s keep the rifle section “ friendly and cordial . If you want let off steam , you are always well received in the Terrier or general threads , they love it  

Totally agree SL 

Its well passed all this bad vibes , can we all not play nice please

[Stavross 16,132]

4 hours ago, foxdropper said:

Should be ashamed of themselves …..

anyway back to reality and the bird flu thing is getting very real .

Two shoot near me have sent off a dozen or so pheasants picked up dead .Watery mouths and thin as hell .

First indications are it’s bird flu .They are expecting all shooting to cease by Xmas .Keeper on one place already shooting birds with .22 .

Hard to know what to do 

It’s not looking good, 2 more confirmed cases around us, at the minute we are ok but I’d be surprised if we see the season out, as SL said it’s not been good from the start although we got a percentage of what we normally put down they were not the quality we expected from the supplier and were basically give a mix of ages of what he had left

[Squirrel_Basher 17,100]

I’ll find out today what the vets report is on those dead birds here Stav .

Ive got a flight pond teaming with wildfowl at moment but I’m loathe to shoot them .Don’t really fancy eating them at moment where normally I’m drooling ,can’t wait to get them home .

Its a shame for those like yourself that have put in the work .

[shovel leaner 7,650]

Just now, foxdropper said:

I’ll find out today what the vets report is on those dead birds here Stav .

Ive got a flight pond teaming with wildfowl at moment but I’m loathe to shoot them .Don’t really fancy eating them at moment where normally I’m drooling ,can’t wait to get them home .

Its a shame for those like yourself that have put in the work .

There is a lot of micro plasma and sinusitis around too . Bird flu kills them very quickly with no apparent loss of weight or condition, they also seem to die at roost . 
            If there are a lot of squeaking , puffed up sad looking birds with breastbones like razors , it’s not bird flu.

                

 

[Stavross 16,132]

That micro plasma has never gone away, I’m still seeing birds up at the shoot with it, I’ve found a couple that have scratched themselves blind, it doesn’t seem as prevalent as previous years but I do think it wouldn’t do game shooting any harm to have a season off

Edited December 1, 2022 by Stavross

[BEARINATOR 2,872]

1 hour ago, Stavross said:

That micro plasma has never gone away, I’m still seeing birds up at the shoot with it, I’ve found a couple that have scratched themselves blind, it doesn’t seem as prevalent as previous years but I do think it wouldn’t do game shooting any harm to have a season off

Don’t say that about game shooting as you will be outcast like fd 

[ianm 2,594]

2 hours ago, Stavross said:

That micro plasma has never gone away, I’m still seeing birds up at the shoot with it, I’ve found a couple that have scratched themselves blind, it doesn’t seem as prevalent as previous years but I do think it wouldn’t do game shooting any harm to have a season off

The trouble with that though Stav is the antis will think it is because of pressure they have brought on and it will only encourage them. Also it is ok for us that are playing at it to have a season off but what about the bigger more formal shoots where lots of staff are employed?  I can't see anyone wanting to pay them to do nothing for a year.

[Stavross 16,132]

7 minutes ago, ianm said:

The trouble with that though Stav is the antis will think it is because of pressure they have brought on and it will only encourage them. Also it is ok for us that are playing at it to have a season off but what about the bigger more formal shoots where lots of staff are employed?  I can't see anyone wanting to pay them to do nothing for a year.

I totally agree with you, but the way it is at the minute it seems we are fighting a losing battle, I’ve just been to the farm and lad there said the same thing, in his head it needs a break but there’s a lot of jobs at stake, it would affect him also as he supplies a lot of feed wheat, there just doesn’t seem a way out of it, I’m up at the shoot now and I’ve already found 2 dead just on the tracks we’ll just carry on as in my mind the best thing to do is shoot what you can

[Stavross 16,132]

1 hour ago, BEARINATOR said:

Don’t say that about game shooting as you will be outcast like fd 

They are an odd bunch the game shooters, they turn up a few times a year and expect everything to go to plan and don’t seem to have any idea how much work goes into it 

[BEARINATOR 2,872]

5 minutes ago, Stavross said:

They are an odd bunch the game shooters, they turn up a few times a year and expect everything to go to plan and don’t seem to have any idea how much work goes into it 

Spot on mate, lot of blood and sweat then they complain if birds don’t fly properly for them 

[Daniel cain 46,128]

I can't help but think that this bird flu nonsense was released on purpose,same as all the human shit going into our rivers and beaches since the planned demic came about??? all part of the control,don't want us able to catch or feed ourselves from the countryside and rivers ....started the ball rolling when they hit us with the hunting act all those yrs ago....pushing more laws to ban hunting rabbits in Scotland,Ireland will lose its freedoms now soon enough...they only want the f***ing city types using the countryside for walking etc...