# Howell valley pheasant ??



## tigerpincer (Dec 5, 2009)

I have been hunting pheasants in Howell valley for years and quiet successfully. I typically limit most days I hunt. However I have heard a few times that you can tell the difference between wild and released birds. Supposedly by looking for the hole in their nose created by the hoods used by the farms to keep them from fighting. Does any one know if this is accurate? I do in fact shoot birds both with those holes and without. If not accurate are their any other methods of telling the difference?


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## The Naturalist (Oct 13, 2007)

tigerpincer said:


> I have been hunting pheasants in Howell valley for years and quiet successfully. I typically limit most days I hunt. However I have heard a few times that you can tell the difference between wild and released birds. Supposedly by looking for the hole in their nose created by the hoods used by the farms to keep them from fighting. Does any one know if this is accurate? I do in fact shoot birds both with those holes and without. If not accurate are their any other methods of telling the difference?


If the brooders don't have adequate pen size, or the right flight covers you could see a lot of scarring around the head, tail feathers missing/shorter.

I used to be able to tell mainly by the white eye stripe, but there are so many released birds now that have interbred with the original strains form the early 1900's, that I find it difficult now.


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## TAK (Sep 9, 2007)

Not every bird farm uses peepers on the birds. One really god way for me to tell is how much fat is on the bird. Most all your wild birds have very little if any yellow fat on them and some pen birds are just covered in it.

Tail length aint going to say anything either, but if it is brushed out on the edges will. That is hard to explain... but if you look at a pen bird for sure and notice the entire length of the tail feather on the edges. It is kinda frizzy. I have never seen a wild bird with that.
I say the length is not an indicator because some bird farms have some nice birds. And actully I have learned the original Mancherian (sp?) strain ringneck had a 18 to 24 inch feather. Yet I have shot birds in Utah and Nebraska with 28 and 30 inch feathers????? NO idea there either.....


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## TEX-O-BOB (Sep 12, 2007)

A 30 inch feather on a wild ringneck? :shock: coughcoughcoughbull****coughcoughh...


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## deadicatedweim (Dec 18, 2007)

TEX-O-BOB said:


> A 30 inch feather on a wild ringneck? :shock: coughcoughcoughbull****coughcoughh...


HA HA 

What part of AZ are you heading to this month for quail?


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## tigerpincer (Dec 5, 2009)

Thank you Tak!! I just wasnt sure if all bird farms used the peepers or not.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

I see them in my front yard with the pins thru their beaks- see if I can get some pictures.


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## wiperhunter (Nov 1, 2007)

I use to hunt Howell valley years ago for pheasants when they sold permits for that area, do you know if they still sell permits for that area? I use to get my permits at Kents shooters supply in Ogden but they don't sell them any more. Any help would be good, even a PM in case you don't want to share the info on an open forum. Thanks for any help.
WH


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## flyfitch (Sep 22, 2007)

The only pheasant hunting I did in Howell was at Carlos' bird farm before he died. He had a lot of land where he released birds, so there likely is a lot of inbred or farm raised birds up there.


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