# Upland's life lengths?



## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

What are the average life lengths of grouse, chukar, pheasants, etc.?


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

The average life span of a wild pheasant is 8 months.


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## Red-Grouse (Sep 22, 2007)

#1DEER 1-I said:


> What are the average life lengths of grouse,


depends on the grouse as they decrease in size generally the decrease in average lifespan...Sage-grouse can live beyond 5 years. chukars huns Quail most of those birds never see thir first birthday.


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

I turned to google:

Grouse:
From: http://www.naturenorth.com/winter/grouse/rgrouse6.html
Although it is thought that individual birds may live for as long as 11 years, the average life span for ruffed grouse is far less, and few birds make it beyond 7 or 8 years of age.

Pheasants:
From: http://www.birdingguide.com/bird_families/pheasants.htm
Ringneck Pheasants - Life Span: Life span in the wild is unknown; up to 15 years in zoos.
From: http://wildlife.utah.gov/uplandgame/upgame.htm
Research has shown that pheasants suffer a 70 percent annual mortality rate due primarily to exposure and predation whether or not hunting is allowed. The average life span is months regardless of whether hunting removes some of these individuals.
From: http://www.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/ ... mortality/
Rarely if ever does a pheasant die of old age, in fact, the average life span is less than 1 year.

I read a few other things that basically said the birds can live a long time in captivity but in the wild there are so many factors that shorten their life span that they don't often make it more than a year. Hunting is not a significant factor in pheasant life expectancy, mostly it is exposure and predation.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

I know with wild hatched pheasants, about half will even survive from spring, to the fall because of predators, farm equipment, weather conditions/events, etc... Of those that make it to fall, about 1/4 might make it through a winter. So of a nest of 20 eggs, 2-3 birds will survive to next the following year.

Pen raised birds will last about a week to 10 days in the wild in most cases. Which is a big reason that wildlife agencies don't get all that uptight about hunting preserves releasing birds for hunters. If they don't get shot, they usually won't survive on their own for more than about a week. 

Which leads to one of those dirty little secrets that doesn't get much press. The king of all pheasant states - South Dakota - has a VERY active pheasant planting program, where the State GFP will plant 1-2 million birds the week before the opener all over the state. Sure, South Dakota has a great wild population - but it is HEAVILY supplemented by planting to keep the tourists coming. Almost like a put and take fishery. Each planted bird in South Dakota equals a tremendous amount of money injected into the state by out of state hunters. Out of state hunters spend about $500-700/day to shoot threed birds a day which is not insignificant.


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## Red-Grouse (Sep 22, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> I know with wild hatched pheasants, about half will even survive from spring, to the fall because of predators, farm equipment, weather conditions/events, etc... Of those that make it to fall, about 1/4 might make it through a winter. So of a nest of 20 eggs, 2-3 birds will survive to next the following year.
> 
> Pen raised birds will last about a week to 10 days in the wild in most cases. Which is a big reason that wildlife agencies don't get all that uptight about hunting preserves releasing birds for hunters. If they don't get shot, they usually won't survive on their own for more than about a week.
> 
> Which leads to one of those dirty little secrets that doesn't get much press. The king of all pheasant states - South Dakota - has a VERY active pheasant planting program, where the State GFP will plant 1-2 million birds the week before the opener all over the state. Sure, South Dakota has a great wild population - but it is HEAVILY supplemented by planting to keep the tourists coming. Almost like a put and take fishery. Each planted bird in South Dakota equals a tremendous amount of money injected into the state by out of state hunters. Out of state hunters spend about $500-700/day to shoot threed birds a day which is not insignificant.


Can you give me a source for that info??

I am pretty sure NorDak doesn't release any birds and they kill plenty!


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## Gordon (Sep 11, 2007)

> Which leads to one of those dirty little secrets that doesn't get much press. The king of all pheasant states - South Dakota - has a VERY active pheasant planting program, where the State GFP will plant 1-2 million birds the week before the opener all over the state.


Boy! The planted birds there sure act different from the planted birds here!

Having hunted SD for several years now I doubt they plant any birds at all. Besides I'm going out next week, 3 full weeks after the opener and there will be lots of birds that lived more than your week to 10 days if they were planted. :?:

The key my friends is HABITAT!!!!


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

Don't get me wrong. South Dakota has the best pheasant habitat in the world. The counts SD-GFP are publishing are showing nearly 10 million wild birds this year. I've read in a couple of different places that they stock many of the walk-in areas the week before the opener to make sure it is a great day. I'll look for some sources on that and get back to you guys. Either way, nothing beats a South Dakota pheasant hunt. It is the stuff that upland dreams are made of. And when you go, it is better in person than people tell you. It is THAT good.


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## GaryFish (Sep 7, 2007)

http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/hunting/ ... entQ&A.htm

This is the link at SDGFP that talks about their approach to pheasant management. It says they don't stock birds. I guess I'm wrong on that one. My bad. I thought I had read it somewhere but if I did, it wasn't for South Dakota. I stand corrected.


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## Red-Grouse (Sep 22, 2007)

GaryFish said:


> http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/hunting/Pheasant/ManagementQ&A.htm
> 
> This is the link at SDGFP that talks about their approach to pheasant management. It says they don't stock birds. I guess I'm wrong on that one. My bad. I thought I had read it somewhere but if I did, it wasn't for South Dakota. I stand corrected.


Idaho, Washington and there may be others stock WMA's prior to the hunt maybe those were the ones you were thinking of?


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