[Hermit]

We used to use automatic hoppers with just grain when the pheasant were out along with the gamekeepers feeding this kept most( hopefully) of the pheasant around. It would not be medicated then, as they were for food and did not last long then anyway.( Again hopefully) . We must have had a good shoot, which sounds like an exception reading this as the gamekeeper was very good and literally ran the shoot and anyone who showed disrespect( which included laughing at a kill, that would have got him mad!) would have been severely told to not come back. He was well known in the area for helping many folk out , feeding chooks for old ladies that could not do for themselves , taking his ladies wood etc etc. He is still going strong at 85 , my OH has just been back to Yorkshire to stay with him and help him out on the land. Still tough as old boots and I never could tell a word he said

[in the hills]

I suppose Hermit that it is very much down to individuals, like everything in life.

There is also a small shoot run locally to me and I have heard that the gamekeeper is very polite and respectful of neighbours eg. asking if they wish to be informed of when shooting is to happen and so on.

The big shoot, as it were, involves two huge estates and employs many keepers. It is very much a business! Obviously it provides employment in a very rural area and is important to the local economy. However I have heard of many complaints from local people eg. damage to cars being hit by pheasants, pheasants fed literally on the side of the lane encouraging them onto the road .....

Out of interest ........ when would the pheasants on your shoot have been given medication for worms ?

[Sylvia]

When are wild pheasants, ducks, geese, rooks, crows blackbirds given worm treatment? As long as you worm your poultry occasionally I don't see a need to worry.

[Hermit]

It is in the rearing of the pheasants that they were given special food as there are thousands of them all together on the pheasant farms. We bought them from a pheasant farm ( owned by the gamekeepers nephew) more or less ready for release, estates may rear their own. But as I said before this was many years ago, rules and regs may have changed ten times since then knowing Europe.

[shep53]

The pheasants arrive as poults from a rearing farm, are released into very big pens ,half an acre  up to five acres and fed pellets some are medicated, water and dust bath areas, all pens have trees of all sizes for roosting and shelter. Panacur is mixed with cooking oil and the feed pellets are coated in this mixture to worm all the poults. The pen gates are opened and the feeders moved to lure the birds to woodland and wheat is slowly introduced as the final feed. Two people on the estate keep chickens , worms or pheasants eating chicken feed is not a problem as the feed areas are far enough away