Pheasant Fact Friday!💡 April/May are very active months for roosters and hens. Roosters use energy in fighting, crowing, displaying, and courting hens. The male’s crowing peaks this month as he gathers a harem. A rooster can service over 20 hens but 5 to 10 is ideal. His testes reach maximum weight now. His urge to reproduce exceeds his need to eat, so he continues the weight-loss that started last month. The hen’s energy demands are greater then the male’s, but she will increase her food intake. In fact her food consumption is greater in May then it was last winter. But she still loses weight as she lays 30 to 50 eggs, starts incubation, and avoids swathers and predators. Her one ovary reaches maximum weight as egg laying begins. The hen consumes 14 times more calcium than the roosters and her protein intake (insects) is six times greater. The supply of insects is extremely important to egg production. Spraying 95% of your land for insect problems, instead of 100% can double the number of chicks surviving to 10 weeks. #pheasantsforever #pheasant #pheasants #pheasantfactfriday

Want to get your hands dirty while helping with a local habitat project? Here’s your chance! Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters across the country are hosting Hands-On Habitat Workdays throughout the month of May! Volunteerism has driven our organization since its creation and now is the perfect opportunity to learn about your local chapter, engage your community, have fun, and move the needle for our mission of upland habitat conservation! Find an event near you at the link in our bio/story. #pheasantsforever #quailforever #handsonhabitat #wildlifehabitat #conservation

We are headfirst into “Habitat Season,” but here’s a reminder of what we are all working towards, more birds and healthier landscapes for us and our bird dogs to enjoy this fall. Next month is Hands-On-Habitat month at PF and QF. Head to the 🔗link in our bio to find an event near you so that you can get your hands dirty and make a difference on the landscape! #pheasantsforever #birddog #uplandbirds #pheasant #handsonhabitat

On The Wing Podcast Ep. 261: Women on the Wing Series Part 3: Working with Chapters to Accomplish Mission Delivery, is live. Listen now at the link in our story/bio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Continuing Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s special Women on the Wing podcast series, host Ashley Chance is joined by co-host Britta Petersen for a conversation with North Dakota Senior Field Representative Renee Tomala. Renee talks to us about growing up in the outdoors, DIY dog training and how she works with Pheasants Forever Chapters to carry out our organization’s mission. SPOILER ALERT: There are now 13 Women on the Wing Chapters across the country with more on the way! Episode Highlights: - Being in the path of totality – Britta’s eclipse experience. - The crew talks about getting comfortable eating unusual animal parts. - Renee talks about what a privilege it is to work with chapters to carry out our mission and all the ways she goes about that, leaving us to wonder what doesn’t a regional representative do? - Renee gives us a brief history of Women on the Wing and Women on the Wing Chapters, which originated with an all-women staff years ago in North Dakota. Today there are Women on the Wing Chapters in ND, TX, MN, MI, NC, WA, GA, WI, AZ, SD and OH doing all kinds of neat things including hosting events like “Unstuck your truck.” - Renee chronicles the (mis)adventures of Quill, her German Wirehaired Pointer aka ‘Porcupine Lover.’ #pheasantsforever #quailforever #womenonthewing #onthewingpodcast

Without nesting and brood-rearing cover on the landscape, there are no pheasants. Period. The second section of our Pheasant Habitat Essentials Guide, “Nest and Brood-Rearing Cover” is available now at the link in our bio. Ring-necked pheasants are birds of open landscapes, where grasses and herbaceous plants are the dominant cover. Across most of the pheasant range, secure, undisturbed grassland nesting habitat is the most important limiting factor for pheasant populations. Brood-rearing is another element of the “making new pheasants” equation. That can be a good thing, since nesting and brood-rearing cover is one element we can influence in a relatively short period of time by planting the right vegetation and managing it correctly. Here are the keys to creating prime places for pheasants to hatch and grow young that are covered in our “Nest and Brood-Rearing Cover” section of our Habitat Essentials Guide that can be found at the link below: » Nesting Cover Needs and Opportunities » Choosing a Nesting Cover Mix » Planting Native Grasses and Forbs » Managing Nesting Cover » Brood-Rearing Habitat » Flower Power All-Stars #farming4habitat #pheasantsforever #pheasants #wildlifehabitat

On this Earth Day, we’re calling attention to the vanishing of America’s grasslands at an alarming rate. These are the prairies, savannas, glades, and sage brush steppes in our own backyard communities. These ecosystems protect our waters, soils, and climate. And as this grassland habitat disappears, so do the wildlife populations dependent upon them. On this Earth Day 2024, more than two dozen conservation organizations have joined forces to underscore the importance of grasslands habitat conservation. Please visit the Map For Grasslands at the 🔗 link in our bio to learn more about the magnitude of impact this habitat loss has had on 15 iconic grassland-dependent wildlife species, ranging from birds to mammals and fish to insects. Then go to ActForGrasslands.org (🔗link also in bio) where we invite you to advocate for the creation of the North American Grasslands Conservation Act (GRASSLANDS ACT), which would help create tools to conserve grasslands and reverse these wildlife populations declines. #actforgrasslands #wildlifehabitat #earthday #earthday2024 #uplandbirds

In the southern High Plains, farmers understand that water is their most precious resource. An ongoing partnership between Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever (PF & QF) and the United Sorghum Checkoff Program is providing more support for sorghum growers to benefit their farms and create a legacy for water and wildlife conservation efforts in West Texas. The PF & QF team in Texas applies precision agriculture and conservation tools, meets face-to-face with growers to learn about priorities for their farm operation, and brings a network of relationships with all conservation agencies and programs in the state to help producers find solutions to “plant the best and conserve the rest.” Watch the full film “Sorghum, Water and Wildlife: Conservation in West Texas” at the link in our story/bio. #pheasantsforever #quailforever #sorghum #sorghumcheckoff #habitat

Pheasant Fact Friday!💡 Spring is very active for roosters and hens. Roosters use energy in fighting, crowing, displaying, and courting hens. A rooster can service over 20 hens. His urge to reproduce exceeds his need to eat, so he losses weight. Even with a harem of 18 hens, the rooster can fertilize 87-97% of the eggs. Roosters remain sexually active through July to serve renesting hens. Depending on weather, the hen may gain weight in April. She is also eating more than she did last January. While the rooster shows little change in diet, the hen’s diet shows marked changes. She eats 6 to 14 times more calcium than the rooster. Her May peak in calcium intake occurs during peak egg-laying. If she cannot find calcareous grit, she will extract calcium from her own bones for the eggs. She also consumes more insects than the rooster. #pheasantsforever #pheasants #pheasantfactfriday