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THOMAS ALUN HAWKES

WINSTON CHURCHILL

MEMORIAL TRUST FELLOWSHIP TO

NEW ZEALAND

November 3rd – December 5th 2008

PHEASANT REARING TECHNIQUES

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I have always loved the outdoors; I grew up in the countryside in a

farming community and have dabbled in farming since I was a

teenager. It has always been my ambition to be a farmer, but the

financial constraints involved meant I had to get a “day job” on

leaving school and farming has only been possible on a part-time

basis. When I was twenty one I bought my first two cattle and since

then I have kept cattle, sheep, chickens and, most recently,

pheasants and partridges.

I enjoy all aspects of life in the countryside, from walking in the

lanes with my family to participating in field sports, and it was my

interest in the latter which led to my decision in 2007 to establish

the Glamorgan Game Farm. I have currently had two seasons in

business, rearing pheasants and partridges from day old chicks to

seven week old poults. I sell the poults to local shooting syndicates

who release them into their woods, where they are fed and looked

after until the winter shooting season.

I still currently work full time for L’Oreal as a cosmetics

manufacturer, but my shift pattern has meant I have enough free

time to work on my game farm, raising 4,000 pheasants in 2007 and

3,600 pheasants and 600 partridges in 2008. It has been incredibly

hard work, but rewarding and fulfilling. Ultimately I would like to

expand the game farm to produce enough birds to make a full time

living from it, and it was this ambition which led me to apply for a

Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship, under the category

‘Making a Living in the Countryside’.

I was looking for an opportunity to learn from knowledgeable game

farmers and gain experience in pheasant rearing techniques in order

to improve and expand the Glamorgan Game Farm, but this was

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impossible to do in the U.K. as time spent with other farmers would

be time spent away from my own farm during the extremely busy

rearing season. I realised that a Fellowship to New Zealand would

offer the opportunity to gain experience in a similar climate and

habitat to the U.K., but due to their opposite seasons, at a time of

year which would not disrupt my own game farming enterprise.

Driven shooting in New Zealand is a relatively new and minority sport

and there are not many game farms in the sparsely populated

country, but I was able to make contact with two who were happy to

have me visit them.

I am an infrequent flyer, so the adventure started with my flight to

New Zealand on board the enormous Singapore Airlines A380. It was

all very impressive; everything seemed effortless with hardly any

turbulence and an extremely smooth, quiet take off and landing. I

wish the whole journey could have been on an A380, but after

Singapore it was back onto the old 747’s! On my arrival in Auckland

I took a few days to get over my jet lag and get acclimatised, then set

off across country to the first game farm in Rotorua.

I arrived at Nigel and Vicky Simpson’s farm, appropriately named

‘Pheasant’s Rest’, to find I was just in time for a new hatch of chicks,

due the next morning. After a friendly and warm welcome it was

straight onto the job! November is the start of Nigel’s rearing season,

a time which I personally have found quite anxious and stressful, but

Nigel was reassuringly calm and prepared. He has worked in the

game bird rearing industry for over twenty years, and although his

own game farm is a relatively new enterprise, he has a wealth of

experience.

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Nigel and Vicky established their ‘Wingsports Unlimited’ game farm

in 2004 in response to the recent increase in interest in driven

pheasant and partridge shooting in New Zealand. Historically, New

Zealanders have principally shot ducks because they are easily

accessible and free. As long as there is a highway, footpath or any

public access to a body of water where there are ducks, anyone with a

shotgun certificate can shoot them in season. These are obviously

wild ducks; it is illegal to release hand-reared ducks into the wild.

The New Zealand government are concerned about the release of non-

native species into the wild, and so the release of any animals or

birds is strictly controlled and monitored. This has proved

problematic for game release as everything has to be documented

and must go through the local New Zealand Fish and Game

department. In this respect I realised how fortunate we are in the

U.K. not to be subject to this type of restriction on game birds,

although we do obviously have legislation setting out guidelines for

the numbers of birds released.

Nigel’s breeding and rearing arrangements were very organised; every

egg collected from the laying pheasant hens was logged, washed and

cleaned before being set in the incubator. New batches were hatched

on a weekly basis. The day old chicks were then taken down to the

rearing shed and placed under gas brooders (heaters). This part of

the rearing process was entirely new to me, as I have so far bought

my chicks as day olds, not hatched them from eggs.

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The day old chicks were fed on a very large pellet/crumb feed, much

bigger and coarser than the fine starter crumbs that we use in the

U.K. When I asked Nigel about this he said it was as a result of the

feed merchant’s unwillingness to produce the same type of high

protein, easy to digest, small crumb that we use. There is simply

not enough demand for it in New Zealand. The chicks seemed to be

quite content with their feed and managed it fine, although there was

quite a lot of wastage as they couldn’t eat the largest pellets. There

are many specialist game bird feeds available in the U.K. and I have

previously spent quite some time working out which of my chicks

need which specific feed at what time, and observing Nigel’s day old

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chicks I did wonder whether I have spent too much time and effort

(and money!) worrying unnecessarily.

Nigel’s rearing systems for the day old chicks onwards were very

similar to those used in the U.K., and now I found myself on familiar

territory. Although I use individual rearing units (each holding

approximately 400 chicks) and Nigel used one large shed, his chicks

were still grouped together in similar numbers within the shed and

the methods for feeding, cleaning and day to day care were the same.

One large rearing building as opposed to many smaller huts with runs

has a number of advantages: it is warmer and drier for the chicks

(and workers!) and is easier to work in as it is more spacious. It is

impossible to even stand up in the small rearing units that I use, so

to walk around amongst the chicks was much more convenient and

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comfortable. It is also more efficient as it saves time going from one

hut to another during every feeding session. I would definitely

consider using one large rearing building for the Glamorgan Game

Farm now if I could find suitable land and premises.

I stayed with Nigel and Vicky for two weeks, helping with all of the

routine jobs such as feeding, monitoring the water supplies and gas

heaters, administering supplements to the water of the youngest

chicks and erecting and maintaining acclimatisation runs. These

runs ensure the birds are used to life outside before they are placed

in their release pens.

Release pens are fenced areas that have access out into the wider

countryside, providing the pheasants with a safe sanctuary and base

from which to venture out and become established in the wild.

Pheasant poults in New Zealand are placed in these release pens at

the age of six – seven weeks, depending on the weather conditions;

this is the same as the U.K.. I also accompanied Nigel on visits to

his customers to release pheasants; this was interesting because New

Zealand release pens are not on the whole as sturdy as ours in the

U.K.. Ours have to withstand possible predator attacks from foxes,

stoats, weasels and other vermin, whereas there are no foxes in New

Zealand and so their release pens do not need to be as strong.

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My time with Nigel and Vicky at the ‘Pheasant’s Rest’ was interesting

and busy; reassuring in a way because Nigel was rearing his pheasants

in a similar way to my own methods, and it helped give me

confidence that I was on the right track with my own business.

Nigel with his experience was able to give me a number of valuable

tips and snippets of first hand information which helped deepen my

knowledge and understanding of the pheasant rearing business.

Both of the game farms I visited have websites, and use them to

advertise and market their services. This is something I definitely

need to do for the Glamorgan Game Farm to raise the profile of the

business and make it as easy as possible for potential customers to

find and contact me.

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From Rotorua I wended my way east to Hawkes Bay (to see if I could

find any wealthy long lost relatives!) and then down to the South

Island to the Woodfield Game Farm. The drive was spectacular, with

amazing roads skimming the coast on one side, and mountains on

the other. At one point there were seals basking on the rocks just a

few feet from the road!

John and Kay Whiting’s Woodfield Game Farm is just north of

Christchurch. John began his game farm following his retirement

from the New Zealand Police Force. He rears pheasant, partridge and

quail and sells them to shooting syndicates and game reserves. I was

made to feel very welcome during my visit and was sorry to leave!

John also keeps laying stock and hatches his own eggs, rearing his

poults to six or seven weeks before release. The principal difference

in John’s rearing methods was his use of electric heaters instead of

gas, but principally he was using the same techniques as Nigel and I.

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During my stay, John arranged a trip to one of the remote,

mountainous game reserves where he releases pheasants. We looked

around the release pens and bird habitat, which is very suitable for

pheasants as there are sheltered valleys and plenty of bush cover.

There is also easy access to fresh water, with a river running through

the centre of the game reserve. This was a great day, with a perfect

combination of pheasants, hares, stunning scenery and an

impromptu wild boar hunt thrown in!

All too soon it was time to start making my way back up to the North

Island for the flight home. During my stay I met some very special

people and had some unforgettable experiences that will stay with

me forever. I was fortunate to be able to experience some of the

Maori culture of New Zealand, and every minute enjoyed the

spectacular scenery, clean air and open spaces.

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The biggest lesson I learned from the Fellowship was to have more

confidence in my own abilities. I was glad to see that the pheasant

rearing techniques I have been using are tried and trusted ones that

work the world over, and I have been doing pretty well! There were

no shocks or surprises, but reassurance that my business has started

in the right way and I am on the right track. This confirmation has

been very valuable to me; I have never before run my own business

and in the uncertain economic climate we are currently in it is a

comfort to know that everyone experiences the same problems. The

feeling of self-belief I now have in myself and my business is

priceless, and I have the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust to thank

for the positive effects which I hope will last a lifetime.