# How many birds do I need?



## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I had a little monetary windfall and now I can afford what ever birds I want for training purposes. I raise poultry, so I am planning on buying day-olds and raising them. I've already contacted my state DNR, so I know what I need to know legality wise. I was going to get some mallards and some pheasants. Keeping/feeding/raising is not an issue for me, so I am now trying to figure out numbers. For pheasants, the smallest number of birds I can buy is 15. For a bit more money, I could get a total of 30. Is 15 enough? Is 30 enough??? The mallards are a bit easier, I can order any number and shipping is one flat rate for my area whether I order 5 or 100. I was thinking maybe 25? 

I've never had unlimited birds to "play" with, so I'm stumped at how many I would actually need/use. I only have the two dogs of my own, but I'm pretty sure my training buddies wouldn't object if I brought my leftovers to our training sessions. And if I don't use them all this season, I wouldn't be opposed to offing them and keeping them in the freezer for next season. Actually I wouldn't be opposed to overwintering some and repopulating for next season, but if I do that I will have to get a breeder's license.


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

I shoot one flyer per week per dog during the training season. Freeze the bird and use it for marks during the remainder of the week. By the end of seven days the bird has pretty much had it and is falling apart.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

Keep in mind that pheasants can be a bit tougher to keep--picking can be a real problem-they may need to have their beaks trimmed or have specs put on to keep them from fighting. The more birds in the area the worse it can be, especially if they haven't got sufficient hiding places or the male/female ratio is too high.


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