Shrubs for game & deer

J. Ramone

I'm planting about 1/2 acre of rough ground with oak, birch an scots pine adjacent to an existing mixed plantation. I am thinking of also planting an understorey shrub layer for the benefit of deer and pheasant shooting well into the future. Hopefully the short trees/shrubs will act as sacraficial plants to divert deer from the other trees. It's not far from my back door and I will be setting up a high seat or tower.

Question is what are the best understorey plants for game? I am thinking of crab apple, hazel and willow. Any views?

Grizzly 45

Apple is a good deer magnet.If you can get the tree established before the deer eat it.:D

J. Ramone

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Apple is a good deer magnet.If you can get the tree established before the deer eat it.:D

Might be worth planting a few cooking apple trees from a garden centre (expensive) and protecting with a good fence for a few years then. Also thought of planting one or two damson also.

I would like to keep it natural generally. I have seen productive crab apple areas attracting pheasants.

meathstevie

Maybe throw in a bit of peas and beans as well, a bit of barley or wheat maybe ? They're all stuff that grows very easily without too much looking after.

J. Ramone

meathstevie wrote: »

Maybe throw in a bit of peas and beans as well, a bit of barley or wheat maybe ? They're all stuff that grows very easily without too much looking after.

Some great ideas so far. The peas & barley ideas sound good for creating breeding habitats for wild pheasents in food poor habitats eg. irish uplands & new spruce plantations. Along with keeping mr. renard under control it might be possible in the future to get a self sustaining stock of pheasants going!

shaft666

J. Ramone wrote: »

Some great ideas so far. The peas & barley ideas sound good for creating breeding habitats for wild pheasents in food poor habitats eg. irish uplands & new spruce plantations. Along with keeping mr. renard under control it might be possible in the future to get a self sustaining stock of pheasants going!

If you are looking to go down the road of keeping pheasants on your land the most critical thing you must have is a good supply of water for them, people put down tons of food and neglect the water and surprise surprise their birds go wandering. A pheasant will go miles looking for water

Paul

meathstevie

You're on the money about the water. It's for a reason you'll find them near a wet ditch rather than in a dry field ( if there's any of them this autumn )

J. Ramone

No problem with water as there is a stream on the site. There is a release pen nearby but the birds don't last long with mr. foxy. The bordering wood stretches for a couple of hundred acres. Whats left at the start of the season are mostly shot within two weeks.

Wild birds, I believe are the answer to sustainable shooting as they will give you and your dog a good run and more often than not live to give you a run another day. I am inclined to think a focus on habitat and predator control in spring could provide greater dividens for time effort than releasing birds. Deer are present so I am not too keen on lamping.

Dear Santa, I want a cage trap for Christmas:D

tiny-nioclas

Lidl are selling alot of good stuff that could help you do this, i saw a heap of crab apple trees for sale in there last week,for very very cheap too i would imagine a crab apple tree would be great for birds and deer?