CSS—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 15,1980
Pheasant production due at turkey farm
TROUT RUN - Pheasant
production in Pennsylvania
will get a boost in 1961 when
the former turkey farm in
Lycoming County is con
verted to a facility for
raising additional ringnecks.
In August of 1979, the
Game Commission decided
to limit the production of
turkeys at the game tana
while at the same tune
stepping up the wild bird
trap-and-transfer program.
It was indicated that when
the Game Commission
deemed it necessary, farm
turkey production would be
eliminated and the facility
would be converted to other
uses.
This year the number of
farm turkeys produced was
reduced from the 6000 level
Horse backpacking
-guidelines offered
UTITZ Horse back
packing provides a great
opportunity to get back to
nature. However, basic
skills and knowledge can
make it a more enjoyable
experience.
Members in the national 4-
H horse program, conducted
by the Cooperative Ex
tension Service and sup
ported by the American
Quarter Horse Association
and the Insurance Company
of North America, suggest
these guidelines for planning
a horse backpacking trip:
• Begin with essential
equipment until you become
an experienced packer. A
pack saddle, good quality
pad or blanket and panniers
are the foundation of a pack.
Remember weight carried in
saddle bags should be kept to
a minimum, rarely ex
ceeding 10 pounds.
• Pack horses should be
fed daily. Feed can be
earned in the bottom of each
pannier to keep the load’s
center of balance as low as
possible. If pack trips are
planned for relatively open
spaces, ample amounts of
grass may be available for
grazing.
LONG JOHN
BALMER
INSULATION
643 Penryn Rd.
Manheim, PA
(717)665-4132
of the past to just 4200 birds.
With the recent rapid ex
pansion of the wild turkey
range, game managers had
a difficult time this year
finding suitable release sites
where the 4200 farm birds
would not be in conflict with
wild populations.
As a result of this year’s
experience, game managers
had to consider two options
in looking at future plans for
the facility: either convert
the farm to the production of
other game birds, or further
decrease the number of
turkeys produced.
Regardless of the numbers
of birds produced at the
farm, the annual operating
cost at the Lycoming
County facility is about
$210,000. Producing 6000
• Make sure water will be
available for your horses.
Hard-working horses need
up to 10 gallons of water a
day. For each nder, carry at
least one quart of water,
preferably two.
• The type of food carried
depends on length of the trip.
Most fresh foods should be
used within 48 hours. Canned
foods combined with non
perishable products, like
biscuits, pancake mix, dried
rice and dehydrated foods
last longer, but a com
bination of freeze-dried,
canned and dehydrated
products is suggested.
• Cooking and eating
utensils should be light
weight, versatile and
durable. Remember to pack
matches, liquid detergent,
can openers and disposable
products, like paper towels,
and toilet paper. Also, carry
an axe, shovel and cooking
grates.
• Each packer should
remember to bring a bedroll,
including some kind of
mattress or pad for the
sleeping bag.
• A well-stocked first-aid
Structure
• Fully Insured
• Free Estimates
We Can Do The Job Now
turkeys rounds out to an
approximate cost of $35 per
bird
Production of 4200 buds in
1980, at the rate of previous
costs, rounds out to an ap
proximate cost of about $5O
per turkey for this year
If the Game Commission
produced and distributed
only 2000 birds in 1981, the
cost per turkey would ap
proach $lO5, because of fixed
operating costs.
The Game Commission
said it feels this cost is
unreasonably high, and an
unjustifiable use of the
sportsmen’s dollars.
Game farm turkeys have
been produced in the past m
an effort to “sweeten the
pot” and provide birds for
hunters in locations where
kit is essential, and it should
contain items for most minor
emergencies.
• When selecting pack
horses for the trip,
remember they should have
good confirmation and be
interchangeable with those
that are ridden. Pack horse
should have quite tem
perment, be well-trained,
strong, surefooted and
particularly sound in their
feet and legs.
Horse backpacking is one
of the many activities of
members in the horse
program. Other projects
include participating in
horse drill teams and horse
shows-showmg and judging,
line driving, competitive
trail nding, hot horseshoeing
and sharing skills in a
horseback riding program
for the handicapped.
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letterhead Rep|yto;
P.O. Box 366-D
c/o Lancaster Farming
Lititz, PA 17543
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3816 E NEWPORT RD , RDI GOROONVILLE. PA 17529
1 Mile East of Intercourse on Rt 772
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they are not normally found
in nature. Game farm birds
were not produced with the
idea that they would
reproduce in the same
numbers as true wild
turkeys
Turkeys which come from
game farms, produced
under “controlled” con
ditions, lack those
characteristics necessary
for survival and
reproduction normally found
in wild birds
When game managers
want to expand turkey
populations in suitable
habitat devoid of birds, the
best method is to trap wild
turkeys in areas of abun
dance and transfer the birds
into the new or potential
range
Unlike birds which have
come from game farms, wild
birds take hold in natural
surroundings much more
rapidly and reproduce at
normal rates.
Past experience and
research in many states
show the relative merits of
the two methods of Turkey
production.
For instance, over a period
of years, thousands of game
farm turkeys were released
in the South Mountain area
of southcentral Penn
sylvania. After release- of
game farm birds was
stopped for several years,
the area again was devoid of
turkeys
Then, several dozen
“wild” turkeys were trapped
in other areas of the state
where the birds were
abundant, and released in
the South Mountain area.
The birds became
established quickly,
reproduction soared, and
today there are self
sustaining flocks of wild
turkeys in the South
Mountain area
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Hardware
The trap-and-transfer
procedure is an ongoing part
of the state’s overall turkey
management program, and
will continue in the future. In
the past, many of the birds
were taken from the nor
thcentral counties and
relocated in southcentral
Pennsylvania, as well as
eastern and western sections
of the state.
But, there may be oc
casions in the future when
birds will be trapped m
sections of abundance in
eastern or western Penn
sylvania and released in the
northecentral area, as
populations fluctuate and the
need arises.
In 1979, more than 100
birds were trapped in the
wild and transferred to
understocked ranges.
Generally, the key
element in the trapping of
wild birds is weather. Last
winter, being a relatively
open and mild period, was
not particularly good for
trapping operations.
Given any kind of a break
in weather and other con
ditions this winter, the Game
Commission should be able
to further increase the
number of birds taken in the
wild and moved to potential
habitat habitat which is
likely to support self-
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sustaining populations of
birds in the future
While it may cost con
siderably more than a
hundred dollars to trap and
transfer a single wild turkey,
the benefits far outweigh the
costs. Two hens and a
gobbler transferred in the
wild can reproduce an entire
new population.
The reproductive ability of
three wild birds trapped
and transferred couldn’t
be matched by twenty farm
raised turkeys which even
if they escaped the hunter
often don’t make it through
the first winter.
This year the Game
Commission produced a
record number (223,200) of
pheasants at four game
farms, but the demand for »
additional ringnecks cannot
be met at the four facilities
currently in use. The four
farms are over-taxed, and
more birds could not be
produced.
Game managers are
hoping that the conversion of
the turkey farm to rmgneck
production will mean an
additional 35,000 to 40,000'
pheasants during the next
few years. When the con
version is fully completed at
the farm, it may even be
possible to produce more
than the 40,000 pheasants
currently envisioned.