# Pheasants?!?!?!?!?!?!



## bubbafowler

I Have seen pheasants on two different occasions in merriwether co.  My dad saw two deer hunting, and we saw some on the side of the road feeding.  Can I kill them???


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## hpostelle

*dnr*

You probably need to contact the dnr to find out if they are a non-game animal in the state.


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## BULLDOG FAN

They are a non-game bird therefore you can kill them. They are probably some that got away from a tower hunt or someone put them out to hunt with dogs. We sometimes buy a few to put out when we are quail hunting just for the fun of it. If you can put them out without your hunting parties knowledge you will get a big laugh when a pheasant pops out instead of a quail. A pheasant makes a heck of a noise when you flush him.


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## UWGduck

kill them all. I think you can kill them year round. Since they are not native.


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## UWGduck

Same goes for piegons and domestic ducks


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## JohnMac

*Big Red Oak Plantation*

has tower shoots in meriwether county. could be an escapee.


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## bubbafowler

*Bear Creek*

Bear Creek Farms in Coweta is less than a mile from us, so maybe they let some out.  They do a lot of bird hunting up there, so that would be my best quess.  Im gonna chase some wabbits tommorrow so if one flushes im definitively gonna shoot AT him.


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## Jorge

Shoot em! I believe they can't reproduce in GA and I doubt they will survive very long.


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## Slug-Gunner

*Pheasants in Georgia*

Pheasants ARE NOT native to Georgia and hence they ARE NOT considered a gamebird in Georgia and there is NO CLOSED SEASON on them. If you can see one while hunting, you can shoot it. But, don't do it on "Private Property" without the owner's permission as he may have stocked them for HIS OWN USE and get very upset.  

At Fort Gordon, GA we hold at least two Pheasant & Quail hunts every Jan/Feb. We purchase pheasant/quail from someone who raises pen raised birds. We "dizzy" and plant the birds for those who purchase them for the hunt. We DO NOT intentionally release the birds into the wild, but a few "get away" during the hunts. Being "pen raised" birds, they do not have very good survival instincts  and usually fall prey quickly to predators. We had a pheasant hunt last year Jan/Feb and one of the hen pheasants that "got away" was seen in our Fish & Wildlife Managed Fields this last Dec 2004. It must have been a VERY SMART BIRD to survive a whole year considering the number of coyotes and hawks we have around here.


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## MoeBirds

*Pheasants and more pheasants!!*

I am a student at Swainsboro Techs' school for Fish and Game Preserve Management, and have been volunteering my time in exchange for valuable real-world knowlege when it comes to running Preserves/Plantations/lrg.QDM tracts etc. and recently released 160 pheasants from a tower in Washington co. But the shooters were not very "sharp" ,to put it kindly, that day. They only managed to connect on 70 of 'em.You do the math.We usually do alot better! We released them after thorough testing for diseases, at a 50/50 sex ratio so those that do survive have the ability to reproduce. They're especially fun to flush in the woods surrounding the field with a good dog(yours) by your side after the initial shoot,usually at no extra charge. I believe DNR requires you to report"release and harvest-records"when it comes to non-native birds such as pheasants and even "dizzy'd"pen-raised quail.If your a good shot you should give it a go, I was hung up on "ethics" for a while there but the odds seem to be stacked in there favor and besides,for every two pheasants eaten by coyotes thats one less deer they're taking out of the herd. I'm available if you need an extra hand with your next burn,foodplot, etc."free of charge"in the Washington,Johnson,and  Emauel.co.area and and I'll give you persnal recs. on various preserves if asked.


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## quailchaser

Shoot 'em and cook 'em. They taste great.


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