在南达科他州的农场养野鸡
亚当·舒梅克和他妻子, 斯泰西, 还有他们的两个儿子, 卡德和科尔宾, 提高25,每年有一万只野鸡用于狩猎小屋, 蜜饯和本地顾客. 这只鸟14周大.
詹妮弗·奇克
当树叶开始变色，空气变得清爽, families 和 friends gather across the central United States for one of their favorite fall pastimes: pheasant hunting. Many of those birds are raised by pheasant 种植者s like Adam 和 斯泰西 Shumaker.
舒梅克一家在南卡罗来纳州霍华德市饲养野鸡.D. South Dakota is considered by many to be the pheasant capital of the world. Every year, more than 100,000 licenses are issued in the state, many to out-of-state visitors.
Shumaker’s dad, Dale, started Top Gun Pheasant Hunting Lodge in 1991. 这个家庭为小屋饲养了300到500只野鸡. 亚当的哥哥凯文现在经营着《壮志凌云. After Adam 和 斯泰西 married in 2001, they decided to raise pheasants on their own.
“结婚几个月后, 我们搬到了霍华德的一个玉米地里的牧场,舒梅克说. They built a house 和 barn in that pasture 和 their dream quickly became reality — Shumaker Ringnecks was in business.
“We just kind of fell from the sky 和 raised 20,000 birds that first year,舒梅克说. “I had a lot of people tell me we wouldn’t make it, but I just kept my head down 和 made it happen.”
Adam, 斯泰西 和 their two sons, Kade, 18, 和 Korbin, 15, now 提高25,000 chicks each year. They receive day old chicks from MacFarlane Pheasants in Wisconsin in monthly shipments from April through July.
When the chicks arrive at Shumaker Ringnecks, they stay indoors for six weeks. 当这些鸟大约30到35天大的时候, 舒马克的, 通常是在当地年轻人的帮助下, 在野鸡身上放上一种叫做“窥视器”的小装置. The peepers sit on the pheasants’ beaks 和 are designed to keep them from seeing straight ahead. Shumaker says this helps prevent the birds from fighting each other.
六周后, 他们过渡到户外的野鸡圈, 他们住在哪里直到他们19到23周大, 狩猎小屋的理想年代. “看着他们成长真的很有趣,舒梅克说, “to see all our energy go into an animal 和 see a good final product.”
生长中的野鸡的营养
Shumakers依靠 回报®野鸡开胃菜 和 种植者 CHS饲料配方. The feed is delivered directly from the CHS feed mill in Corson, S.D., often by Jay Graff, who has driven that delivery route for years. 饲料每月一到两次以24吨重的货物运送.
“There are a lot of variables when it comes to raising pheasants,舒梅克说. “Being able to depend on quality 回报 feeds for over 12 years is important to our farm. 鸟类总是保持健康，保持良好的生长. 这是我们能指望的最重要的事情之一.”
斯科特不能, CHS动物营养高级销售经理, says making sure customers with specialty product needs like 舒马克的 have high quality, 可靠的产品是帮助品牌成长的重要因素.
“CHS has a wide portfolio of products that service a lot of different segments in animal nutrition,Connot说. “历史上, 我们以在牛肉和奶制品领域的大量业务而闻名, but there is definitely a market to fit specialty customers as well.”
Shumaker appreciates that he works with an agricultural cooperative in CHS.
“我只是大局中的一个小人物, 但很高兴知道你是更大事业的一部分.”
了解更多澳门皇冠赌场平台 回报CHS提供的高品质动物营养.
准备好野鸡的季节了
长大后, 舒梅克环颈雉被运往保护区, commercial hunting lodges 和 local customers within a 100-mile radius of Howard. Local customers often include friends 和 family who buy a few birds to release on their property a few days to a few weeks prior to when they plan to hunt.
“猎野鸡是一件社会性的事情，”舒梅克说. “越来越多的人想要到户外去. 这是他们的假期. 当你来到南达科他州猎野鸡时, 就像其他人去科罗拉多滑雪一样.”
As requests start coming in for pheasants in late September through December, the birds are loaded into crates 和 Shumaker delivers them to customers.
“我迫不及待地想让我们的顾客看到我们的鸟，”他说. “全国对野鸡的需求很大. I wish there were more people who could raise birds so more people could hunt.”
需求飙升
The Shumakers use every square foot of their space to maximize efficiency, 每只鸟分配20到24平方英尺，以尽量减少问题. Shumaker says he often gets more requests for birds than he can h和le.
“如果我们想养更多的鸟，我们可以卖更多的鸟, 但你只能在围栏里放这么多野鸡,他说.
Bird flu has become a growing concern for pheasant 种植者s 和 has contributed to pheasant shortages. The Shumakers try to empty their barns by the end of January to lessen the risk of their birds contracting bird flu. They have also put biosecurity plans in place to protect their birds.
Like traditional farming, Shumaker says there are similar seasons to raising pheasants.
“It’s kind of like a crop; when farmers are planting in the spring, 那是我们得到小鸡的时候,他说. “When they combine in the fall, that’s when we are harvesting our chicks.”
The first few weeks of hunting season have 舒马克的’ phone ringing constantly. 随着赛季的进行，一切都有了节奏.
舒梅克说，他喜欢季节性的时间表和过程. “我们在努力，我们试图推出一款好产品.”
请查看完整的 2023年秋季C杂志 随着这篇文章和更多.
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