January Work
at Allandoo Pheasantry
January is an important month for catching up with all the big cleaning jobs and repairs. It is the best time of year for checking all the wire mesh and roof netting as they are easier to see now there is less greenery about. Any holes are quickly patched up and if windbreak is loose anywhere it is attached securely. It is also a good time to top up any muddy areas in the pens with sand and gravel, with a little extra sand for the birds to dust bathe in. Perches are also checked for cracks and if need be are changed, in case birds claws get caught in them which can result in a nasty injury. We like to get as much repair work done as possible at this time of year weather permitting as disturbing the birds too much during the spring and summer can put them off laying. It is also handier for us as we will be far busier ourselves later in the year with eggs and chicks to tend to.
Although most nestboxes have already been removed, any still remaining will be taken out for a thorough clean and dry, in plenty of time to be replaced, before the breeding season commences.
Our incubation room is the one which always has to be spotless. It is vital that it is scrubbed and disinfected along with all the incubators. We already make sure everything is cleaned after use but we treat the incubators to a second wash and then fumigate them in our incubation room. Then it is time to test every piece of equipment to make sure it is all in working order. The incubators are left to run for a couple of days and thermometers are checked to make sure all readings are the same. If this is done in January it still gives us time to order spares and have any damaged machinery repaired or replaced. We will also run our generator again, if this has not been in recent use, as it would be a terrible tragedy to lose a lot of eggs or even small chicks due to a power cut.
Due to plants being rather bare we make sure we have extra cut branches in all the pens for the hens to hide among. The cock pheasants can often turn aggressive on a sunny day even though daylight hours are still rather few. The birds do seem to prefer branches to other types of cover we have tried offering.
With so much to do the dark and cold days of January soon disappear and the promise of a new and exciting season is just around the corner.
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