Fiddesbeg Shoot - a diverse sporting operation

The shoot

Gregor has use of 3,500 acres at Hatton and 2,500 acres south of Ellon for his sporting activities. The ground is mixture of arable and 30 year old spruce forest. He has the stalking rights over all of this land and runs the Fiddesbeg shoot in the later area. Over the season the syndicate shoots six times, plus one let day; all of which are 90-100 bird driven days. Most of the 10 guns are locals and the operation runs in a non-profit making manner. The day includes a light lunch at a local pub plus elevenses.

He had been rearing his own pheasants but the investment in new equipment didn’t make financial sense. So Gregor now buys in Japanese Green cross poults from Hy-Fly.  He puts down 1500 pheasants and sees a 40-50 % return. Early November saw the first arrival of woodcock with large numbers seen. Some pass through but others stay, particularly if there is snow inland. “We have been known to shoot 30 or 40 on a good day,” enthused Gregor. There are also lots of wild ducks, including widgeon and teal.

To feed the pheasants Gregor has chosen a 21% protein grower pellet from Marsdens Game Feeds. This is fed until they are 11 weeks old before they move onto the covert pellet up to 14 weeks. After release the birds are fed on whole wheat with Hold em’ Dry spice added. “This specially formulated spice contains all the essential aromatic flavourings to entice birds,” explained Simon Evans, director of ForFarmers Speciality feeds division. And where it can be difficult to hold birds, such as on the fringe drives, Gregor uses Hold em’ Close seed mixture. This palatable blend contains sunflower, millet, peanuts, maize and soyabean oil.

Challenges 

Initially I was trying to feed the whole of the 600 acre plantation, which didn’t work,” said Gregor. 
“After advise from an experienced game keeper, I now feed just one part heavily and have seen a 25% increase in return.” Elsewhere pens are placed one side of a break, and the birds fed on the other, where they can be shot over. He also concentrates feeding near the main drives. Gregor collects chaff from a local grain store to help hold birds after release and it can also be spread out on top of snow, offering another food source.  Straw bales are distributed after release to give interest and encourage the birds out.

Another challenge is to get the birds mature enough for the start of the season, particularly as the poults don’t arrive until the beginning of August. Gregor finds that keeping birds on a pelleted feed until release really helps. “The birds feather up well and are of a good size by the end of October when we start to shoot,” he said. “If you put them onto wheat too early you loose out on tail development and size; it’s a false economy.” Guns want to shoot well-developed nicely tailed birds and good feeding works, as well as improving returns.

It is important to think about pen placement to maximise return and avoid birds moving onto adjacent estates. “I find that the birds on my land always move south,” stressed Gregor. Japanese Greens love cover, as apposed to ring necks, which like to go out into the stubble feeds. However, growing cover crops can be difficult, as most won’t grow in the wooded areas because of the lack of sunlight. And pigeons and roe deer often eat what does grow. The owner of land is an agricultural contractor and he has been able to successfully grow maize by starting it under plastic in May. This works well as cover, along with some barley, and can reach up to eight feet before it’s harvested for silage.

Roe deer days

Gregor leads between 60 and 70 stalking outings a year, with some friends staying for the week and others just an evening. The parties are from all over Europe but his trips are particularly popular with Danes and Swedes. He also has Italian guests and last year he hosted a group who made a film to promote shooting in Scotland. One of the draws is that many of the best heads are shot in the area each year. In 2013, Gregor’s friends shot five of the top 40 heads in the Scotland. Heads are known to reach and sometimes exceed 175 CIC points in the region. This is believed to be due to the mineral rich clay soils, which promote antler growth. “There is certainly no need for salt blocks, as there isn’t any mineral deficiencies the deer don’t touch them,” Gregor explained.

On one site there is a 600-acre block of forest, where there may be 100 roe deer at any one time. In winter the deer come in from the wheat and barley fields to this area of loose cover. It is here where Gregor has the opportunity to manage the population. By feeding the pheasants wheat he is also supplementing the deer and if there is deep snow he provides hay or haylage. They can see fall of two to three feet, which although is short lived is often accompanied by high winds.

In an area of new plantations he is trialling feeding a specific deer nut during the winter. ForFarmers manufacturer the Cairngorms range of deer feeds, which are designed to maintain condition for breeding and support antler growth. The does in this region always have twins and some triplets, so keeping them at a healthy weight is particularly important. Genetics playing a large role in this phenomena but it is believed to also be due to the mineral rich soils.

The importance of nutrition

It’s not just the game, which eat Marsdens feeds, Gregor has six working Labradors which are fed Prestige working and sporting dog foods. He feeds either the 25 or 23% protein diet during the season dropping to the 19% version over the summer. “I’ve been very pleased with the condition of my dogs and how they’ve worked,” stated Gregor. 

He has been running the Fiddesbeg shoot for six years and has used other pheasant feed suppliers. “The pellet quality of Marsdens feeds is excellent, there is very little dust and I waste less in the feeders,” said Gregor. “I now see better feathering and consistent growth of my birds.” “For me quality nutrition is not only important for health but also for the economics of my shoots,” he concluded.