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About Baker City herald. (Baker City, Or.) 1990-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2020)
COMMUNITY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2020 BAKER CITY HERALD — 3A “Once you get one or two fl ying, they all do.” — Jason Dexter patiently, occasionally ducking when a pheasant buzzes by their heads, waiting for the birds to settle down. “Once you get one or two fl y- ing, they all do,” Dexter said. He said he has had a few experiences in the pens that reminded him of nothing so much as “the movie” — mean- ing, of course, the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock fi lm adaptation of Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Daphne du Maurier’s classic A rooster pheasant. The horror tale, “The Birds.” gray cloth on the bird’s Once the pheasants have snout is a “blinder,” a calmed — the lines of feed temporary device that that Gary Krantz poured onto discourages the birds from the ground helping to divert pecking each other. the birds’ attention — he and Cheryl start selecting roosters. Gary, 63, uses a handheld net to capture each bird. Cheryl, 66, carries it to Continued from Page 1A the edge of the pen, where Motorists on Highway 7, the crates are stacked. She just across the Powder River, removes the “blinder” — a gray get an unobstructed, if brief, fabric patch that fi ts over the view of the net-covered pens bird’s snout and discourages inside which more than 5,000 the pheasants from pecking of the game birds have strut- each other — and places the ted at times this year. rooster into the crate. Dexter said that almost (“Imagine putting blinders every day he’ll watch at least on 5,000 birds,” Dexter says a few drivers pull off the high- with a rueful smile.) way and stand on the gravel Each crate can hold nine shoulder, looking and, often as birds, Dexter said. not, taking pictures. With autumn’s cooler tem- “This place has been quite perature he can put that many the buzz,” he said. pheasants in each crate. But On this afternoon, though, during summer he had to limit he’s too busy gathering birds each container to fi ve or six, to to watch passers-by gawking prevent the birds, which have across the river. a normal body temperature of Dexter and his parents, 105 degrees, from succumbing Cheryl and Gary Krantz, need to the heat. to corral about 280 roosters 24-hour operation today. They’ll haul the birds, Pheasants don’t spend a lot which are tucked into wooden crates, to a state wildlife area of time confi ned in their cages, Dexter said. near Monmouth. Buyers, both ODFW and The Oregon Department of private game reserves, want Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is birds delivered as soon as one of the Dexters’ two main possible after they’ve been clients. captured. The couple also sell birds Summer deliveries were to several private hunting re- serves. The biggest difference especially hectic, Dexter said. Because the birds are sensi- between the two buyers, Jason tive to heat, Dexter said he Dexter said, is that ODFW and his wife, along with his buys only roosters. That’s because hunters on public and parents and the other employ- ees they hired at times, often some private land can only legally shoot male birds. Many worked until well past mid- night to ensure the birds were of the roosters Dexter sells to ODFW are released for special caged, and ready for transport, during the cool of the night. hunts open only to youths. “There were six or seven The state pays from $17.50 days when we worked on this to $18.10 per bird, the price depending on delivery location, all night,” Dexter said. “This was defi nitely the hardest said Kelly Walton, assistant game bird biologist for ODFW. thing I’ve ever done. It’s an incredible amount of work.” Private game reserves, by By comparison, he said with contrast, can buy both hens a chuckle, his college studies and roosters and allow hunt- ing of both on their own land. and training as a registered nurse were only modestly Rounding up roosters taxing. The process starts not un- Dexter said his employers, like a cattle drive, only with Ashley Manor and Step For- the soft clucking of birds the ward Activities in Baker City, predominant sound rather have been “extremely fl exible” than the thunder of hooves. in accommodating his new The Krantzes start at one venture. end of a pen and then walk “It’s been pretty hard to slowly forward, in effect herd- juggle both,” he said. ing the birds to a catch pen. Jeanie Dexter is the fi nance The pheasants generally director for the city of Baker cooperate. City. For a few minutes. Jason Dexter said he But then one fl ies, its wings wouldn’t have been able to fl apping wildly as it bounces start the pheasant farm with- off the gently yielding nylon out the help from his parents. netting. The odometer on his diesel In a few seconds most of pickup truck has been spin- the fl ock is airborne. You can ning most of the summer. barely make out the Krantzes Dexter estimates he has put among the fl urry of multi- on 9,000 miles this year deliv- colored feathers. They stand ering birds to multiple places PHEASANTS Fall is here! Cold weather can mean icy spots in shaded areas! • Lumber • Plywood • Building Materials • Hardware • Paint • Plumbing • Electrical And much more! in Oregon and in Idaho. “You’re defi nitely on the road a lot,” he said. Besides the rush to secure pheasants last spring, Dexter said he had to construct pens, buy feeders and feed, and do An unexpected beginning all the other things necessarily Dexter said he and his wife to raise several thousand birds had been talking about start- in a few months. ing a pheasant farm. “We were building pens all They did not, however, plan the time, just trying to stay for 2020 to be their inaugural ahead of them,” he said. “When crop. you’ve got 5,000 or 6,000 birds But in early March, Jason getting bigger and bigger ... Dexter got a call from a friend and they get big fast.” who raises pheasants near Dexter said the current pens, Middleton, Idaho. in deference to the speed with The friend, who had previ- which they were assembled, are ously sold birds to ODFW for only temporary. youth hunts, was getting out of He plans to improve the pens the business. in time for the 2021 crop. Dexter, who grew up in Baker City and fondly recalls Pheasants 101 Although Dexter loved to hunting pheasants as a boy, hunt pheasants when he was said he wanted to make sure pheasants would be available a boy, he acknowledges that he for this year’s hunts, including didn’t know much about the birds. one at Ladd Marsh near La But following a summer in Grande. which he watched something Indeed, he said his role in like 6,000 pheasants grow to giving kids a chance to hunt maturity — and deal with the is the most gratifying part of occasional blow to the solar raising pheasants. plexus — he is intimately famil- “For a lot of these kids it’s their only hunting opportunity iar with the species. of the year,” he said. And with their appetites. When the pens were at the And so he and Jeanie most crowded, with around decided to try raising birds even though they weren’t truly 5,000 hungry gullets to sat- isfy, Dexter said he was going ready. through 3 tons of feed per week. “We ordered chicks before The mixture, with a protein we even had brood houses to content of 28%, is considerably put them in,” Jason Dexter richer than the mash fed to said. Nor did they have purchase chickens, he said. But even that wasn’t enough contracts with ODFW. to satiate the pheasants. Because he started rela- They also cropped the calf- tively late, Dexter said it was challenging to fi nd a suffi cient high grass in the Dexters’ river- side meadow down to stubble. number of birds to start his “They mow it right down,” farm. “We were looking all across he said. “It’s amazing how the country,” he said. much these things eat. And it’s He bought eggs and laying expensive.” Dexter said he’s also been hens as well as chicks. The hens, until they stopped surprised by how territorial pheasants are. laying in the mid-summer “One male will try to keep heat, were at peak production laying two or three eggs each all the other birds away from a feeder,” he said. per day. Occasionally a pheasant will “They lay a ton of eggs,” manage to wriggle through a Dexter said. “We hatched out gap in the netting. a lot.” But Dexter said the birds, He sent some of the chicks even as they’re fluttering to a pheasant farm in Idaho. against the roof of the pens, Dexter said his operation now has an incubator, so next aren’t actually trying to escape. Those that gain their freedom year should be considerably invariably try to get back into less hectic since they will be the pens, he said. able to start the production The pheasants have mainly season with thousands of eggs rather than having to scram- been healthy. “We’ve had a few deaths here ble to fi nd birds. and there,” Dexter said. That will be a welcome But none of those resulted change from 2020, he said. DONATE YOUR CAR 1-844-533-9173 FREE TOWING TAX DEDUCTIBLE 541-523-4422 ing his own flock. “I hate to put all my eggs in one basket in case something happens to the incubator,” he said. Fortunately, Dexter said he knows he can rely on his fellow pheasant farmers, across the country, to help him in a crisis. He said the business, perhaps because it’s a relatively small niche, fosters cooperation rather than competition. “All the raisers help each other, and every pheasant person knows all the others,” Dexter said. “It’s a pretty close- knit community.” He said a friend in Idaho who has been raising pheas- ants for almost three decades is his “go-to guy” for advice. Dexter said patience is a key attribute for a fledgling pheas- ant farmer. He doesn’t expect to turn a profit for three years. But Dexter said two of his primary goals are personal Ready for a rest rather than financial. The shipment of 280 roost- He wants to help bolster ers on Oct. 22 wasn’t the last pheasant populations in Baker of the season — but there County by donating birds for won’t be many more. release in suitable habitat. “We’re winding down,” Dex- Pheasants generally prefer ter said. “Thank God.” fields and other open areas with As with any farmer, winter brushy edges. isn’t a vacation, exactly. “I’d like to get the birds going But neither will he be work- back in Baker County again,” ing around the clock. he said. “When I was a kid, the Dexter plans to keep about birds were all over. Now a lot of 800 laying hens through the people don’t even know what winter. With the hens supply- a pheasant looks like. Every ing eggs and the incubator time we go out (to deliver operating, he doesn’t expect birds) we get asked, ‘what to buy any chicks or eggs next kind of chicken is that?’ ” spring. Dexter also plans to donate Although he doesn’t rule out pheasants for a youth hunt in the possibility of supplement- Baker County in 2021. from predator attacks. Dexter grins when asked whether coyotes and other animals have ever made a meal of fresh pheasant. The question strikes him as amusing because of the secu- rity system he installed. The pens are equipped with an array of motion and heat sensors. When a sensor is triggered it sets off lights and blaring sirens. That’s happened many times, Dexter said, which sug- gests that predators certainly have been attracted by the presence of so much meat. Typically the alarm goes off around dusk, the time when night hunters usually begin their search for sustenance. “Jeanie calls it the witching hour,” Dexter said. He’s seen no evidence, though, that any predator has ignored the cacophony and actually penetrated the pens. Hours: Th urs. Fri. Sat. 9AM–6PM Get Winter Ready! • Hats • Gloves • Scarfs • Blankets • Generators Come see our ever changing Inventory ALOTT Bargains Help Prevent Blindness Get A Vision Screening Annually 2390 Broadway, Baker City 541-523-5223 Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Cheryl Krantz removes the blinder from a rooster pheas- ant just before placing the bird in a wooden crate. Jay & Kristin Wilson, Owners 2036 Main Street, Baker City 541-523-6284 • ccb#219615 Imagine The Difference You Can Make 3205 10th Street Baker City Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 5:30 pm Saturday 8 am - 5 pm Closed Sun Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald Gary Krantz pours feed at his son’s Powder River Pheas- ant farm on Thursday, Oct. 22. Ask About A FREE 3 Day Vacation Voucher To Over 20 Destinations!!! A Little of This & That 2013 1st Street • Baker City • 503-477-3398 facebook.com/ALOTTBargains ALOTTBargains@outlook.com
