State Game Farm

Stocking

The Department of Conservation, now the Wisconsin DNR, began stocking pheasants at the inception of the State Experimental Game and Fur Farm in 1928. The DNR continues to stock captive-raised ring-necked pheasants on public hunting grounds; however, the philosophy of the stocking program has changed over time. Initially, pheasants were stocked to bolster the wild pheasant population and to provide quality pheasant hunting opportunities. Subsequent research has proven that, over time, stocked pheasants do not have the survival instincts to evade predators or hunters long enough to significantly contribute to the wild pheasant population. Current stocking efforts aim at providing quality pheasant hunting opportunities on public hunting grounds. Pheasants are stocked weekly, beginning the week before opening weekend and continuing through November on most properties. Some properties are stocked in December. Projected stocking efforts on public hunting grounds are available online on our pheasant hunting page.

Day-old chick program

The State Game Farm also provides day-old chicks to conservation clubs enrolled in the Day-old Chick (DOC) program. Cooperating clubs sign an agreement [PDF] [Word] which states they agree to provide all labor and costs for raising the birds. Under this agreement, the clubs have two options to choose from:

1. Public Hunting Option - which states the club will release pheasants on private land open to public pheasant hunting or on approved state-owned lands. Interested pheasant hunters must contact the landowner before pheasant hunting on private property. Currently, only one DOC club participates in the Public Hunting Option. This club is located on Washington Island in Door County. These private lands, open to public hunting, are available upon request from the State Game Farm or your local wildlife manager.
2. Cost Share Option: This option states that the clubs may release pheasants on private lands closed to public hunting, but they must return a percentage of the pheasants they raised to the DNR according to the schedule provided as part of the agreement. The percentage returned is dependent on the pheasant's age at the time of release.

The DOC program currently involves conservation clubs that typically receive about 16,000 rooster chicks annually. If your club is interested in becoming a DOC cooperator, fill out the application and agreement referenced above and email/mail to your local wildlife manager.

DOC clubs are required to submit a release location form [PDF] [Word] by October 1 and a rearing report form [PDF] [Word] by December 15 to their local wildlife manager. Failure to comply could result in denial of program participation in the future.

Private lands open to public hunting are available upon request from the State Game Farm or your local wildlife manager.

Learn to hunt

The State Game Farm provides birds for Pheasant Learn to Hunt Programs statewide. The Learn to Hunt programs are excellent opportunities to offer hunting experience to novice hunters, introduce pheasant hunting to first-time hunters, and share outdoor experiences with others. Pheasant Learn to Hunt programs typically include a full day of classroom and field exercises that cover all aspects of pheasant hunting, including safe firearm handling, hunting regulations and ethics, upland gamebird biology and management, dog handling, and proper game cleaning techniques. Students typically start the day in the classroom, covering the basic rules of firearm safety then practice their shooting skills on the trap range before heading to the field for a pheasant hunt. Students are mentored by volunteers and WDNR staff.

The State Game Farm is proud to support a program that promotes hunter education and recruitment, safe firearm handling, and wildlife conservation. If you want to learn more about Pheasant Learn to Hunt programs in your area or would like to sponsor a Learn to Hunt program, check out Learn to Hunt.

History

The Wisconsin Experimental Game and Fur Farm was established in 1928 near Fish Creek on the Door County peninsula. This facility conducted breeding and propagating experiments on several species of pheasants, grouse and prairie chickens. The Wisconsin Conservation Department, now the Wisconsin DNR, took on this endeavor in response to several successful private introductions of pheasants to the state between1914-1920. During this time, Gustav Pabst is credited for successfully establishing a wild pheasant population in Jefferson and Waukesha counties. Public support for a state-funded program grew as those initial populations expanded, and reports of pheasants providing a sporting challenge to wing shooters came from surrounding states.

The Department expanded its pheasant rearing program over the next several years to include using the Waupun prison farm and 900 acres of land in Fond du Lac Co. leased from the Izaac Walton League. Eggs were shipped from the Fish Creek site to Waupun, where they were hatched under setting hens. The chicks were reared by prison labor under the supervision of a full-time gamekeeper. Experimental projects conducted on the Fond du Lac Co. site included breeding, hatching, rearing and stocking of pheasants, Hungarian partridge, chukars, bobwhite quail, and mallard ducks. In addition to game birds, the Department, in cooperation with the Wisconsin Raccoon Hunters Association, began a raccoon rearing and stocking program. Knowledge gained from these studies on methods and costs of captive and wild game production was passed on to private game farms and the general public. Public exhibits of 25 different game bird species, furbearers, black bears, and the rare (in southern Wisconsin) white-tailed deer were opened to the public. Over 25,000 people visited the facility in 1931. The game division also set up a series of land management displays and mounted animal exhibits. It took this show on the road to as many county fairs and exhibitions as possible.

The State Experimental Game and Fur Farm were consolidated and moved to its Poynette location in 1934. From 1934-38, the conservation department worked hand in hand with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to build a major facility for the propagation and stocking of exotic and native upland game species. The primary emphasis was on producing and distributing pheasants and other upland game birds. Twenty-seven species of pheasants were raised in addition to Hungarian and chukar partridge, ruffed grouse, quail, turkeys, prairie chickens, and several geese and ducks. A modern hatchery capable of incubating 150,000 game bird eggs was completed in 1938 and is still in use today, although the original incubators were upgraded in the 1960s. The furbearer section included the propagation of mink, otter, raccoon, red, silver and gray fox, pine marten, and cottontail rabbits. The Department stocked between 1000-3000 raccoons annually from 1937 to 1957. The fur section was discontinued in the late 1950s.

The State Game Farm served as a propagation facility and a place for game management education and animal life history research. An intensive study of each species' breeding, captive housing, parasites, disease and nutrition occurred. A laboratory for diagnostic services and manufacturers of drugs and vaccines was established. A full-time staff of veterinarians examines thousands of sick and dead birds and mammals annually. Public education on conservation and animal propagation was a top priority. Exhibits of each captive species were set up, and guided tours were conducted daily. In 1940, over 60,000 people toured the public exhibits. The traveling exhibits continued to attend county and state fairs throughout the Midwest, promoting the wise use of our land, water, and animal resources.

Budget and Workforce

The pheasant stocking program expanded from 14,000 birds released in 1928 to 32,000 in 1932 to over 180,000 in 1939 when 65 full-time employees were stationed at the State Game Farm. Production of game birds, mainly pheasants, has never been cheap. The pheasant operation was the largest of all projects, and the 1939 budget for pheasants alone was $151,000. In the following decades, the game bird operations at Poynette became more specialized, the number of species raised declined, and propagation techniques advanced so that fewer employees were needed to produce the same number or increasing numbers of birds. The overall budget continued to expand through the mid-1980s when the annual budget excluding permanent personnel peaked at over $402,000, while the number of full-time employees continued to decline. Permanent personnel were reduced from 65 in 1939 to 55 in 1950, 30 in 1960, 24 in 1970, 13 in 1980, 11 in 1990, 8 in 2000, and the 2018 staffing level for the pheasant production operations consists of 6 full-time employees. Pheasants produced for the release programs peaked at over 270,000 in 1957 and gradually declined to 200,000 in 1970, hitting a low of about 58,000 in 2004. Since 2013, release numbers have been 75,000 pheasants through the Public Hunting Grounds program, with approximately 22,000 additional pheasants released through the Day Old Chick program.

From its inception in the late 20s, the pheasant stocking programs took three forms: the cooperative egg program, the cooperative day-old chick (DOC) program, and the release of birds raised at Poynette for either the introduction or expansion of pheasants in the wild or for hunting opportunities on public hunting grounds (PHG).

Cooperative Egg Program

The cooperative egg program was started in 1928 and ended in 1967. Fertile eggs were provided to 4H, FFA, and conservation clubs which used various incubation methods (from setting hens to modern incubators) to hatch chicks. The clubs then raised the young birds and released them onto private land at 6-14 weeks of age. This was a popular but very ineffective program. Over 40,000 eggs were distributed in some years, and less than 10,000 pheasants were released. The average mortality rate before release for the program's history was 80%.

Day-old Chick Program

The day-old chick cooperator program was similar in intent to the egg program but more efficient in that the pheasant chicks were hatched at Poynette and then distributed to the cooperating clubs to raise and release. Initiated in 1936 at a 30,000 bird level, this program reached a peak distribution of over 190,000 chicks to 200+ conservation clubs in 1958. The original role of the DOC program was to get grassroots support and participation in pheasant management. Participating clubs were provided birds and would release them on private land deemed as good pheasant cover that was open for the public to hunt. The original objectives were establishing and expanding pheasant populations and providing hunting opportunities.

Public Hunting Ground Stocking Program

Stocking of pheasants raised at the State Game Farm has gone on since 1928. From 1928 through 1957, birds of both sexes from various strains (mostly Chinese ring-necked) were released onto private and state-owned land. Releases were done in every county until the mid-1940s. Many different strategies for releasing were used, including stocking throughout the year and releasing birds of 4 weeks of age to over a year in age. Since 1958, pheasant stocking from the State Game Farm has been a fall release of predominantly roosters onto state-owned or leased lands for providing short-term hunting opportunities. Since it began, the public hunting grounds stocking program has released between 30,000 and 74,000 birds annually on 70-90 public hunting grounds. Many public lands purchased in the 1940s through the 1960s were acquired with pheasant hunting (and stocking pheasants to supplement wild bird numbers) as a primary objective.

F1 Experimental Release

From 1986 – 2005, WDNR initiated an experimental wild pheasant release program funded by pheasant stamp money. The breeding of wild-trapped pheasants from Iowa (1986-2004) and a flock of pheasants imported as eggs from the Jilin Province of The Peoples Republic in China (1990 – 1994) produced first-generation (F1) progeny that were reared for release onto study areas. F1s were released into large tracts (10,000 acres minimum) of public and private land with improved habitat but low pheasant populations. A target of 350 hens and 150 roosters were released onto each project area for three consecutive years, and then stocking was stopped. Populations were monitored through winter flushing counts to determine sex ratios and spring crowing counts. Results are mixed on the almost 30 study areas where birds were released. It appears that the F1 releases were effective in establishing self-sustaining populations of pheasants if habitat requirements were met and original pheasant populations were low or non-existent. However, control areas where no stocking was done have shown equal or greater pheasant population response to improved habitat. Research shows that if the proper habitat is established and maintained, and existing pheasant populations are holding on even in low numbers, pheasant numbers will increase regardless of whether birds are stocked. In layperson's terms, the F1 releases jump-started what would have occurred naturally. These results and the inability to procure additional wild breeding stock have led the Department to end the F1 release program.

The State Game Farm operations and cooperative rearing programs have significantly impacted pheasant hunting since 1928. Over 12 million pheasants have been produced and released at the State Game Farm, first helping to establish the birds throughout their range and secondly to provide direct hunting opportunities through put-take stocking. The program has always been controversial among biologists and hunters alike, many of whom feel the WDNR obligation is to manage pheasant numbers through habitat programs rather than spending the money and devoting the personnel to produce pen-reared pheasants for hunting opportunities. Conversely, the program has had overwhelming support from hunters and conservation clubs that hunt public and private land where pheasants are stocked. Regardless of either viewpoint, history bears out that the State Game Farm has been one of the longest-lasting and highly visible single species-focused programs ever undertaken by the agency, and its operation and resulting products have touched the lives of millions of Wisconsin citizens over the years.

Tours

Tours

Due to biosecurity protocols and disease prevention efforts, we cannot offer public tours at this time. However, virtual tours may be available in the future; please check back.

• Take Cty. Hwy Q/CS east for approximately 1/2 mile.
• Turn right on Bohling Rd. for approximately 1/2 mile to T intersection.
• Turn left on Stebbins Rd.
• Stebbins Rd. will end, and the Game Farm office will be the first building on the right.