Our Pheasant fly pens are somewhat different from most fly pens in the flight bird industry. Each pen measures 100 ft. wide by 300 ft. long and are all free span. We have eliminated the support poles used to hold up the top netting in most fly pens. This was done by using an overhead cable, pulley and rope system. This system has greatly reduced our mortality rate caused by birds flying into the support poles. We also feel that this system produces a better flying bird. These pheasant fly pens are constructed with 7 ft. sidewalls. The post and poles are set on 25 ft. centers. We use 10 ft. treated post and 25 ft. utility poles for the 300 ft. length of the pen. The corner post is 7 ft. tall, then we alternate with a 20 ft. tall pole and then another 7 ft. tall pole the length of the pen. All end posts are 7 ft. tall.
One inch hex poultry netting is used on all sidewalls, and is hung on 1/4 inch cable on 24 inch centers. Galvanized corrugated metal is used around the bottom of all fly pens. The bottom 1/4 inch cable should be set so it can be fastened to the top of the metal to help stabilize it. The overhead cable system is achieved by placing 1/4 inch cable across the pens from the top of the tall poles. Three pulleys are attached to each cable at 25 ft. intervals and held in place with cable clamps. This provides 18 lift points in each pen. We reinforce the 2 inch heavy top net with a piece of 1 inch heavy top netting under each lift point. A solid braid nylon rope is then placed through the net and tied to a piece of 1 1/2 inch black plastic pipe under each netting. The rope is then run through the pulley and back through the netting. When the netting is raised the rope is then pulled to the side of the pen and secured to the top cable on the sidewall. This system allows a lot of space for flight as the top netting can be raised to a height of 14 to 16 ft. tall.
One of the most important features of our rearing facilities is the galvanized corrugated metal that is used around the bottom of all pens. it isolates the birds, provides weather protection, discourages predators, and makes it much easier to move the birds from one area to another. This plan can be adopted to any size pen.