State Game Farm

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) - State Game Farm is located near Poynette in central Columbia County. The goals of the State Game Farm and the pheasant stocking program are to provide quality pheasant hunting opportunities on public and private lands, promote safe and ethical behavior in the field, and cooperate with conservation groups dedicated to promoting pheasant hunting in the state. There are a number of programs the WDNR uses to accomplish these goals.

• Public Hunting Ground (PHG) Stocking
• Day-old Chick Program (DOC)
• Learn to Hunt Program
• Wisconsin Association of Field Trial Clubs

All ring-necked pheasants provided by the WDNR for each of these programs are produced at the State Game Farm. A pair of indoor breeder barns were built in the early 1980s to increase bio-security measures and pheasant production levels. By adjusting indoor lighting levels, the Game Farm staff is able to artificially induce production at any time of year. Currently, pheasants in these barns are put into production in February and the first eggs are collected in early March.

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The original hatchery from the early 1930s is still in use today. Approximately 330,000 eggs are incubated annually in incubators that have been in use since the 1950s. Weekly hatches occur from early April through the end of June. At the end of the hatching season approximately 250,000 chicks will be hatched. Many of these chicks will be reared on the Game Farm, with some going to conservation clubs that participate in the Day-old Chick program. Hen chicks are also available for sale to the public.

Pheasant chicks are reared in two environmentally controlled brood-rearing barns. These barns were erected in the early 1980s to increase bio-security measures and the efficiency of chick rearing operations. Approximately 60,000 chicks are reared indoors until they are 6 weeks old. Chicks are then transferred from the indoor rearing facilities to the outdoor range fields until they are released in the fall.

Other information

• History of the State Game Farm
• Pheasant Hunting in Wisconsin
• State Game Farm Contact Information

Questions for Wildlife Management

Contact the Game Farm