Releasing birds that have the ex-factor

At first glance, buying an ex-layer for £2.50 appears to be excellent value for money when compared with buying in a seven-week-old pheasant poult at £4. But there are, of course, huge differences between the two and there is a reason why one is almost double the price of the other.

There has been so much debate about it over the years, with opinion divided between those who think ex-layers are a waste of time and money, and their fans who see them as a cheap alternative to poults.

I have a foot in both camps, as we release poults on the main shoot and our ex-layers on the ground where we have our smaller days. There are several reasons for releasing them in different areas, not least the fact that the ex-layers are released when