Pheasants - info please

[ncotb]

There are a couple of us on here that are wanting advice re pheasant chicks (poults). See Leg Rings topic by Mitcharooster in general chickens.

I have 4 & they are about 4 weeks & I dont know what breed/sex they are. 3 brown & 1 lighter, Any ideas???? Have googled but not come up with any helpful info/pics.

 

[snifter]

I think it may be a case of waiting till they are bigger.

Can I ask why you got pheasants? Just they can never free range or else they are gone. And they are very nervous birds and don't use a hen house or anything.

My only knowledge of them comes from working on an estate where they had a shoot and so raised thousands of them each year from hatching, into release pens and then out into the wild. I find their lives a pointless existance if they are only going to be shot 6 months later and it never sat well with me. Thankfully I didn't have to do much with them.

 

[snifter]

They could just be the common one we have around. I'd be able to tell you in a couple of week for sure.

 

[Tim]

Sorry, not my area of expertise - they look lovely though and I'm sure by now they are starting to look great!

 

[Anne W]

How are your pheasants NCONB ? I know what you mean Snifter about raising them purely to be released to satisfy the warped pleasure some get by shooting them :twisted:

 

[peter wade]

i think you will find if ornamental it will take a couple of years for cock birds to get proper colour, if you want to keep them try cutting large flight feathers remembering they grow again after moult only other way put wire netting top on run you then at least can put them in house at night. remember that at breeding time they fight like cockerels so only keep 1 male you should be able to tell hens easy they look like wild ones i know people that keep them in large pens and they seem ok a large aviary will do when i say cut feathers only half way down

 

[ncotb]

Turned out that they were Reeves. Sold them a while back to a friend of a friends friend who also has goldens & another type. Lovely birds though

 

[animartco]

I think it may be a case of waiting till they are bigger.

Can I ask why you got pheasants? Just they can never free range or else they are gone. And they are very nervous birds and don't use a hen house or anything.

My only knowledge of them comes from working on an estate where they had a shoot and so raised thousands of them each year from hatching, into release pens and then out into the wild. I find their lives a pointless existance if they are only going to be shot 6 months later and it never sat well with me. Thankfully I didn't have to do much with them.

Hi snifter. With golden pheasants it's easy. You can tell the sex almost immediately by the colour of the eyes. blue for a boy. With ring necks its not so easy. The difference is very slight. A man with years of experience bought a fully fledged bird off me and was sure it was a she. Turned out he was wrong! I don't know about other breeds, but if there is a difference in the eyes you're OK.