Pheasant Breeders in Oregon?

Mary Coleman

Chirping
7 Years
Sep 22, 2012
249
5
81
North Eastern Oregon
I have been looking into pheasants lately and have narrowed my top three choices down to Grey Peacock Pheasants, Lady Amherst Pheasants, or Swinhoes Pheasants. Does anybody know of any breeders in Oregon or other surrounding states? Also anybody who has dealt with one or more of these birds is more than welcome to share their experiences. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Do you have any experience with pheasants? Of the breeds you have narrowed your search down to, I have Lady Amherst and Grey Peacock Pheasants. Lady Amhersts (along with Golden Pheasants) are a good ornamental pheasant beginner bird as they are easy to raise. Grey Peacock Pheasants will require winter protection, although they are the hardiest of all the peacock pheasants (the other species require heat). This was my first year breeding them and I did well with them; however, I have had Lady Amherst and other species before attempting Grey Peacock Pheasants. They are all nice birds, but if you are just into pheasants the Lady Amherst is the way to go. Make sure you find a reputable source with pure ones as there are many hybrids out there unfortunately. In Oregon there is Ken Kroener with all of the species you are interested in plus others. Contact me for his info. @Tony K T will be able to help you out more.
 
Quick question on the Lady Amhersts: can they be housed with chickens (Colombian Wyandotte, Australorps, New Hampshire reds, Silver-laced Wyandottes) if the run and coop are large enough?
 
I doubt people would sell hatching eggs from these pheasants. Ruffed pheasant eggs on eBay are oftentimes hybrids. Breeders with reputable pure Amherst sell juvenile birds. GPP lay clutches of two eggs, and their eggs are delicate. Shipping takes its toll on pheasant eggs, that is why it makes sense to buy nice, pure birds.

Pheasants cannot under any circumstance be housed with chickens if you want them to lead happy, healthy lives. Chickens carry diseases that pheasants, peafowl, and turkeys can get sick and die from.
 
I don't have any experience with pheasants, but I am very interested in them. I do however have experience with other birds incuding geese, turkeys, chickens, guinea fowl, and ducks. My family and I are moving to a new house soon with two large pastures and I wanted to build an aviary for some pheasants. I would be able to provide a barn with heat lamps if necessary. It can get pretty cold where I live in the winter time, but nothing extreme. The summers are plenty warm enough. Thank you SO much for all of your information. Any tips on how to make and what to include in an aviary for pheasants?
 
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The Lady Amherst pheasants are cold hardy and will not require any heat lamps. They will just need a shelter to get out of the elements. In the shelter consider that they will need perches, a nest box for the hen, and a spot for their food and water. They should have at least 150 square feet of space (for a LA pair). However, the bigger the better. The outdoor run should be covered with flight netting to make sure the birds cannot kill themselves by jumping up and breaking their neck. My birds also like perches outdoor. You can add old Christmas trees for cover, or you can plant some shrubs and ground cover plants. Lady Amherst are not destructive to foliage. Then you can add a tree stump,a log, or some branches that they could perch on. Things like that are to keep the environment interesting for the birds. The fencing I use is 1" x 2" x 72" tall. Smaller openings in the wire would be ideal if you can do that; that way you can later have the hen raise chicks in the aviary safely. The pheasants should be fed a gamebird pellet. Mine also enjoy wild bird seed and then they do get fed corn in addition during the winter. There are some good sources of information on the web so do your research before getting them.
 
They can stay together year round. There are other pheasants species where they do have to be separated, but not the ones you are interested in. For the Lady Amherst it would be a good idea to have some hiding spots for the hen to get away from the male. The males have nice displays, but sometimes the hen wants a break from the male. Here is a video that @leo7 posted that does show a nice pen and hiding spots for the hen:
That is a fine example of pure Lady Amherst pheasants.
 

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