A few questions about keeping chukar

Greetings!
I have some questions about Chukar Partridge. I've ordered 35 of the little guys to arrive with the rest of my McMurray order this June, and while I have done some research on them, there's a few questions that remain unanswered.

1. How close can I keep them to chickens? I'm aware of the disease risks of keeping gamebirds with chickens, unfortunately we live in woods which are utterly infested with bears, and building predator-proof coops is very expensive and difficult- so we have to get creative. I'm hoping to repurpose a large shelf I built onto one wall of my larger chicken coop- it runs the entire length of one wall (16 feet), it's maybe 2-3 feet wide, and it's about four feet off the ground. If I disinfect the shelf (the turkeys have been roosting on it) and put in a fiberboard panel wall to make it it's own self-contained cabinet, will that be adequate separation? I'll also have to keep disinfectant in the coop keep my hands clean while switching between caring for the pheasants and other poultry, obviously, but the food and water supplies will be kept in a different area and will not enter the chicken run or coop so they won't really be an issue. The partridge run is planned to be adjacent to the chicken run, separated by wire and wooden fencing. Will this be enough to prevent contamination?

2. Which diseases are they susceptible to when living near chickens? I've heard some names in passing- coryza, coccidiosis, etc., but I've never actually been able to get my hands on a full list. Can anyone provide that for me?

3. I'm mostly buying them for meat. I'll probably keep four-five for breeding, if the project is successful. For the other 30- what age is optimum for processing? Eight weeks? Sixteen? I'm looking to butcher at the largest size without the feed cost beginning to tip the scale.

I may have other questions later, but for now these are the more pressing matters. I still have six months before they arrive, so there's plenty of time to change plans, if any advice from more experienced members comes to be of use. All answers, and any other tips on raising them, are highly valued and appreciated.

Apologies for any grammatical, spelling, or clarification errors.

Wishing you a pleasant day,
QueenMisha.

I would keep them as far apart as possible.Blackhead is also one your chickens can pass to pheasants.The gamebird feed has meds for blackhead in there.
I had real good luck raising 25 chukars in a 6wx12lx6h pen with a washed sand base.They were hatched and raised together whether this made the difference I don't know but I'm sure it had something to do with it.
I am not familiar with the age to process,but I'm thinking 16 weeks.If you keep them on wire they should do okay,but the washed sand worked good for me.I don't believe they will trio for breeding I think it's a one to one deal.
If you feed and water your gamebirds and then feed chickens after you may get away with a lot of the clean ups.
Why are you buying from a hatchery?There are many breeders in each state that raises them and sell them cheaper then any hatchery.Let me know what state you are in and I will see if I can find someone near you.
In N.H.,Tony.

Well, blackhead I can confirm I do not have, as my turkeys have lived with my chickens for nearly a year and have never had a problem. I've also had my flock cleared for coccidiosis on my last vet visit. Also, I should clarify- The type of feed I buy is organic, and thus is medication free.

I can say I am very happy to hear about the sand. We have quite a few buckets of sand lying around our property, left by the previous landowner, and recently I've actually been trying to determine if I can find any use for it. In fact, we also have some buckets of pea gravel, some with sand mixed in. Do you think these might be of use as well? I haven't measured the area, but its probably 20x10-ish, maybe a bit larger.

I expected the age would be somewhere around there. I believe I've heard similar numbers for other small gamebirds, quail etc., so I didn't imagine there would be too much variation.

Thank you for the offer! However, due to a recent issue with dry-form fowl pox (and several other disease issues in the past) and the fact that I have no way to quarantine new birds, I've recently decided to restrict my buying to large hatcheries only, specifically McMurray as I've always had great service from them. This is also the reason I'm buying from a hatchery as far as the chukars go; while I am sure there are many terrific breeders out there, I find it much simpler and faster (if more expensive) to be able to simply order from a hatchery.

Tony KT do you know anyone near San Diego CA that breed chukars? I am seriously considering them for next spring but have been reluctant to order the minimum from online.

sweetlife said:

Tony KT do you know anyone near San Diego CA that breed chukars? I am seriously considering them for next spring but have been reluctant to order the minimum from online.

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Sorry no one listing them,just bamboo and roul rouls listed in the APWs directory.Don't order them from a hatchery,I am sure somebody on here can hook you up with some.
In N.H.,Tony.

Try good ole craigslist.I saw a few ads in San Diego with chukar chicks.
In N.H.,Tony.

Thanks, i checked craigslist a few months ago and didn't see anything, i will check again! Or i might just wait until i get an incubator and try my luck at hatching some...

We had pretty good luck with our first ever hatch. Go for it!