How to take care of ringnecks?

[J_J_max]

We will be receiving six ringnecks at the beginning of May, and I have no idea what to do for them! What should we feed them, house them in, etc...

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

@007Sean

 

[007Sean]

We will be receiving six ringnecks at the beginning of May, and I have no idea what to do for them! What should we feed them, house them in, etc...

Howdy,
Are you getting all male birds or males and females?
If your getting them to breed, you will only want 1 male and the other 5 hens. One male ring necked can easily handle 10 hens. 2 males in a pen together with hens will result in a 'blood bath', with one or both of the males dead or severely wounded.

In general, ring necked pheasants are more aggressive than other ornamental pheasants. The bigger their enclosure the better. For six birds, I'd shoot for an enclosure of 300 sq.ft. they will also need a portion of the enclosure to be covered to provide protection from the elements, wind, rain, snow, heat and shade if no trees are available. My pens have a 3 sided shelter and open face to the run area. I use 1" welded wire for my run areas and the top. Corrugated tin for the roof of the shelter.

You will also want to provide 'pheasant furniture', ie; large smooth rocks, stumps, shrubs, grasses and perches. Helps to keep them from pacing the perimeter of the pen and helps break up 'line of sight' to an aggressive bird. During extreme cold and wet weather, as long as they have a 'draft free' and dry place to get out of the wind, they will be ok.
Wet, cold and muddy conditions can kill a bird very quickly.

I feed mine a custom milled feed of 24% protein. There are several manufactures of quality game bird feed. Choose whichever one that makes a complete and balanced feed of at least 24% protein and you can find reliably at your feed store. And of course a reliable source of fresh, clean water.
HTH and good luck with your birds.