pheasants insane?

[CTChick]

We have a chinese golden/yellow - he is gorgeous, in our 19' X 20 ' pen (with chickens) and really not that flighty. No, I wouldn't let him out - and he is moving into his own run/shelter soon but only because we hope to find him a hen. I hear they get more aggressive once they have a female. But I have a friend with a farm and she kept pheasants with her chickens, no problem. The goldens ARE very docile though. And absolutely beautiful! I need to get a picture to post.

Laura

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

We wanted to get some for awhile but held off because all the horror stories we heard about them. They are flighty and can be aggressive towards each other but with proper pens and learning how to raise them they are easy.

Steve in NC

 

[keeperofthechickens]

Yeah pheasants are best to kept separate from chickens, I have heard even hen pheasants can get nasty.

I inherited a pheasant, it's Swinhoe Rooster which kinda looks like a silver pheasant without the silver back. Of course all I have is my chicken pen so he is innermixed with the chickens. So I am not practicing what I preach. He gets along ok with the chickens, sometimes he'll chase a rooster but loses interest after a minute or so. It's been over a year now of having in the chicken pen and no big problems. I would think though if I introduced a swinhoe hen their would be problems once breeding season started.

 

[wilds of pa]

Surly get some if you can provide what they need..do your homework on them and don't buy on a whim like so many do and all heck brakes loose....

You will love pheasants once you understand them and what they need to survive.

I found out the hard way a few years back when first starting out with my ring neck mutants and not really looking into them more like i should have, but it all worked out well to were we are with them now and they really are fun birds to have esp once they get to trust you and eat out your hand, sure they don't like being handled all that much but will gain your trust in time..

 

[silkymom]

hello, i have a pair of em, ringnecks, my silkies hatched them , they are col but need to be alone, i put eggs this yr under silkies, but a renagade cat got them, the hen is shy the roo is a butthead, and wii untie your shoe before hes satisfied, that is his attack,
i would keep them separate,
juliet

 

[HLAC]

I had some ringnecks that were bred for their 'flightiness' and boy, they sure were. Even after breeding and hatching a couple generations of them they were still so skittish that I would lose some due to them flying into the top of the coop or the trees in the enclosure.

I think there are some lines of ringnecks (like the meat types) that aren't so nervous. The red golden pheasants I had weren't too bad.

BTW, I did keep some chickens in with the pheasants and they left the chickens alone. I did have blinders on the cock pheasants tho'.

 

[95yj]

something you must understand is that pheasants are not chickens, they have not been domesticated nearly as long and thus are not as comfortable around people. I have a pair of goldens that i'v had for maybe six years, theyv gotten used to me and i can occasionaly pet the male, when i have to catch them for a show or bloodwork i have few problems just from practice and experience. I'm not sure why people are accusing them of being nasty with other birds, i'v kept doves, pigeons and chickens with mine, i even had an old english rooster in with them during breeding season and they didn't fight anymore than two roosters would. of course mine were goldens, i'v heard other species can be alot wilder.

 

[Gaddafi]

Yes, well insane is a word that could describe them at times. They are quite wild regardless but only turn cannibalistic under crowded or very stressed envionments. In my opinion, ringneck pheasants should never be kept with chickens and they require A LOT of space and keeping them indoors, other than at chick stage, is not a good idea. My flyways are 100 feet long, 50 feet wide and 12 feet high for 40 birds max. I do find them quite flighty and not as friendly as chickens for sure, but they are pretty and taste great,

good luck,

Marc

New Brunswick, Canada

 

[95yj]

somebody i know used to keep ducks, chickens [standards and bantams] and a pair of ringneck pheasants all together without incedent. the male pheasant eventualy drowned in the duck pond so i guess it wasn't all that incident less, but there were no bird vs. bird wars.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

No fighting usually isnt a problem with mixing birds, disease is. Each type of fowl is more resistant or sensitive to one type or another.
When mixed together, a chicken may be a carrier of disease X and the pheasant may be very susceptible to it, when he gets it, he's gone.. I know a lot of people do it, and some never have many problems at all, but the thing is, it's a risk, and you never hear someone say, yep, I did it, and lost everything, because most dont want to admit to it (I guess) I know from personal experiences over the 27 years now of playing with these things, that mixing birds, can be a disaster, usually for the rarest and most expensive seems to be my luck too. So, I keep my peafowl in 1 pen, my turkeys in their pens, pheasants in there's, and bantams in the bantam stalls. And so far, no big disease outbreaks....But if at all possible, chickens and waterfowl should always be kept away from all types of upland gamebirds as they seem to be most at risk, this includes, quail, pheasants, peafowl, turkeys, grouse, and such....