Releasing Pheasant

[drdoolittle]

Hi! Our local fish and game club, of which we are members, has been raising pheasant all summer. They are giving the pheasant out to members to release on their own properties.

My husband and I are planning on getting some and first releasing them into our huge fenced area our 2 pot belly pigs live in. The area is very overgrown with all types of weeds/grasses, many of the weeds are at least 6 feet tall and provide excellent cover. There are also 5-6 pig houses/shelters, 2 large covered dog kennels (12' long x 6' wide) and a mini barn. The pigs only use 1 or 2 of those to sleep in and the mini barn is only for our barn cats.

I want to release the pheasant in the pen because they'd have access to water (4 large rubber water dishes and 3 kiddie wading pools) We would scatter feed throughout for them and I think they'd have a better chance at survival starting out somewhat protected.

My one worry is that my barn cats might possibly kill them. I haven't looked at the pheasant in several weeks, but I imagine by now they are pretty much full-grown size. I do feed my barn cats very well, both dry and wet food 2x/day.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Will raccoons kill the pheasant at night? Or do pheasant roost up in the trees?

 

[007Sean]

Hi! Our local fish and game club, of which we are members, has been raising pheasant all summer. They are giving the pheasant out to members to release on their own properties.

My husband and I are planning on getting some and first releasing them into our huge fenced area our 2 pot belly pigs live in. The area is very overgrown with all types of weeds/grasses, many of the weeds are at least 6 feet tall and provide excellent cover. There are also 5-6 pig houses/shelters, 2 large covered dog kennels (12' long x 6' wide) and a mini barn. The pigs only use 1 or 2 of those to sleep in and the mini barn is only for our barn cats.

I want to release the pheasant in the pen because they'd have access to water (4 large rubber water dishes and 3 kiddie wading pools) We would scatter feed throughout for them and I think they'd have a better chance at survival starting out somewhat protected.

My one worry is that my barn cats might possibly kill them. I haven't looked at the pheasant in several weeks, but I imagine by now they are pretty much full-grown size. I do feed my barn cats very well, both dry and wet food 2x/day.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Will raccoons kill the pheasant at night? Or do pheasant roost up in the trees?

Cats and raccoons will definitely kill your pheasants if they can get to them.
Ringnecked pheasants tend to roost on the ground at night, rarely in trees. They will also need an easier accessible source of water. They most likely won't use any of the structures as a source of protection from either predators or the weather. Unless the flight pen is totally covered, and protected from digging predators, the pheasants, once you release them will fly far away from their release site.

 

[drdoolittle]

Cats and raccoons will definitely kill your pheasants if they can get to them.
Ringnecked pheasants tend to roost on the ground at night, rarely in trees. They will also need an easier accessible source of water. They most likely won't use any of the structures as a source of protection from either predators or the weather. Unless the flight pen is totally covered, and protected from digging predators, the pheasants, once you release them will fly far away from their release site.

So would it be better to just release them into the woods? I don't care if they fly away, just want them to have a chance at survival. The "pen" my pigs are in is about 96' x 96'.

 

[RiverOtter]

Cats and raccoons will hunt them in or out of the pen. I'd definitely release them in the pen. Honestly, I don't know how many you're getting, but I would try to make a smaller roofed enclosure (anything from a wire dog crate to a big circle of welded wire with some bird net over the top) and keep them in there and fed for a day, before letting them "escape" from that into the main pen. That would keep them from panic scattering directly into the woods and almost certain death, and give them the slow-release from the main pen that you're looking for.

 

[drdoolittle]

Cats and raccoons will hunt them in or out of the pen. I'd definitely release them in the pen. Honestly, I don't know how many you're getting, but I would try to make a smaller roofed enclosure (anything from a wire dog crate to a big circle of welded wire with some bird net over the top) and keep them in there and fed for a day, before letting them "escape" from that into the main pen. That would keep them from panic scattering directly into the woods and almost certain death, and give them the slow-release from the main pen that you're looking for.

We are getting 30. I have a dog kennel with a wire top that is also partially covered with tarp. I'll have to repair a couple of spots, but I could put them in there.
I'd just forget getting them, but they are going to be released by someone whether it's me or not. I'm sure a lot of the people getting them are just going to hunt them or train their dogs with them. I mean, it's a fish and game club.......
At least I can try to give them a chance to live. I feel bad for them.

 

[drdoolittle]

I was sure my cats wouldn't bother them, they've never bothered my chickens, fully grown or chicks, ever. In fact, my barn cats are afraid of my chickens, lol.
But I'm going to do my best to be sure the pheasant are safe and secure for a bit before actually releasing them. Would a few days suffice?

 

[RiverOtter]

I always feel bad for them too. Folks release them around me, and the poor things are totally unprepared and so tame. I always feed them. I always feel like the only way in which this helps hunters is predators are so stuffed full of these poor babies that the wild ones catch a break.

BUT, if you can get them used to eating somewhere where there's good cover, I had one released male live in my pig pen safely and happily for 2 years.

 

[drdoolittle]

I always feel bad for them too. Folks release them around me, and the poor things are totally unprepared and so tame. I always feed them. I always feel like the only way in which this helps hunters is predators are so stuffed full of these poor babies that the wild ones catch a break.

BUT, if you can get them used to eating somewhere where there's good cover, I had one released male live in my pig pen safely and happily for 2 years.

There's plenty of cover behind the pen the pigs are in.....our woods. We have a pasture behind that. The neighbors on either side of us have ponds and there is a corn field and then a creek beyond our pasture.

I'll release in the woods and toss feed out every morning.

 

[RiverOtter]

I should mention - he could get out of the pig pen. He just was happy to show up at mealtimes and roost there most nights. And being somewhere the dogs and I were active around kept him safe from predators.
He did that two years, then one spring he went off into the woods and stopped coming back.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

There's plenty of cover behind the pen the pigs are in.....our woods. We have a pasture behind that. The neighbors on either side of us have ponds and there is a corn field and then a creek beyond our pasture.

I'll release in the woods and toss feed out every morning.

Can you wait until the corn field is harvested? I have read devastating stories in my area of pheasants being killed during harvest time.