Wild pheasant likes the chickens??

[Fiasco]

Hi!

I brought 6 hens and a rooster home the day before yesterday, and they're settling in wonderfully. But the funny thing is, this wild ring-necked pheasant has been hanging around their pen 24/7 since they arrived. He walks right up to the fence, and looks straight at the rooster! And the rooster just keeps an eye on him. Sometimes, when the rooster crows, this guy will let out a big squawk and stand up and flap his wings wildly, like he's showing off or challenging the rooster or something. It's really strange to see!

I put a dish of duck food out for him, since I figure he has to eat sometime and he hasn't left at all for this whole time. I'm not sure if he's eaten it yet. I really like the guy, I'm hoping I can feed him and sort of tame him eventually. He's really beautiful, although shy.

Do you have any idea what he could be doing?? Do you think he just wants to "be friends" with the chickens, or maybe he's looking for a mate? Has anybody had something like this happen before?

 

[sourland]

It almost sounds as if he has been unable to locate any ring neck hens, and since it's 'that time of year' the chicken hens are looking attractive to him.

 

[drumstick diva]

Poor pheasant, "one is the loneliest number." as the song tells us.

 

[lazy gardener]

Sounds like he's someone's domestic escapee. Too bad he doesn't have a mate. Can you inquire on your state thread to see if any one has lost a ring neck, or if there is a game farm that might catch and relocate him so he can have a mate?

 

[The Phantom]

Your hens must be very pretty! Lol

 

[RodNTN]

Your hens must be very pretty! Lol

 

[Fiasco]

Awww! I hope Mr. Pheasant earns a full place with your flock! Maybe it was just meant to be! I just want to warn you though, I've heard of wild turkeys who temporarily joined the flock, and when they wandered away again, they brought some of the flock with them. Given how many times Mr. Pheasant was scared and came back, I'm sure he has proved his loyalty! Good luck, and keep us updated!

Thanks for letting me know! The hens really do seem to like him, so I could see that happening. Hopefully, they like their food too much to stray far!

I was just out putting the chickens to bed, and Mr. Pheasant was there as usual. I stayed out with my camera to try and catch another picture of him, but he just strutted away across my driveway. I though he must be gone for the night, so I gave up. But then I had to go back out and collect some tools I had left outside, and he was back beside the chicken coop, looking at them through their window. At the sight of me, he started walking away again, and made some really sweet little chicken-like noises as he did. It's so cute and sad, poor Mr. Pheasant!

 

[Fiasco]

Just read through this thread, any updates?

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile! Life's been busy...two of my new hens turned out to have bumblefoot, and I'm trying to figure out what to do/get up the courage to take care of it!

The pheasant is still here nearly all of the time. He has been eating the duck food I put out for him, and drinking from the pond. He still makes these little sounds, just like a hen cooing. I tried to google it and can't seem to find any recordings of a pheasant making a sound like that, so I almost wonder if he's learning from the hens? It's really sweet, either way!

One hen has decided to "fly the coop" every day, which isn't too hard to do, although the rest don't really try. She spends the whole day out with Mr. Pheasant, just a few feet from him! They just seem to hang out together, with her scratching around and him watching. I don't know what they do when I'm not looking though! She started this about a week ago, and at first I was trying to catch her every night and put her back in before bed, because it's easier to get out of the run than back into it. But she is the hardest chicken I've every dealt with to catch (she flies at my face like a rooster if I try to corner her!), so last night I let her go and she made it back in by herself, yay! That's a bit off-topic, but oh well.

A couple of days ago, Mr. Pheasant was hanging out in our yard outside of our window. He decided to jump up on a rock and preen himself, and I got this picture:



Not great quality, but the best I have right now. I'll try and get a picture of him with his hen friend today! They're really cute together.

 

[Fiasco]

It almost sounds as if he has been unable to locate any ring neck hens, and since it's 'that time of year' the chicken hens are looking attractive to him.

Haha, I was wondering that myself. It does make sense! He could easily fly over our fence, but I think he's keeping a distance due to Mr. rooster, who watches him pretty closely!

I googled what would happen if they were to cross-breed, but it seems like most "phickens" die pretty early on...too bad, although the rooster wouldn't allow that anyways! The pheasant was still out there last I checked, when I was putting the chickens to bed at dusk. He's pretty determined! I kinda feel bad for the guy, no mate to be found for him.

 

[Fiasco]

For the past few days, the pheasant has been hanging around their run without a break. Every time I look out, he's in the woods right beside them (the run is backed up into the forest), and they're just inches apart. Yesterday, I even noticed that while Rocky, my rooster, was on one side of the run, all of the hens were gathered at the other side. I looked a little closer, and there the pheasant was beside them, just the fence separating them. They chose to follow him instead of the rooster! Love at first sight.

This morning, when I went out to release the chickens from the coop, the pheasant was in their run! He froze when he saw me, and I (thinking, "this is my chance to let the chickens meet him!") opened the chicken coop door and let them pile out. I was keeping a close eye on Rocky, in case he would challenge the pheasant, but he didn't even seem to take notice of him. The pheasant was clearly terrified of me, though, trying to barge through the fence to get out. I felt so sorry for the poor guy. I tried to hurry through filling up their feed, so that I stand back and see what would happen. I finished quickly, and was about to leave, but then I saw that the chicken coop door had closed (I'd forgotten to prop it back) and a hen was still inside. So I had to go back in to open it up, but when the pheasant saw me coming again, he really freaked out. He took off at a near-vertical flight, barely missing the treetops as he made his escape.

Too bad, I was hoping something magical would happen and he would be friends with them! Hopefully this won't scare him away for good...but no, I just heard him squawk again. I don't think he'll be giving up too easily! We'll see what happens in the next few days...