It depends, some use small breeding pens and some use huge pens.
My pens are smallest being 320sq.ft. to the largest 5,000sq.ft. The majority of the pens are 320sq.ft. I have 5 enclosures that are 20 x 24 and 4 pens per enclosure. And another 5 enclosures that are 30 x 40 and that have 8 pens...
Even a 20 x 20 enclosure is too small for that number of birds. The 8 x 12 pens are big enough for a pair and maybe a trio but no more than that....come spring the cock birds will start displaying and wanting to mate with the hens, if you have 3 or 4 cock birds in that enclosure (20 x 20), you...
First thing, you have way too many birds in a small pen....this is causing the cannibalism.
Why they are laying this time if year is a mystery....they shouldn't be laying!!!!
If the eggs are fertile, then you'll have the male birds trying to fight for breeding rights for the hens, this can...
Will be interesting to see what these birds look like when 2 year olds. These were hatched in June and July of this year.
Some other miscellaneous pics
Vestigial left wing Yellow Golden
Yellow Goldens, Peach x Cinnamon cross, Abyssinan Blue and Dark and Light Buff ringnecked.
Peach and...
Some new pics of the Peach males! Hard to belive they are 1 year old and this well colored out. They have almost finished their molt. Post molt pics!
Pre molt pics!
1 Year old as of today! Both Peach males from the same cock, different hen!
They are in the middle of their 1st adult molt.
Here's a pic of their daddy!
Photo time!!!!
Mainly Peach and Yellow Goldens but a couple of Amherst, Red Goldens, and Buff Ringnecked. The buffs are the bright yellow with no markings!
Yes, but they are on my computer, the one not hooked up to the internet....and the new phone's now days don't have micro scan disc capability. But if I can find them on the web I'll post them....for some reason if you post pics on here they turn up on the web? I don't watermark or copy right my...
Finally, set my 1st eggs of the season today, Buff ringnecked, Red Golden, Yellow Golden, Peach Golden, Silver Golden, Abyssinan Blue ringnecked, Mongolian, Persan, Stranch, Elliott, Amherst and Ijima Copper. Phew!!!!
If you can find it, a gamebird feed ration of at least 24% protein is recommended (crumbles) not pellets. If you can't find a gamebird feed, then a Turkey starter will work, it's usually 28 to 30% protein.
Good luck and happy hatching! :jumpy
Got my first pheasant egg of the year, today, a Peach but unfortunately, it isn't fertile, she rejected the male that I put in with her last November...rejected as in, fought him and kept him on a perch. :(
Going to try again with a different male....it may be too late, though! :fl
Merry Christmas to you too!
it isn't so bad for me if I let a few of the pens set idle, the native foliage will regrow, so I don't have to replant everything, every year.
I have really scaled back on my inventory of birds, so rotating pens has become easier to keep the vegetation in the pens.