Do pheasants go broody?

[PoultreeKing]

I have a pair of ring neck pheasants who are about 10 months old, we're almost halfway through March so they should start laying soon, i'm wondering if the female will instinctively sit on the eggs she lays, if not then i have an incubator ready, but i still would like to know if they do go broody and if so, do they do it every breeding season, or maybe they don't in their first year? Any information would be really helpful. Thanks!

 

[Freisian]

I have a pair of ring neck pheasants who are about 10 months old, we're almost halfway through March so they should start laying soon, i'm wondering if the female will instinctively sit on the eggs she lays, if not then i have an incubator ready, but i still would like to know if they do go broody and if so, do they do it every breeding season, or maybe they don't in their first year? Any information would be really helpful. Thanks!

In the wild they would, but if captive it would depend on how undisturbed they are maybe?

 

[007Sean]

It's really a crap shoot. I have a few hens that go broody, set half way through, then quit. Others set until hatch. Not all of them will each season, and not all hens will go broody, period.
Given the proper habitat, helps. Planted enclosures and not a lot of disturbances increase the chances.
Had one hen last season set on 2 clutches and hatched both...another set, hatched then walked away from her chicks.
So you can see it's not a for sure thing...the hen that walked away was F1 generation from wild stock.
If yours go broody and hatch, be prepared to get the chicks to an incubator or brooder if she quits mid-way through the process or abandons the chicks. HTH

 

[PoultreeKing]

It's really a crap shoot. I have a few hens that go broody, set half way through, then quit. Others set until hatch. Not all of them will each season, and not all hens will go broody, period.
Given the proper habitat, helps. Planted enclosures and not a lot of disturbances increase the chances.
Had one hen last season set on 2 clutches and hatched both...another set, hatched then walked away from her chicks.
So you can see it's not a for sure thing...the hen that walked away was F1 generation from wild stock.
If yours go broody and hatch, be prepared to get the chicks to an incubator or brooder if she quits mid-way through the process or abandons the chicks. HTH

Thanks mate.

 

[sourland]

It's been a long time since I raised ring necks, but my experiences were identical to @007Sean .

 

[Freisian]

Thinking about it more, this was why old game keepers kept nankin bantams and Silkies crosses to do the brooding. Might be an idea raise them under a bantam broody?

 

[BobDBirdDog]

Yup! My ringneck hen did!

 

[PoultreeKing]

Thinking about it more, this was why old game keepers kept nankin bantams and Silkies crosses to do the brooding. Might be an idea raise them under a bantam broody?

I have 6 silkie hens but all are too young to go broody, i have two incubators i can use, i know it's not the same as the natural hen way but it'll get the job done i guess.

 

[007Sean]

I have 6 silkie hens but all are too young to go broody, i have two incubators i can use, i know it's not the same as the natural hen way but it'll get the job done i guess.

If you plan on hatching with a broody chicken, you better have Super BIOSECURITY measures in place. Chickens can carry diseases that they can tolerate but will kill a pheasant and other gamebirds.
Cross contamination is easily overlooked, washing hands, changing clothing and shoes before entering pens or handling birds, feeders, waterers, etc and not allowing visitors to be in your enclosures will help lower the risk of transmitting diseases.
I don't raise chickens anymore due to the above statement. Even with no chickens present, I still practice a very high level of BIOSECURITY!
It's also the reason I prefer to hatch my breeder birds, instead of buying adult breeding stock. Yeah, it's probably cheaper to buy the adult stock versus buying hatching eggs but since hatching from eggs (20 + years now) I haven't had any sick birds and don't have to worry with quarantining, which can have the possibility of transmitting disease via air borne illnesses. Just my 2cents.

 

[PoultreeKing]

If you plan on hatching with a broody chicken, you better have Super BIOSECURITY measures in place. Chickens can carry diseases that they can tolerate but will kill a pheasant and other gamebirds.
Cross contamination is easily overlooked, washing hands, changing clothing and shoes before entering pens or handling birds, feeders, waterers, etc and not allowing visitors to be in your enclosures will help lower the risk of transmitting diseases.
I don't raise chickens anymore due to the above statement. Even with no chickens present, I still practice a very high level of BIOSECURITY!
It's also the reason I prefer to hatch my breeder birds, instead of buying adult breeding stock. Yeah, it's probably cheaper to buy the adult stock versus buying hatching eggs but since hatching from eggs (20 + years now) I haven't had any sick birds and don't have to worry with quarantining, which can have the possibility of transmitting disease via air borne illnesses. Just my 2cents.

Well this sucks because i have 45 chicken/chicks, 30 pigeons, 2 bob white quails, and the 2 pheasants, now each is in it's own cage but still they are all close together, plus i hatch all my chicks in the same incubator so chicken chicks and pheasant chicks will be mixed together from day one.