Some peeps do the above but for me, I think of it as a "ticking time bomb". You may not have any problems today, tomorrow or a year from now....but eventually you will! I just don't want to risk losing my birds to something that is totally preventable.
I respect every single one of your posts bc I know you know what you're doing, and I don't! But I am very interested in keeping pheasants and was bummed to hear that having chickens with/near them won't work. Is there no evidence at all that some pheasants grow resistant to certain diseases? Or does it just wipe out everything before you can try to treat? All questions asked bc I'm here to learn.
I'm not aware of any pheasants that are resistant to disease. If your dead set on raising both, then i would have their enclosures separated by at least 300 ft. and the pheasant enclosure "up wind" of your chicken enclosures. I sound like a broken record but BIOSECURITY, BIOSECURITY, BIOSECURITY, is the most important aspect in raising pheasants or other gamebirds.
A lot of times if a hen abandons her young, they will fail to thrive in the brooder. Just refuse to eat. All the other advice, however, was spot on with my experiences. In ten years, I only had one hen that actually reared young to the normal development age when they leave them (about 8 weeks.) For best results, take eggs as soon a layed and put them under a broody hen if possible.
Last year we had a female that set on eggs twice. The first time her eggs got broke, then she found another spot. She successfully hatched 7 chick's. Let me tell you, they are horrible moms. Sure she stood around looking at them. She kept them warm and dry. But in the day time they would go every which just foraging. They had plenty of cover we let seeds just grow, you knew where they were by the grass moving, one buy one they died. They aren't as attentive as a chicken is with her chick's. We plan on giving pheasant eggs to any broody we get, hoping to instil the attentive part.
