Domesticating Pheasants

[arizona]

Hello I am a new member and I feel i will really enjoy this forum.

Can ringnecks or any other pheasant be hatched and raised by a broody bantom hen and be made to live free ranging with the bantams . I have raised
guinea fowls very successfully with a different breed of chicken and they live just fine although they are a little shy I want to raise pheasants only if I do not have to keep them captive. The bantoms do come back to their pen in the evening. I am talking of an area roughly 1.5 acres.

Many Thanks in advance

 

[Mahlzeit]

I am actually interesting in hearing the answer to this myself. I would think they might be too wild still to actually come back but I could be wrong. I have never tried.

 

[JJMR794]

Cant Answer 100% For Sure, But Before You Do This Can You Move In Next Door? Cause I Dont Think It'll Go Well For You As Far As Free Raning Pheasants, But I Can Always Use New Stock.. :d.. Lol.

Seriously Tho, They Typically Dont Free Range All That Well Tho There Are Always The Exceptions To The Rule... And Another Thought, Your Local Fish And Game Dept May Not Be So Happy To Hear Of These Birds Being "turned Loose" Daily--- So Definately Check Your Regulations Locally With That 1st!

 

[Mahonri]

My neighbor four houses to the west said that he had a ring neck rooster than regularly wandered into his yard. I had heard it "crowing" but couldn't actually believe that we had ring necks running around here in urban phoenix. I've thought about growing some and then let them do their thing. Our neighborhood would be a good one for that.

 

[Kev]

I used to have free ranging pheasants in several species, ringneck being one of them. They were both brooder raised(can be VERY tame if you play with them) and hen raised.

As adults, it seemed their ringneck instincts were just too strong. The brooder raised adults always remained tame- still could gently pick them up and pet them(ringneck roosters have this wonderful smooth feeling).. but, every time, the roosters would "move out" of my yard, also a little bigger than one acre and set up separate terrorities they refused to tolerate any other males in. They all came in my yard either at feeding time or to eat but always went back out when they were full to their places. The females wandered around quite a lot.. as a result this species were pretty much IN my yard a bare minimum of time, mostly just for feeding time.

I ended having to sell them as if they won't stay in my yard, best to pen them up or sell.. But if someone has many more acreage or have a place where their roaming wouldn't be a problem they would be a good species to try.

Based on my experience the best pheasants as for staying in one acre sized yard were the Eared pheasants. They were exactly like chickens, I don't know why they aren't more common in backyards..

Goldens were also pretty good, although the hens and juvenile males were hit seriously hard by coopers and sharpshinned hawks, had to stop freeranging them, it was that bad. The same hawks just never hit my chickens or larger pheasants..

Silver pheasants were also very good, another extremely tame species but a little more like OEG as in they like to 'range' a little bit. I've been aware of others who let their silvers free range and theirs stayed around too. In one flock they hybridized with the chickens..

It's been several years, so that's all I can remember at the moment..