Escaped Pheasant!

[littlemissjellyfish]

"The Fez" escaped the coop and spent the night in the woods! I could hear her "peeping" but couldn't find her! I thought she was a gonner until the next morning I found her circling the Chicken Tractor! She missed her sisters so she came back! She hasn't strayed since. Are game birds like my Ring Necked Pheasant easily trained or is this a fluke?

 

[Bantam Bodon]

In my many years of raising pheasants this sounds more like a fluke. I think age has a lot to do with it though. The younger they are the more they seem to stick around after escaping and even try to get back in. The older they get the less they try to stick around for some reason. But it isnt unheard of, we have had full grown pheasants make a nice wild living after being released or an escape and returing to the pens just to check on things every few days.

 

[ranit]

Yeah, I think it's more of a fluke although it sometimes happens. We turned 6 pairs loose last year hoping to maybe have some that would stay around or possibly get them started in our area. This spring we still had 2 hens and 1 cock that would come into the yard every evening. Now we still see the cock every evening but no hens. Figure a predator probably got them while they were nesting.