Golden Male NEED A LOT OF HELP!!

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

I have a pheasant male, and I dont know if he is a dark throated or cinnamon golden, so how can I figure this out? Also, how can I tame him and get him ready for shows? When will he start breeding? How long should I pair him? Can any one give me tips on breeding? He is 5 mo. old, and should he start breeding next spring?

Here he is:
COOL DUDE (his name)

NEED

 

[Lophura]

Quote:
He is certainly an odd looking guy!! I'm not a big fan of pheasant mutations, mainly I don't trust their purity thanks to the peacock craze & talking to people who deliberately cross pheasants, but he certainly has some features that I question. His tail has stripes, very dark face, and it looks like even some black on his breast. He's not a normal Golden and doesn't appear to be a cinnamon either. Dark-throats have been found to have traces of Amherst blood in them, so who knows.

They can breed their first year, but I wouldn't until he fully colors out and you know what you have. As far as taming for showing, also not a fan of pheasant showing. They are so active and weary birds, I think it would cause a great deal of stress on them. I also think showing should be left with domesticated animals only. Who are we to (will be politically correct as not to offend anyone's beliefs!!) judge millions of years of evolution and/or God's creation.

I'd let "Cool Dude" color out, spend time with him, offer treats, and you could end up with a nice pet bird whose origin may never be known!!

Dan

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

Quote:
He is certainly an odd looking guy!! I'm not a big fan of pheasant mutations, mainly I don't trust their purity thanks to the peacock craze & talking to people who deliberately cross pheasants, but he certainly has some features that I question. His tail has stripes, very dark face, and it looks like even some black on his breast. He's not a normal Golden and doesn't appear to be a cinnamon either. Dark-throats have been found to have traces of Amherst blood in them, so who knows.

They can breed their first year, but I wouldn't until he fully colors out and you know what you have. As far as taming for showing, also not a fan of pheasant showing. They are so active and weary birds, I think it would cause a great deal of stress on them. I also think showing should be left with domesticated animals only. Who are we to (will be politically correct as not to offend anyone's beliefs!!) judge millions of years of evolution and/or God's creation.

I'd let "Cool Dude" color out, spend time with him, offer treats, and you could end up with a nice pet bird whose origin may never be known!!

Dan

THANKS!!

We will figure out what color he is when he colors!!

 

[Resolution]

The larger wing quills were inherited from an Amherst's male ~two generations past. If you follow that hue and general pattern to the lower neck, you'll see an additional region where Amherst's traits will predominate. Please do not breed this eclipse pheasant to either parental species including domestic mutations of the golden. It will no doubt be a lovely specimen but it mustn't contribute its genetics to the captive population of either parental species. Perhaps you can find a fellow enthusiast that also has ended up with eclipse pheasants to find an appropriate potential companion.

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

I need more tips

 

[Omniskies]

I thought it was mostly assumed that Dark Throats were a mutation from an Amherst x Golden cross? That seems to be the standard (but not officially recognized) theory considering all the Amherst similarities.

BobWhite, personally I wouldn't show that bird for anything other than fun. And considering how much work will need to go into mellowing down any gamebird, I just don't see showing him as fun.

This is because you very, very rarely win an award with a backyard bird that has not been bred for show - or at least been bred true to type. Very rarely do show animals crop up out of non-show stock (and even more rarely do show animals crop up that can be competitive). This is true for dogs, rabbits, sheep, and gamebirds.

He will probably turn out to be a beautiful bird that turns heads, but "pretty" does not mean "show quality."

By all means, if you want to show him then work with him daily. Get him used to having his wings pulled out, his toe nails looked at, and being turned in all angles while in someone's hand. But it is very easy to think that "your" bird is the best bird, and while most judges are very considerate and will let you down gentlely if he isn't show stock, others rush through things and rattle off why your bird should never even see another female, let alone ever reproduce.

As long as you take comments about him with a grain of salt and you're just doing it for fun to see if he meets breed standards then have at. But if you genuinely want to win a prize then you'll need to talk to people who seriously breed show animals and acquire a few birds from them.

I say this as someone who has been to rabbit shows with animals that, to put it politely, should never be parents. It took time for me to figure out that an animal's conformation, size, and color doesn't improve based on how much you adore them

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

Thanks!!

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

Quote:
My bob got Champion at fair!

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]