Harsh truths about pheasant care.

[Midnightman14]

This will probably make some people angry but it needs to be said.

-do not buy pheasants of any kind before reading up and researching their requirements. There are many good books out there to read both on ringnecks and on ornamental pheasants. Buying birds and then expecting others to hold your hand with keeping them is not fair to the birds.
- Pheasants cannot be free ranged. Period.
- DO NOT BUY EGGS its a gamble at best and you end up spending more than if you had just bought a juvenile pair.
- raising birds from chicks does not mean they will be tame and you're probably going to take heavy losses.
- keeping other types of poultry in the past will not help you with keeping pheasants. Throw everything you know about poultry out the window because they're nothing like pheasants.
-DO NOT buy a bird just because its pretty. Instead carefully assess with you're experienced enough in pheasants before buying a species. I can't tell you how many times I've seen on these pages where people buy expensive birds and end up killing them in a week.
- keep all pheasants away from chickens. Chickens are the germ factories of the bird world and you WILL end up killing your pheasants if they are together.

 

[Catastrophic]

Sad truths of raising pheasants.

 

[Gotbirdsohyeah]

Well said and good advise for people to do research.
InN.H.,Tony.

 

[StinkyAcres]

-do not buy pheasants of any kind before reading up and researching their requirements. There are many good books out there to read both on ringnecks and on ornamental pheasants. Buying birds and then expecting others to hold your hand with keeping them is not fair to the birds.

This applies to all pets/livestock!

 

[ElizaMay]

We have 5 males, three older birds in one horse box stall, two younger in a pony stall. They are mature now with 3 months difference in age

We raised them all from chicks my MIL gave us, we were supposed to get a male & 2 females, and then 2 females when the first three turned out all boys. MIL is no expert at sexing lol.

The 3 eldest ones I spent time in with in the stall each day as chicks, are as flighty as hell and bounce themselves off the wire just when we open the main barn door. The younger two (who we only interacted with to feed and water) run up to my husband when he brings them feed, and jump on his boots and pull his laces.

We have chickens in the same barn, and they were raised in one of the stalls that pheasants grew up in. I guess we havd been fortunate.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

really they can't live with chickens?

 

[Midnightman14]

really they can't live with chickens?

It's not a good idea. Chickens carry alot of disease that don't hurt them but will kill pheasants.

 

[Bellelise]

This will probably make some people angry but it needs to be said.

-do not buy pheasants of any kind before reading up and researching their requirements. There are many good books out there to read both on ringnecks and on ornamental pheasants. Buying birds and then expecting others to hold your hand with keeping them is not fair to the birds.
- Pheasants cannot be free ranged. Period.
- DO NOT BUY EGGS its a gamble at best and you end up spending more than if you had just bought a juvenile pair.
- raising birds from chicks does not mean they will be tame and you're probably going to take heavy losses.
- keeping other types of poultry in the past will not help you with keeping pheasants. Throw everything you know about poultry out the window because they're nothing like pheasants.
-DO NOT buy a bird just because its pretty. Instead carefully assess with you're experienced enough in pheasants before buying a species. I can't tell you how many times I've seen on these pages where people buy expensive birds and end up killing them in a week.
- keep all pheasants away from chickens. Chickens are the germ factories of the bird world and you WILL end up killing your pheasants if they are together.

Thanks for the heads up.