Help! Found A Male Silver Pheasant in My Yard!

[KJenMA7]

Yes, I've already gathered he will not be easy to catch. I've watched him long enough to know he's suspicious as hell, and he's incredibly skittish. The littlest commotion sends him jumping for cover under my evergreens. We are not going to attempt to get him into a box. I have to draw the line somewhere. We've spent $100+ on food & supplies, we're spending another $50+ on a trap tonight. We'll now have to also go buy foam as well. If we can't get the trap into our car, which I highly doubt we will, and a breeder won't come and pick him up, I really don't know what to say to that. We've invested a lot of money and time into trying to help this pheasant, but there's only so much we can do on our own.

 

[Tony K T]

Yes you have done way beyond what anyone would do for a bird.You should be commended for your concern for this bird and I appreciate all you have done.I wish I were closer so I could help in the capture of this beauty.He does have 1 thing working in his favor,from above he blends in with the snow so the flying and ground predators have to look real close to see him.
They are much easier to catch if you buiold a big pen with a door for him to walk thru,but I wouldn't expect you to do that unless you planned on keeping him as a 8x8 pen can cost upwards of 300.00-400.00 dollars depending on what you use for wood,wire and a roof,plus perching areas and the bowls which you have already purchased.
Here is a pic of my pens and you will see the commitment of raising pheasants.These were a little more(alright a lot more) then 400.00 to build.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[enola]

I have followed this from day # 1. You are proof that there are more good people in this world than most people believe!

 

[KJenMA7]

Unfortunately, we don't have the room or the money to take on the care of this pheasant. We live on one income, and we've already spent more than we can afford to. If not for that, we would have offered him a home without question, and we wouldn't have bothered wasting almost two weeks trying to get others to take an interest in helping him.

Thanks, enola, for the nice comment. I'm a bit irked at the moment, as we've decided that we won't try to trap the pheasant unless the breeder is willing to pick him up. He told my husband to put him in a box to transport him. Well, we can't do that, and if a breeder can't/won't come and get him, then we're done wasting our time with calls. We'll continue to provide feed and hope he stays safe.

 

[Tony K T]

If you catch him I will come and get him.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[KJenMA7]

I told my husband that, Tony. He is heading to Home Depot now. This is our plan: We will try to trap him with No Mess (a mix from Wild Birds Unlimited with shelled peanuts, sunflower chips, and millet) and some cracked corn. If we get him, we'll put him in the shed with a blanket over the cage. My husband will then call Peter. If he won't come to get him, I'll let you know. If you decide not to come get him, we'll release him. If you do come (if Peter won't), we'll compensate you for the cost of your gas.

 

[Tony K T]

Make sure the peanuts are unsalted.Let me know what happens either way.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[KJenMA7]

No Mess is for wild birds. The peanuts are unsalted. My husband has been at Home Depot for a long while now. Apparently, they can't find the trap that their website shows as having 5 in stock at our local store. They're claiming that size is only available online, even though their website states differently. Amazing! Will keep you posted.

 

[Tony K T]

I couldn't immagion what kind of trap they would recommend.I would use a piece of wire (2"x4" wire will work nice)make a circle about 8 ft in diameter and put a roof (could also be wire)on it and leave a door about 1 ft sq and hope that he walks in.Just cut 3 sides of the wire and bend the piece up so you can close it back down.Put a trail of feed in front of the door and trail it to the inside towards the back.Should probably put a roost in there also as they love to roost.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[KJenMA7]

Well, it was suggested by Peter to get a Havahart trap (raccoon size) from Home Depot. Turns out they didn't have it, even though their website stated they had 5 in stock. So, my husband drove to Lowe's two towns away and bought one there for even more money than the one that was supposedly at Home Depot in our town. He has yet to even come home since leaving work to find a trap. So, a trap is what we now have, and that's all we can do. What would we do with him if we built a pen of wire and got him in there? We can't keep him, nor can we afford to spend more than we already have. At this point, I'm thinking we shouldn't have even bothered with the trap, as it's pretty darn cruel to put him through the stress of a capture only to release him when no one comes to get him.