Help! Found A Male Silver Pheasant in My Yard!

[enola]

I sure am hoping this all works out. If it doesn't no one can blame you for not trying. It is so frustrating.

 

[Tony K T]

If you caught him in the wire trap you could leave him right in there and I could come and pick him up.If you catch him I will come get him if the weather cooperates.I will pm you my cell so you can call as soon as you trap him.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[KJenMA7]

Well, it probably would have been a lot easier to get him into a temporary wire pen. Unfortunately, it was a little too late to go that route, since my husband had already purchased the trap. We know nothing about raising, handling, capturing pheasants. That is why I asked for help days ago regarding the best way to capture him. All I got for info was a raccoon-sized trap. My husband did not get home until almost 10 PM. He didn't even have time to eat dinner in his hunt for a trap. He is now in bed, and has to be up bright and early for work. Because of Home Depot's erroneous information and the amount of time it took for him to find a trap elsewhere, he got home too late to clear out the shed. So, I can't attempt to trap the Silver until the shed is cleared by my husband to make room for the cage. There are things in our shed that are far too heavy for me to move myself, and I also have my daughter to tend to. So, I don't anticipate attempting to trap him tomorrow. With more snow possibly coming on Thursday, that might not pan out either. We'll just have to play it by ear, but this is definitely the end of the line for us. My husband has made it clear that we cannot do anymore than we've already done after this.

 

[Tony K T]

Would it be possible to walk him into your garage?Then you could return the trap.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[KJenMA7]

The Silver is coming to our side of the property that is across the brook (a town easement through our property). Picture a rectangular lot of land all fenced in. In our backyard, at the very back of our property, there is a gate that leads to a wooden bridge going over the stone-walled brook. Once over the bridge, we have a small amount of property that is bordered by the row of evergreens. This is where the Silver is coming to, and only to the far right side. This part of our property is not fenced in at all, and he gets here via the brook and the wooded lot that belongs to the dairy. If he sees me coming over the bridge, he hides. He would never follow me across a bridge, through my backyard, and then through my front yard to get into my garage. And to be honest with you, my husband would not want him in there. He's here eating now. I will need to speak to my husband when he gets home to see what we intend to do. We are both adamant that we will absolutely not attempt to capture this poor bird, risk him to injury and severe stress, simply to release him when no one bothers to pick him up. He'd be far better off remaining free than to have to endure that. We've made tons of calls, offered donations to Animal Control, offered to donate money to breeders to help defray the cost of taking this animal. We've literally been laughed at for our concern! By breeders of pheasants! One told my husband that you can buy a Silver for $15. Therefore, no one will waste his time trying to get the bird. He then added that the Silver will be fine until a hawk gets him. With such lack of concern from "pheasant breeders" for this poor bird who is obviously very nervous and stressed, he'd be better off free. If I sound annoyed, that's because I am. It's not directed towards you, Tony. You've done more to help than anyone, and I appreciate it.

 

[KJenMA7]

The trap is all set to go out first thing in the morning. We tied padded board to the top inside of the cage, and our shed has been rearranged to accommodate the cage should we catch the Silver. Can't believe this cage is for a raccoon! The pheasant will definitely not be happy in here should we catch him. Can't say I blame him if he refuses to enter it, but I hope he does. He's definitely lost weight since his arrival here on January 30th, and his tail feathers are looking pretty ragged. I don't think he ate those 6 days he went missing. Will keep you posted...

 

[enola]

Crossing fingers for all of you!

 

[KJenMA7]

Thank you, enola! I just want to get this poor bird placed. He will not make it otherwise. He's definitely looking worse for wear, and he's so nervous all the time. If others could see what we're seeing, perhaps they'd be more eager to help. Then again, maybe not. Too many prefer to turn a blind eye.

I saw the Silver go into a tree for the first time today. A big black cat came around and freaked him out. I had to run out there to scare the cat off. I feel like I'm always at my window watching out for him. If my nerves are frayed, imagine how the Silver feels!

 

[KJenMA7]

We were not able to trap the Silver, but I was able to trap a sparrow and a squirrel.

The Silver finally showed up around 1 PM, and he stayed around the rest of the day until he went off to roost. He did spend a lot of time right by the trap, but he wasn't about to go into it. I really can't even see how he'd fit into it. He'd have to walk the length of the trap crouched, and I simply cannot see him doing that with as jumpy/nervous as he is.

I went outside to release the squirrel, and when I reached the gate in my backyard that opens to the bridge, I spotted the Silver near my oak tree, which is right on the side of the bridge. He has never ventured that far over onto my property before, but he was trying to get away from the trapped squirrel who was making a ruckus. When he saw me at the gate, he began to quickly head towards the row of evergreens. However, I started to talk to him very quietly, and he stopped. He stared for a long while, and then he began to come over to the bridge. I had some No Mess in my pocket, so I threw some towards him. He began to eat. I threw more. He began to come over the bridge. I then unlocked my gate, opened it up, and threw more No Mess right in front of the gate. I talked to him the entire time, and he kept coming closer. I backed up to allow him room to enter my backyard without me being too near him. He came so close to coming in, but he decided to turn around and walk back to the area of my property where he usually remains. I have no idea what I would have done with him had he come into my yard, but I was stunned that he came anywhere near me. I've been talking to him ever since his arrival. He's often hiding either in the brook or under the evergreens when I bring out food, so I've been talking to him when I go over to that area in the hopes of getting him comfortable with me being around. He has never come over to me before, but perhaps he's getting a bit used to me.

I feel pretty certain that the current trap we have is not going to work. It is the raccoon sized one that we were told to get, but it just seems far too small for him (Havahart Model 1092 - 32" L x 10" W x 12" H). Unfortunately, the stores carry nothing larger than that. If you want something larger, it has to be ordered online. Amazon has the Havahart Model 1081 (42"L x 15" W x 15" H). I think that would be a better size for him. Unfortunately, it's almost twice what we spent for the one from Lowe's, and it wouldn't be delivered until at least Tuesday, which would mean I wouldn't be able to put it out any sooner than next Wednesday. I was really hoping to trap him long before that. I don't even know if Lowe's will allow us to return the one we just bought, especially since we've had critters trapped in it. If we can return it, do we gamble on the somewhat larger trap from Amazon or is it likely that he'll never step foot into any trap I put out there? Any advice to help this lovely male?

 

[KJenMA7]

I have ordered the Havahart 1081 from Amazon with expedited shipping. It is due here tomorrow. We're expecting another 6 to 10 inches of snow starting tomorrow afternoon and continuing into Sunday. If the trap actually arrives tomorrow, I will attempt to trap him again after the storm has passed, since no one would be able to pick him up during the storm anyway. Hopefully, we can return the smaller trap to Lowe's.