Help me hatch (and raise) some pheasants! UPDATED with PICS!!

[shelleyd2008]

Last year, I got 2 ringneck eggs from someone (think it was gamebirdsonly?) as extras with some chickens. 1 chick hatched and died within a couple days. So far this year, I bought 20 ringneck and melanistic eggs from ebay. Out of 20 eggs I had 5 go to the hatcher. 2 of these hatched, 1 died the first night in the incubator, the other died 2 days later in the brooder.
I now have some ringneck eggs from gamebirdsonly that have been set a few weeks. From what I can tell they are doing good. But getting them to live after they hatch seems to be the hardest part. I just today received some pheasant eggs from the May swap, those will be put in the incubator tomorrow.

So please help me figure out why I keep killing them. I keep the incubator at 100 degrees (forced-air hovabator, either 1588 or 1583 depending on which is empty). Humidity is usually about 40-50%, then up to 65%+ for hatching. I don't have thermometers in the brooders, I just go by how the chicks act. The one that made it to the brooder was acting fine, other than getting stepped on by a 2-week-old turkey poult

The last ones I had, the 3 that didn't hatch had pipped internally, 1 of which zipped almost completely and looked shrink wrapped. The others went no further than pipping into the membrane. Those 3 were all melanistic (black) chicks, the 2 that hatched were regular ringnecks. The eggs I got today are regular ringnecks, the eggs in the bator are also ringnecks, but they are mixed colors (buff, white, regular I believe).

I really want pheasants, I don't know what I'm doing wrong? I don't understand how a chick can get shrink wrapped in a 65% humidity incubator? Is the humidity too high? I know that can make them stick too. Any info is appreciated

 

[shelleyd2008]

Surely someone has some luck with hatching pheasants?

 

[Show-MeGamebirds]

I totally understand your frustration. I am having the same problem. I have 12 ringnecks in the bator, should have hatched yesterday, (day 24), only one pippep and that was at the bottom of the egg. This is the second batch I have tried to hatch with no luck. All looked good when they were candled. Temp is 99.5 - 100.9, humidity 65-75%. Maybe someone can let us know what we are doing wrong?

 

[peewee]

Wow, I know that you know how to hatch and brood so I really don't know what you are doing wrong. I have only a couple of ideas for you but I don't know if they will help you.
First of all ( I know - GASP!!!) I don't like forced air 'bators for my pheasants. Never had any luck with them. To many of the little guys got shrinked wrapped and I spent more time trying to help out chicks that got stuck. Ask JJ how he covers his fans for hatching time. And I know that it seems strange but bump up your humidity even further for hatching time. I have noticed that some, not all, of my pheasant chicks will pip and then take a nap. Even with the higher humidity for hatching the fan may still be shrink wrapping the chicks while they are napping.
Second try to hatch with the eggs standing up. Try putting them in a egg carton big end up and see if that helps. I tried this a couple of times and it worked well for me. Supposedly easier for the chicks to hatch out and there is less of a chance of the chick drowning while still absorbing all the yolk.
As for the brooding - I know completely backwords but works great for me - I keep the brooder maybe a half to a full degree higher than the incubator. Not any higher than that. Not after roasted pheasant yet. This makes sure that the chicks do not get a chill from moving and makes them want the water a bit better. I know that you go by the way the chicks act but please invest in a $3.00 thermometer form Walmart. The one I use is just a little plastic window mounted thingie that hangs from a suction cup on the side of the brooder down at chick level. This has saved me before. I can see the temp dropping or rising and can correct what is going on. Sometimes before the chicks even let me know what's going on. No I do not micro-manage the temps in my brooder but if I see that the temp is falling I can correct that before the chicks get a chill and start to huddle together.
Thirdly, I have never had any luck with shipped eggs. I have tried three times and have only TWO birds to show for it. I once had seven pheasant eggs shipped to me and not one hatched. Even after showing signs of development. I had 35 quail eggs shipped to me and after having only twenty hatch only two made it to a week old. I can go out to my quail pens and get eggs of my own and can almost hatch them by carting them around in my pocket and have everybody be just fine. The mail is VERY rough on eggs. You may not be doing the first thing wrong at all. We may just share the same luck with shipped eggs.

Good luck with the little ones. I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

[JJMR794]

Peewee You Covered It Completely! I Run A Higher Humidity For Pheasants--- I Stay In The Low 50% Range During Incubation And As High As 80% During Hatch--- But! Lemme Stress The But!!! I Hatch All Eggs In The Upright Possition So They Wont Drown After Pipping In The Excessive Humid Environment. I Incubate In Forced Air Only And Hatch In Still Air Only To Avoid Or Deter Shrink Wrapping The Lackadaisical Hatchers In The Crowd. Everything Goes Into Auto Turners During Incubation. Everything Gets Set Up Right For Hatch. I Have Horrible Hatch Rates On Any Shipped Pheasant Eggs And Always Have--- They Just Dont Ship Well

Brooding- The Only Thing I Place Baby Pheasants With When Brooding Is Other Baby Pheasants. In My Experience Compared To Other Speces They Can Be Frail As Babies--- Mean, But Frail. I Seperate Them From Everything To Isolate From Any Illness Which They Have Been Prone To Here, Also For Safety Of Themselves And The Other Speces As They Can Be Peck Monsters When The Urge Hits. I Feed Only The Purina Starter And Use Quail Fonts For Watering. And I Watch Them Incessantly Because When Things Go Bad With Pheasants They Go Bad Quick--- At Least These Are My Experiences Here In The Tropical Climate. My Eggs Do Amazingly Well As For Hatching And Brooding, However Any Shipped Eggs Always Seem To Produce Unfavorable Results. I Also Get Way Better Hatches Out Of My Brinsea Than All The Cooler Bators I Own Put Togather...

These Are Just My Experiences...

 

[[email protected]]

try hatching something else with them like chickens or guinea keets to teach them how to eat,drink,and get around that is how i have all my suscess in raising quail and pheasants

 

[texascowboy1979]

eggs from online sources... the UGLY TRUTH...

I dont know if everyone one is awar or this is just me... Purchasing eggs online is a last resort... Ive orderd at least 200 eggs online total in the past year... and ive only got about 10 chicks hatch... SERIOUSLY... at 1st i thought it was me.. I did something wronge... they would develop then died a few weeks into incubation, ect ect ect...

so I was sad and gave up...

Then My birds started to lay and I decided to try again... and I got 95 % fertiltiy and 95% hatch rate... so i was confused??? so I ordered a few eggs online and stuck them with my eggs in the incubator and my eggs did the same great rates and the eggs I ordered had the same depressing results...

Postal Carriers are not egg friendly.. eggs are shaken and it can not be helpped... so im sure that affects the development of the embryo...

 

[JJMR794]

[email protected] :

try hatching something else with them like chickens or guinea keets to teach them how to eat,drink,and get around that is how i have all my suscess in raising quail and pheasants

DID THAT ONCE.... EARLY ON IN MY HATCHING EXPERIENCE. HAD THE SWEETEST LIL SERAMA GIRL, ABOUT 6 WKS OLD AND VERY VERY ATTENTATIVE TO NEWBIES--- THOUGHT SHE WAS THE PERFECT BROODER NANNIE AND IN ALL WAYS SHE WAS. PLACED HER IN WITH 50-SOME-ODD RARE ORNIMENTAL BABIES

--- SHE KILLED EVERY LAST 1 BY GIVING THEM CORYZA

. LESSON LEARNED/ MORAL OF THE STORY= GAMEBIRDS AND OTHER POULTRY DO NOT MIX BIOLOGICALLY. IT WAS APPROXIMATELY 16 HRS FROM THE 1ST BABY SHOWING SIGNS OF ILLNESS TO THE LAST 1 SHOWING ILLNESS. ALL DIED. GAMEBIRDS DO NOT HAVE NATURAL IMMUNITY TO COMMON POULTRY ILLNESSES SUCH AS CORYZA OR THE OTHER MYCOPLASMA CONTAGENS THAT MOST COMMONLY KEPT DOMESTIC POULTRY HAS. MIXING THEM FROM A ANIMAL HUSBANDRY STAND POINT IS BAD MOJO. ITS NOT SO MUCH IF, BUT WHEN--- IF YOU KEEP ROLLING THE DICE SOONER OR LATER YOU GET SNAKE EYES! I"M NOT SAYING IT CAN'T BE DONE.... NOT SAYING IT SHOULD OR SHOULDN'T BE DONE.... ALL I'M SAYING IS KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS BEFORE YOU DO IT. WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR FLOCK IS YOUR BUSINESS, I DONT HAVE A DOG IN THAT FIGHT, BUT I HOPE SOMEONE OTHER THAN ME LEARNS FROM WHAT WAS MY NEWBIE MISTAKE AND IT SPARES THEM ALL THE TROUBLE AND EXPENSE I PAID TO LEARN THAT LESSON. PERSONALLY IF MORE THAN JUST ME LEARN FROM IT IT BECOMES MORE WORTH IT--- BUT THATS JUST ME

 

[Camelot Farms]

Hey Shelley.

I put 14 Lady Amhersts in the bator on the 20th. Couldnt fight the urge anymore and candled a few mins ago. Major veining in EVERY egg.
And these were old eggs. She started laying and laid one a day for 16 days. I was waiting for her to set...

Then someone at backyardchickens told me that she wold have started by now...lol

So I snatched em out of the pen and stuck them all in the bator, except the 2 that we cracked while collecting. That means some of the eggs were over 2 weeks old when we stuck them in.

Silly hen is still out there laying. She has deposited 4 more since I took the original ones out.

I am going to watch this thread like a hawk and keep my fingers crossed!

Kim

 

[chrisarvor]

i import all my eggs .
I have just started this year and as you say the pheasant are the worst
i have just hatched 6 Gambel quail out of 10 and that has boosted me a bit .
I have kept a baby chick in with all the new babyies and they have all gown well (the other babies are my neighbors chicken eggs)
I will persist with the Golden pheasant as they hard to get here
i now have some Reeves about to hatch this week so we will see