How do they taste?

[mariacp]

How do Pheasant and Partridge taste? Are they an easy bird to raise, compared to a turkey or chicken? Can you eat their eggs? I know people hunt them, but have never tasted one myself. It would be a fun idea to raise pheasant for eating.

 

[Tony K T]

How do Pheasant and Partridge taste? Are they an easy bird to raise, compared to a turkey or chicken? Can you eat their eggs? I know people hunt them, but have never tasted one myself. It would be a fun idea to raise pheasant for eating.

I have never tried either of them,but I've heard they are delicious.They are very easy to raise pretty clos to the same as you would raise a turkey.All eggs are edible.Ringnecks are your best bet for food and they are also better for eggs as they lay every day where most other pheasants lay every other day,plus the ornamental birds are not as meaty as a ringneck.
The thing that most people don't know is there are a lot of species of pheasants,but when someone mentions pheasant,the ringneck is what most people think of.















I've enclosed a few pics of some of my collection.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[mariacp]

Wow they are gorgeous! I grew up in Northeast Washington where pheasants are a common sight in the wild, along with wild turkeys. Would I need an enclosed run for them or could I leave them in my backyard with my chickens and turkeys?

 

[Tony K T]

They need to be in an enclosed pen.They should not be kept with or even near chickens as chickens carry diseases that they can handle,but will kill a pheasant.Turkeys should not be with chickens either for the same reason.Pheasants and turkeys need to be fed a gamebird feed.
There are a lot of reputable breeders in Wa.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[mariacp]

My birds free range, in the 9 years I have had my own birds and the additional 10 years of growing up with birds, I have never seen disease in any of them. That is hundreds maybe thousands of free ranging birds all intermingling together. I understand the concern for disease, but free ranging birds tend to be healthier and much more resistant.

In regards to the feed, because they free range they do not require the same amount of feed as non-free ranging birds do; however, my Turkey's refuse to eat game bird food, and will only eat layer, although I buy organic layer and not the stuff made by the other companies. That might have something to do with it.

I was wondering in regards with the pheasants, if they would fly away. The wild ones growing up weren't much for fliers, but they would glide around.