- Sep 19, 2013
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To: Maran Farmer,
No, I used a Reeves cock with Melanistic Mutant Hens. (Still Ringnecks - only black). I had no Reeves hen and I did not want to bring an outside bird into our large flock of disease-free Ringnecks. I decided to try to breed for a hen that could produce fertile hen offspring when mated back to the original Reeves cock.
First year we got two F1 (First cross) cocks and a hen. The cocks were large and vigorous and melanistic. THe hen was also melanistic, but very small and never showed any signs of wanting to breed. Year two, I mated the F1 roosters to pure Ringneck hens. I got cocks and hens that looked pretty normal, physically, but of course tending to look more like Ringnecks than like Reeves. In the meantime, the original Reeves cock died and I had no purebred Reeves to breed back to. Year 3 - I mated all these backcrosses together (from year 2) and I had very poor egg production, poor fertility, poor hatchability... I did get a number of normal-looking chicks, however. Year 4 - I mated the youing ones from Year 3 together and I was amazed to get good egg production, good fertility and good hatchability. They seemed to have turned into a "breed" or "population" that were now fully self-reproducing. I did not do any more with these birds and I left the next year.
In pheasants (and birds in general) the hybrids are generally male-fertile (at least partially fertile), while the females, unless from closely related species, are generally infertile or only partially fertile.
There is an excellent book on "Bird Hybrids". It lists all the bird hybrids that have been recorded (in captivity and in nature). I forget the author, but I have corresponded with him. He is a professor. I will look it up and pass it on to you.
THere is no rule that you cannot develop your own breed of pheasant. People have done it for years with poultry. Highly unlikely that your crossbreds would get out and contaminate the wild stock. Even if they did escape and breed, their genes would be swamped by the pure wild stocks. Not to worry.
No, I used a Reeves cock with Melanistic Mutant Hens. (Still Ringnecks - only black). I had no Reeves hen and I did not want to bring an outside bird into our large flock of disease-free Ringnecks. I decided to try to breed for a hen that could produce fertile hen offspring when mated back to the original Reeves cock.
First year we got two F1 (First cross) cocks and a hen. The cocks were large and vigorous and melanistic. THe hen was also melanistic, but very small and never showed any signs of wanting to breed. Year two, I mated the F1 roosters to pure Ringneck hens. I got cocks and hens that looked pretty normal, physically, but of course tending to look more like Ringnecks than like Reeves. In the meantime, the original Reeves cock died and I had no purebred Reeves to breed back to. Year 3 - I mated all these backcrosses together (from year 2) and I had very poor egg production, poor fertility, poor hatchability... I did get a number of normal-looking chicks, however. Year 4 - I mated the youing ones from Year 3 together and I was amazed to get good egg production, good fertility and good hatchability. They seemed to have turned into a "breed" or "population" that were now fully self-reproducing. I did not do any more with these birds and I left the next year.
In pheasants (and birds in general) the hybrids are generally male-fertile (at least partially fertile), while the females, unless from closely related species, are generally infertile or only partially fertile.
There is an excellent book on "Bird Hybrids". It lists all the bird hybrids that have been recorded (in captivity and in nature). I forget the author, but I have corresponded with him. He is a professor. I will look it up and pass it on to you.
THere is no rule that you cannot develop your own breed of pheasant. People have done it for years with poultry. Highly unlikely that your crossbreds would get out and contaminate the wild stock. Even if they did escape and breed, their genes would be swamped by the pure wild stocks. Not to worry.
