Hybrid Pheasants

[Game Bird Guy]

Neat birds!

I especially love the "golden/reeves or ringneck" hybrid. Very cool.

 

[gon4elk]

IMHO this is very sad. This is why so many of the True Pheasant family in the states have lost their true identity by crossing everything under the sun. Again, this my opinion only, but birds should NOT be crossed for any purpose. Yes they may be pretty and cool but at some point we lose the pure strains (ie several of the species of True Pheasant inthe states). We as aviculturists need to be stewards in out hobby by keeping species true.

Steve

 

[centurion90]

Those are gorgeous birds, love the coloring on them

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
This is why America is great, we can all have our own OPINION.

How is producing an infertile hybrid causing the pure strains to be lost??? I really would like to know.

 

[gon4elk]

Those Hybrids (golden X Reeve etc) may be sterile but lets look in the True Pheasant family, what about crossing a Mongolian Pheasant with a Versicolor or a Formosan with a Southern Blackneck? The offspring ARE fertile and this is where so many of these species are being lost. I see you had Afgahn whitewings in one of your photos, another example of a True Pheasant species that is crossed here in the states with other types of True Pheasant and it's pure strains are getting few and far between. The availablity of pure stains of True Pheants here in the states are all but gone because crossing strains and hybrids exist.

Yes we live in a great place where we have choices and opinions and I sure wouldn't buy anything from Spectrum Ranch based on your breeding program, wouldn't know exactly what your getting.


Steve

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
Gon4elk-
This thread is about "hybrid" pheasants not "crossed" pheasants. If you would like to discuss the crossing of different Ringnecks, please start a thread about that.

What state are you in? do you have a website? do you have any credentials besides "steve"?

I have a link to my website, belong to most pheasant & gamebird clubs, and DO NOT hide behind a screen name. Maybe go back and read post #10. No problem to not buy my birds, but you may need to trace back ALOT of bloodlines from breeders ACROSS the USA to avoid our breeding program. I raise & SELL a LARGE number of birds and deal with many breeders. I know my birds and represent my birds for what they are. The hybrids I have purchased have nothing to do with my breeding program. I travel to many farms, was just in Nebraska helping one breeder seperate young Satyr and Temminck tragopans that helpers mixed together, last month was in Minnesota helping a long time pheasant breeder seperate Mongolian, Bianchi and Southern Ringnecks so they would have pure birds.

Randy- Spectrum Ranch

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
Gon4elk-
This thread is about "hybrid" pheasants not "crossed" pheasants. If you would like to discuss the crossing of different Ringnecks, please start a thread about that.

What state are you in? do you have a website? do you have any credentials besides "steve"?

I have a link to my website, belong to most pheasant & gamebird clubs, and DO NOT hide behind a screen name. Maybe go back and read post #10. No problem to not buy my birds, but you may need to trace back ALOT of bloodlines from breeders ACROSS the USA to avoid our breeding program. I raise & SELL a LARGE number of birds and deal with many breeders. I know my birds and represent my birds for what they are. The hybrids I have purchased have nothing to do with my breeding program. I travel to many farms, was just in Nebraska helping one breeder seperate young Satyr and Temminck tragopans that helpers mixed together, last month was in Minnesota helping a long time pheasant breeder seperate Mongolian, Bianchi and Southern Ringnecks so they would have pure birds.

Randy- Spectrum Ranch

I'm not a fan of hybrids myself, but ONLY really think they're a problem when they're fertile and can breed back with either parent species. If the birds are obviously different from any species, or they're sterile, there's really not much harm, except perhaps that you wasted a breeding that could have made more of a rare or endangered species (but that's not a "bad" as much as it's a "lack of a good"). The birds in your pics are curiously beautiful, and your post makes me think you're enjoying them, so keep doing so.

But just to clarify, the term "hybrid" is independent of whether or not the animal is fertile. There are indeed fertile hybrids out there -- you yourself may use a different term ("crossed") for these instances, but they're really interchangeable. What makes a hybrid is ancestry, not whether or not descendents are possible. There are all different qualifications to "hybrid" -- within a species, between species, between genera, fertile or infertile, etc.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_(biology)

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
Growing up I was taught the term hybrid is used for sterile animals and the term crossed is used for breedable animals. Yes you are correct they can be used for both, but if the industry used these terms the way me and many breeders that I know use the terms, it would be alot less confusing for beginners. Most people use the term "RED GOLDEN" pheasant but technically it's just GOLDEN pheasant. I am all for using RED in the name because then it is not confused with the other colors.

I didn't think any of the hybrids I posted photos of were wasting a breeding to preserve some endangered species. But then I didn't consider: common mutt Ringnecks, Silvers, Reeves, Goldens, Amherst; (all the ones in the photos) to be endangered. When backyard breeders are selling them for less than what it costs to actually raise them, they don't seem to endangered to me.

One thing to consider, when you do have an extra male pheasant that you do not have a hen for(so he was going to wasted for a breeding season anyway), by keeping a hen from another breed with him can keep that male from becoming overly aggressive when you do need him to breed with a hen of his own species. I have seen people keep spare males by themselves and when they try to mix them back with hens that male kills the hens. I also believe that by keeping him with a hen even of a different breed will keep him in better condition and breeding performance.

 

[gon4elk]

My purpose was not to offend to Randy clearly state MY thoughts. And this is my last post on this topic by the way as it's going no where.

By the way this lovely forum won't let me post any "personal" stuff until I have posted 10 times. No I'm hiding behing a screen name. I live in Utah and have been doing this for 30 years.

By the way, if I have a website and belong to clubs etc etc that makes me an expert huh? WOW!! I thought being out with the birds learning from doing is how to gain the best knowledge rather than sitting by a computer all day. Whoops there I go again. Sorry, just comes natural.

Randy you just keep doing what you like and I'll keep doing what I like. We'll leave it at that.

Steve in Utah

School of Hardknocks

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
I disagree about this topic "going nowhere"; if a few beginners learn that hybrids and crosses are possible, they will hopefully be more inclined to learn.

Sorry I did not know you can't post any personal info- I see people post names of breeders on here all the time. Some anonymous person will come to the site asking for where to get a certain breed of pheasant, and people will post the names of the breeders that raise them in that area. Going by that I thought you would be able to post your full name & location.

I am over 10 posts but still want to give it a try- Randy Krueger, Pukwana, SD 605-730-0791, www.spectrumranch.net email [email protected]

Having a website doesn't make anyone an expert either. Alot of the rare pheasant breeders in the USA are an aged group and don't even use a computer. But anyone can create an anonymous screen name. I know there are "purist" breeders that have 2 identiities on here.

I think a true Aviculturist would support the clubs that help breeders connect and exchange information. The same clubs that help preserve the right to ship birds thru the post office.

While belonging to a club does not make anyone an expert, it does show you are contributing to the bird world. Even with speaking at national conferences, I am far from being an expert in the bird world, I have only kept about half of the pheasants species.

WOW!! I thought being out with the birds learning from doing is how to gain the best knowledge rather than sitting by a computer all day. Whoops there I go again. Sorry, just comes natural.

I hope lots of people learn things from their time on the computer and BYC. I spend many hours everyday outside with my birds and animals, kinda hard not to with thousands of mouths to feed and water. Though I realized along time ago, you can learn alot by talking with others and seeing what works and doesn't work for them. Then taking that knowledge and applying it to my daily experience.

Randy you just keep doing what you like and I'll keep doing what I like. We'll leave it at that.

I always do what I like, why would anyone want to cheat THEMSELVES and do something else?​