I may get some gamebirds... Few questions

[toejam]

Hello,
Now first of all I'm not sure wether I'm gonna get oramental waterfowl or gamebirds.
Now to my questions..
Can you keep a bunch of species together, like partridge, grouse and francolins in 1 pen?
What's a good type of grouse to start out with and how much for a pair?
What's a type of partdrige I can keeping a community pen? Or can you have communtity pens?
For now, that's all
Thanks
Justin

 

[SamG347]

TJ this is completely your call and depends on a lot of factors...Expirence....Money....Time....Space. Most breeders keep grouse in above ground pens usually on wire as grouse are very prone to getting worms and other bacteria from the ground and dieing. Yes in the wild grouse live on the ground but for some reason they just can't take it in captivity. I think it has to do with the accumulation of waste in a pen...compared to thousands of acres of woods. There are plenty of species of gamebirds/exotics that can be kept together. One thing that greatly increases your ability to do this is SPACE. You need to provide enough space and shelter that each bird feels comfortable and come breeding season each bird can have a place to get away and their own territory. I have Pheasant mutations in with my Mandarins and Wood Ducks. I also had Bobwhite quail in this pen until the realized the 2 inch flight netting was big enough for them to slip through. My birds get a long just great but I keep them occupied with treats...fresh water daily...and old xmas trees for hiding and tall oats in the summer.
So I would first look at the space you want to have your pen...get it built...then start looking at some combinations of birds. There are many great ones out there. You could even have both waterfowl and pheasants/francolins together.
Skys the limit if you have the space and the correct birds.

 

[magoochie]

I raised 100 pheasants this past year. Be careful with overcrowding. Pheasant are prone to cannibalism. They will peck and kill eachother if they do not have enough space, or if they detect a weak bird.

Where can you get grouse? We wanted to raise grouse, but we were told that they didnt live well in captivity, and never found a place to order them from.

 

[SamG347]

There are several breeders of Spruce, Ruffed, and several other breeds of grouse. Randy of Spectrum Ranch on this forum breeds at least Ruffed Grouse but I'm sure he has others as well. There are also several breeders on the GBWF forum. It isn't so much that grouse are any harder than anything else. They just need space and to be kept off the ground. The big factor I think to a lot of people is the cost of grouse....they are usually $500+ a pair.

 

[toejam]

OK, it looks like im going to try to get oranmental waterfowl instead for now...

 

[JJMR794]

YOU MEAN SOMETHING LIKE THIS?

 

[toejam]

Yep, but I'm proally gettin mandarins

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
CLOSE ENOUGH

 

[tysonb24]

Quote:
Here is a list of some people in Utah that raise different species of grouse if you are interested. You may have to wait until this spring before you are able to get anything.

Gary & Judy Doud
Pleasant View, Utah
[email protected]
Ruffed Grouse

Doug & Edna Eames
Logan, Utah
(435)752-8242
Blue Grouse
Sharp Tail Grouse

Kim & Stephanie Elliot
American Fork, Utah
(801)472-0162
[email protected]
Prairie Chicken