Is there any way to tame a ring neck pheasant ?

[MuddyChicken]

I just bought a male pheasant for my son on Christmas. It is very flighty and wont let us come with in 5 feet of him and he freaks out. Its a little scary because he wont eat or drink anything either. I don't want him to starve to death. My son loves him so much and wants him to feel safe.

 

[destinduck]

He might be a "flight ready bird." Hes gonna be scared at first anyway.Dont worry he will eventually eat. Since you just got him give him some space for him to adapt to his new home. Then get a chair, sit down and watch him. Get him a mate or two if you can. More birds mean calmer birds. He will eventually warm up to you.

 

[MuddyChicken]

He had a mate but she escaped so now we have 1 pheasant may get another hen today

 

[PupuMcgoo]

if he flies up he mite hit his ole head on the top an hurt himself. Yall mite wanna trimm them primarie fligt fethers on the wings. Mite give him a week to at lest eat an drink first so yall dont put to much stress on the ole guy.

Wild Phesents do good in a big ole pen with lots of stuff to hide in and under like olde xmas trees are good this time year, get that ole tinsel off first though ofcourse lol. pen is good to be less wide an more long so if you on one side that ole bird can run to the other an feel safe

good luck take it slow an give him time. I like wat the last persen said bout giving him a girlfrend

 

[MuddyChicken]

Thanks pupu mcgoo that is a big help i will tell my son not to mess with the pheasant and his new wife bonnie.

 

[deserthotwings]

Has he been taken from the wild or was he raised in captivity. If he is a wild bird it is highly unlikely that he will ever become "tame". The more human contact he has the more stress he has. The female idea is great it will make him a little easier to deal with. If he was raised in captivity all he needs is a lot of human contact and a little time. I keep about 80 or 90 Ringneck breeders and raise the chicks to adult size for a couple local hunting preserves. I have 2 Ringneck cocks that are so agressive I have to use a stick to keep them away when I'm in the pens and most of my breeder hens are as tame as most farm chickens. Wild Birds usually stay wild !! Good Luck Amigo

 

[MuddyChicken]

they were raised from captivity but they are both very flighty birds. My son love's to watch them but he doesn't like them running away from him. Thank you for your help. MuddyChicken

 

[philter4]

In my experience pairs are much harder to tame then single birds. I purchased 2 pairs of silver and 2 pairs of Swinhoe's pheasants in 2009, about 9 months later one of the silver pheasant hens was killed by a fox and I decided I would just raise a hen from the other pair to match with him (none of the birds are related). After that he was very restless so any time I was out there I talked to him and gave him extra treats to the point where he could be petted, took food right out of my hand, would stand on my knee if I sit near him and will follow me around the yard if I let him out of the pen. None of the other birds will come near me and I have tried to tame the Swinhoe's because I think they are such beautiful birds. Even the other pair of silvers are weary of me if I am inside the pen. Late this fall I introduced a hen with him and now he is still friendly but not nearly so, he will not get out of the way if I am in the pen but if I try to pet him he gets all huffy and has even kicked at me giving me a scar on my upper arm from his spur.

From my high school years working at a pet store I remember parrots are very similar, if you want a pet bird keep them alone, but I am don't know much more then my own experiences as far as taming birds to be pets.

 

[trailchick]

Good idea to get the female replaced.

Give them a couple of days to calm down- they may not eat until then, at least with parrots
and peas, even cats, my experience has been that they are too nervous to eat at first...

Then move slowly going near them or in the pen, and just be very still
and do a lot of observation, tossing food treats.
When they are watching you, do not give them direct eye contact or stare them down. Act like you are
not interested in them and they will slowly become more comfortable with you being nearby.
Talk or sing quietly. They are prey animals, so the direct eye contact is very distressing.
They wont be so bothered by it once they realize you have food treats, & that you wont hurt them.

 

[danielmandmsoma]

LOL...thanks for the info...and laughs