New to Golden's

[miss hen]

Hello everyone, I am new here and really need some advice on setting up a run for Golden Pheasants. I have 3 Goldens about 12 weeks old and they are currently being housed with the chickens which I know cannot last much longer. I also know that if I have 2 cocks they cannot live together in the pheasant pen. I really need to know what the best set up and everything I have been able to find online seems so different .

Advice on the run? I was thinking 8x16 and 8 ft high with small steel wire & should the top of the run be wire or bird netting?

Should any wood be used on the sides or top of the run or is wire okay?

What should be on the bottom of the run ? Ie stone or grass etc?

What do they need for habitat? Any shrubs? Something to jump on? Tall grass? Etc...

What do they need for shelter and how big should it be? Would the food be kept in there as well ?

I have some trees in that area, I was thinking of building the run under it for shade but then worried a racoon may come from above, your thoughts on this?

How high should the roost be?

Any other advice would be more than welcomed. I am really new to this and the best place to get information is another owner.

 

[miss hen]

If no one can help can someone at least recommend a website or book that would help me? I really need to get working on a pen and I honestly know nothing about these birds and will admit I should have gotten them without knowing this.

 

[deserthotwings]

Hi miss hen and welcome to the pheasant section of BYC. First of all, I would try and seperate your pheasants from the chickens as soon as possible, due to the disease factor. In regard to your housing questions, your demensions for your pen is great for the number of birds you have. I build all my game bird and mallard pens with 1 inch mash chicken wire. I use netting for the tops of my mallard, quail and Ringneck pheasant pens. Goldens and Amherst are a lot more mellow and wouldn't require netting unless you have dogs or other animals nearby that might spook them. If you are troubled by racoons or other climbing pests you might want to stay away from netting in case they choose to try to knall through. As far as shelter for your run my birds don't require much shelter other than shade. But the conditions if southern Arizona are not quite the same as Ontario. Golden pheasants are native to cold climates of Tibet and can withstand a lot of cold and snow as long as they have their food and water available. Any thing that would keep them out of the harsh elements would work. Maybe something like the dog houses they sell at Pets Mart. My bigest problem is protecting my birds from our 114 and above summer days. As for the bottom of your run, stay away from stone, its hard on their feet. If you have a grassy area thats ideal. The more and higher the grass the better, but once they start pecking the grass don't last long. Any type of shrubs or bushes for them to hide under works good too. They do like to roost so if you can fix them up something similar to your chicken roost I'm sure they would appreciate that too. Make sure you are feeding proper game bird or turkey feed. Chicken feed don't work. They need much higher protein, at least 22 or 24 percent. Building under the shade tree would be great and if you use a wire top you wouldn't have to worry about the racoons. If you have varmit problems, skunks, racoons, rats, etc. be sure you have the bottom of your wire extended a ways underground, preferably in an apron fashion to keep the rascals from digging in. I've tried to cover most things, but if I've left anything out let us know. There are a lot of excellent pheasant folks on this site. Golden pheasants are beautiful birds and a lot of fun to raise. Hope you enjoy them and any other questions let us know.

 

[miss hen]

Thank you so much for all of the help that is exactly what I needed, basiclly confidence to make sure I was doing the right thing. I do not have too many problems with predators but I am in an area where they all frequent. I am just lucky the woods is far back and the critters usually stay in there. I have seen the odd one in the yard but we are talking every couple years. Do I will go with wire all around the coop and build it where I thought I may, under the trees with some high grass and a dog house style shelter for them. The chics have turkey starter now which I read was okay since it was high in protein. I am not saying the never access the chicken feed but they tend to stick to their own area so I know they get a good meal of what they should at least.

Just a couple final questions.

Would the food need to be kept in the shelter as well or just in the run?

Should the shelter have a floor or be on grass and should it be any specific size or just enough for them to run under in a storm?

How high should the roost be? I was thinking 5 ft but am not sure.

I didnt plan on the pheasants they just happened to be there when I got the chickens

 

[deserthotwings]

Turkey feed is high in protein and good for your birds. If your not afraid of your feed getting wet or damp, I would just keep it in their run. Your birds are old enough that they don't require lighting so they probably won't be eating in the shelter. I know it gets cold in the winter up where you are so you might consider so type of flooring in you shelter. If you could find a couple of wooden pallets and stretch a sheet or two of plywood across them that would be all you would need. These are pretty hardy birds, but best to keep their feet as warm and dry as possible during the winter. Four or five feet would work good for your roost, I have citrus trees in my pens about that high and they like to roost on the branchs. Also they love treats. Any type of barries, watermelon, tomatoes, they love their treats. Sounds like your off to a great start. At 12 weeks you should be able to sex your birds pretty close. Your hens will have brown eyes and the males will be blue. Keep in mind that next spring, around Feb or the first of march you will probably have to seperate your males. They tend to get aggresive with each other when mating season starts.

 

[featherhead]

Hi miss hen
I'm also new to pheasants and appreciate your questions, as well as the answers. For their shelter, I chose a large dogloo (barn-type) that I picked up at a yard sale. I'll fill it with straw and face the door to the northeast, since most of our weather moves from west to east. The dogloo is under 3 cedar trees that I've topped to keep them inside the 8' wire ceiling of the pen. If the dogloo is too big, someone tell me and I'll downsize. Do the birds prefer smaller quarters?

I'm still pondering the structure to build over their feed tray, which I might put right next to their dogloo so it's easy to check and refill.

Thank you, deserthotwings, for the suggestions about roosts. I can place them in various places but didn't know how high the birds prefer. And you're right about the treats - the RG male comes running every time I head out to the aviaries. He knows I bring cantaloupe, grapes, raisins, mealworms, etc. The female hasn't warmed up to me much yet, but that will come. Right now my pair is with a trio of peafowl and the pheasant will be moving to their own pen in a few weeks. Thanks also for the suggestion on letting the grass grow. I usually cut the grass in the aviaries every week or two, but if they like it longer that's one less chore for me. Every post teaches me something new, so thanks to everyone.

 

[miss hen]

I have sure learned a lot, nice to know I wasnt too far off on my thoughts. I have pallets in my yard right now and scrap plywood. I used to have an old dogloo but gave it away, that may be a good idea if I see one at a yard sale. I also have a water container with a hold it the side (it was used for a dog visiting while the owner was away) http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=water...&w=640&h=480&ei=yNftT8rxJeHE0QHpr9zkDQ&zoom=1 , what do you think of something like that? It may be too big for that size shelter so I am not sure. The cedars are a great idea, there is a place up the road with 1ft junipers for $2 right now and even a couple of them thrown in would be nice. So really if I have decent size tree cut that is all the would need to roost.

I have been watching the eyes and they all look brown so I may end up with 3 hens. Might have to be on the search for a cock.

 

[deserthotwings]

We don't have many pine or spruce trees down here in Arizona, but if you come across one that has been cut you could throw it in your run. I correct a lot of Christmas trees down here after Christmas and put them in my pens. They last a long time, provide good shelter, and the birds love them. Also my birds go crazy over dry cat food for a treat, not too much, just as a treat. Featherhead, pheasants love TALL grass and cover. Just wish we had a little of it down here. As far as the size of the dogloo goes, as long as it doesn't occupy too much of their run, a large one should be fine. Miss hen, I think your birds are almost old enough to judge by their tail feathers too. The hens will have wider bars on their tail coloring while the males will have a narrower almost checkered design.

 

[miss hen]

I will check the tail feathers, I can tell I have one blue eyed and one brown but the 3rd is too fast to get close enough to. The hen walks right up to me. I drafted my run last night and will get it done in the next 2 weeks. I have an area with high grass and shade I can build it on. I gave the birds melon on the weekend and they loved it. My farmer neighbour raised some laying hens and told me just to set a couple live traps near my birds each night and whatever comes around will be in the trap before wasting time trying to get in the pens. After he had problems with a skunk he started doing that and never had an issue with his birds again, he just found critters in the trap.