New to Pheasants

[Slightly Cracked Kid]

My son (21 years old) bought a pair of Lady Amherst’s pheasants today at a sale and proudly posted them on a popular social media pheasant page. He got ROASTED!! Saying that it was a hybrid and he is ruining genetics. He has worked for weeks building a flight pen big enough for them to enjoy (72 feet long by 12 wide and 8 foot tall) and found some beautiful birds within his budget. Now he is feeling discouraged, he didn’t know it was a hybrid. He fell in love with it and thought it was a great starting pair.
What are you thoughts? Should he keep them and enjoy them for what they are, starter birds/yard ornaments. Or should he start over?
He has a bird obsession like his mama and I know that he was/is sure proud of these birds.

 

[muddy75]

My son (21 years old) bought a pair of Lady Amherst’s pheasants today at a sale and proudly posted them on a popular social media pheasant page. He got ROASTED!! Saying that it was a hybrid and he is ruining genetics. He has worked for weeks building a flight pen big enough for them to enjoy (72 feet long by 12 wide and 8 foot tall) and found some beautiful birds within his budget. Now he is feeling discouraged, he didn’t know it was a hybrid. He fell in love with it and thought it was a great starting pair.
What are you thoughts? Should he keep them and enjoy them for what they are, starter birds/yard ornaments. Or should he start over?
He has a bird obsession like his mama and I know that he was/is sure proud of these birds.

@007Sean ???? My opinion is that they are beautiful birds and perfect starter pair!! Kudos for being interested in birds and working so hard to give them a home!!!!!

 

[007Sean]

My son (21 years old) bought a pair of Lady Amherst’s pheasants today at a sale and proudly posted them on a popular social media pheasant page. He got ROASTED!! Saying that it was a hybrid and he is ruining genetics. He has worked for weeks building a flight pen big enough for them to enjoy (72 feet long by 12 wide and 8 foot tall) and found some beautiful birds within his budget. Now he is feeling discouraged, he didn’t know it was a hybrid. He fell in love with it and thought it was a great starting pair.
What are you thoughts? Should he keep them and enjoy them for what they are, starter birds/yard ornaments. Or should he start over?
He has a bird obsession like his mama and I know that he was/is sure proud of these birds.

Well, they are a cross, between a Golden and Lady Amherst pheasant. This is the reason so many breeders of pure birds get so upset...those birds were sold to an unsuspecting person as pure Amherst

It seems he did his research on providing an adequate enclosure but didn't research what a pure or at least as pure as you can get in the U.S. Lady Amherst should look like. The crosses are beautiful birds in their own right but shouldn't be bred/raised and sold as pure birds.

Do your research, find a reputable breeder and get some quality birds before attempting to start a breeding program.

Sorry he had to learn the hard way but this will be great learning experince for when he does get some pure birds.
Don't get so discouraged that you don't want to try and raise good quality birds....it is far more rewarding to raise great birds than to make a few bucks on crossbred birds.

 

[Slightly Cracked Kid]

Well, they are a cross, between a Golden and Lady Amherst pheasant. This is the reason so many breeders of pure birds get so upset...those birds were sold to an unsuspecting person as pure Amherst

It seems he did his research on providing an adequate enclosure but didn't research what a pure or at least as pure as you can get in the U.S. Lady Amherst should look like. The crosses are beautiful birds in their own right but shouldn't be bred/raised and sold as pure birds.

Do your research, find a reputable breeder and get some quality birds before attempting to start a breeding program.

Sorry he had to learn the hard way but this will be great learning experince for when he does get some pure birds.
Don't get so discouraged that you don't want to try and raise good quality birds....it is far more rewarding to raise great birds than to make a few bucks on crossbred birds.

Thank you! He will get with a reputable breeder and eventually get quality purebreds. I think it will be a great learning experience for all of us and we can learn how to care for them and enjoy these beautiful birds.

 

[Crestcrazy]

You should keep the ( beautiful) birds you have so that it doesn't happen to someone else

 

[Gotbirdsohyeah]

If he likes them,that's all that matters.But personally I would not breed them and get them into the gene pool.Its already polluted enough.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Gotbirdsohyeah]

Where are you located?I can find someone near you that raised good birds.
In N.H.,Tony

 

[RiverOtter]

They are gorgeous birds and haters can eat rotten eggs. Keeping purity is all very well and good as far as it goes, but hybrids absolutely have their place. And c'mon, these are not endangered species, these birds have been captive bred for generations AND he didn't breed them. He just bought them because they're beautiful.

The only people who should be ashamed of anything are the people that lied and said they were Lady Amherst. They should have been honest and said they're hybrids. Because frankly, there are plenty of people who don't care - easily more than are uptight about it.

I have a lot of experience with this. One, I have yaks. There is an actual club of yak purists who have an entire website about the importance of yak purity, because they can hybridise with cattle. But the truth is, yaks are a domestic species, as are cattle, and they've been hybridizing for so many centuries that "wild" yaks in herds that have run feral for decades still have 2 to 10 percent cattle blood ... so it's nothing more than something for people to argue over and feel superior about. My yaks are steers and some folks are still horrified I haven't had them tested to see how pure they are. Steers. As in, sterile.

I also breed sporthorses, and use performance registries. So, while my horses actually have to pass tests of health, athleticism and trainability to be registered, some people still give me grief because somehow that's not better than filling out a form and mailing in a fee and I should be ashamed of breeding "mutts"

Moral of these stories; haters gonna hate, and there's ALWAYS someone ready to criticize, regardless. To me, it sounds like your son created paradise for a gorgeous pair of birds that he really wanted and I wish he and them all happiness.

 

[Slightly Cracked Kid]

Where are you located?I can find someone near you that raised good birds.
In N.H.,Tony

PLEASE PLEASE DO!! We are located in the very northeast corner of Oklahoma. We are willing to travel to pick up good birds.

 

[Midnightman14]

I would hold on to the hybrids just for the fact that if you sell them someone will breed them and sell the chicks. The first birds I got were hybrids and I culled them as soon as I found out.