Pheasant behavior - Why do they stare

[cielo]

Hi. I'm new to pheasant keeping and I find them to be very curious birds. Their behavior weirds me out sometimes. Today I went in their pen (f&m red golden 3mo) to feed them greens and they both froze and didn't move, I put the greens down, no movement, the female was about 2 feet in front of me and the male about 2 feet to the side of me, really close, I sat down expecting them to move, they didn't, seems a couple minutes passed, I got up and grabbed my camera, came back after a minute, frozen still, I sat and took some pictures of them, they didn't move, the male finally moved a like 6 inches when I touched his tale before freezing again, this whole time they are staring at me... and not moving. I poked the female with a piece of straw, she didn't move, I did it again, nope, I touched her side with my finger and she tried to bite me and then moved a tiny bit away and froze again. What is going on in their bird brains? I must be scaring them right? I don't want to terrify them. Weird thing is yesterday I was hanging out with them as per usual and they were just putting around, a little cautious of me but going about their business same as always. The female is usually curious and brave and comes over to me and will eat out of my hand. So why so strange today? They just stand so quiet and still sometimes, I'm not used to that in birds. Any pheasant psychologists out there with some insight? I didn't do anything unusual when I went in the pen today, no loud noise or sudden movements. It's like they were both trying to pretend I couldn't see them or something. Random.

 

[turkaholic]

Not sure, but could be they saw something that made them freeze up. I've had my birds react to certain colors, such as a bright shirt I'm wearing. Now that I think of it, my birds freak when I wear any type of camo pattern around them. Sometimes it's hard to imagine what goes through their tiny brains!

 

[SunBaked]

Mine do this sometimes also. Almost like they think I won't notice them if they don't move. You can put in a mirror, they will sit for hours staring at themselves also.

 

[cielo]

Thanks for the replies. I wonder if it was a color I was wearing or something? I'll pay attention to what I wear when I'm around them to see if I notice a pattern. Maybe I was wearing a hat, I can't remember. I'm glad to know it's a somewhat normal thing. They really are interesting birds. Hard to get a read on them sometimes. It really was a strange thing, kinda creepy, to have them so still for so long. I kept telling them I could see them, they weren't fooling me but it didn't translate I guess.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

My red legged partridges do that too. They just freeze. Sometimes I can even pick them up.

My red golden male I use to have HATED my red sweat pants(ok, i admit them sweats were hideous but comfy!) and would beat me out of the aviary whenever I tried to feed in them.....

 

[Chinchilla2]

A friend of mine had a Reeves trio that he raised from eggs. Darn things would sing and run up to him when he'd head outside. Bought a new pair of white tennis shoes and the male dang near shredded his jeans before he could escape from the pen. No problem with the old funky looking dirty once-white ones but the new ones would set that bird off every time.

They get used to seeing the "big bird" in certain colors or with certain hair styles (pony tail versus loose hair) and when the big bird comes along all different looking, there is no telling what they will do. Some do the freeze thing, a gentle bird may try to fight you as a predator. If it happens again, write down what you are wearing, including any fragrant items like deodorant, etc. and maybe you can find the link. Cost Randy a pair of jeans before he quit wearing the shoes to the pen

 

[cielo]

Such wild stories! Today I was hanging out with them and it was business as usual. I'll definitely pay attention to what I'm wearing if it happens again. Birds are so special.

 

[diggerduck]

Maybe they made a plan to mess with the food monster......

I can hear it now...." When the food monster gets in the cage....just freeze....This is going to be so funny, he will freak for days, then act normal for about a week...priceless"... just wait until you see what they have planned for next week...

 

[cielo]

OH no! The rascals!