Pheasant Hens Dying

[Gatekeeper]

Over the last several weeks I've lost 3 pheasant hens. I had 6 hens and a rooster in a 4' X 12 foot coop. Ive found three of my hens dead in the coop at different times. The wire on the coop is 1/2" x 1/2" so I don't think anything is getting into the coops and killing the hens. I do suspect the rooster. Yesterday I found the 3rd hen, with her head badly damaged and bleeding.

I've raised pheasant (Ringneck) before and never remember the Roosters killing the hens.

Any thoughts?

Baffled,
Gate

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

I always had the experience the most dominant hen will kill all the subordinate ones. I only in all the years of keeping ringnecks, had one trio where both hens get along(ok, to get to that point the dominant one had to kill/mutilate 7 others but eventually I found another hen she liked). Other then that I only keep pairs. Right now my biggest trouble is my only female does not like the male I have and I can't keep them together( I have sewed him together at least 3 times now, poor fella).

She does have the hots for my Silver male though, and she likes the peafowl as well. Silly hen.

 

[Gatekeeper]

Fancy thank you - Ill see what I can do if it is a hen.

Gate

 

[wilds of pa]

Well Ive never had hens kill each other here..I had 15+ hens and 2 males in a pen for over 2 years..there pen is of course pretty big..25x100..

one thing to remember you must provide enough space for pheasants..

Now i have just recently down sized. but i still have 7 hens and one male in a 25x50 foot pen, no problems with it..

If you have aggressive hens or cocks why not peep them. My one male that i kept never liked other males. he was very Territorial, so he got a peeper. but as for my hens they all just seem to like each other. I even added two hens to the group and they got along with the rest of them. some even wanted to brood togeather on eggs..

wanted to ask did the birds all show sign of attack or just lying dead..??

Do you worm your pheasants??


Charlie

 

[deerman]

How tall is the pen,and what kind of top?

I have found, that if something scared them they fly up and hit the top. Damaging their heads.

 

[Gatekeeper]

The male had been pecked on the rump badly. One hen was found dead - another with the top of her scalp ripped of and bleeding. I then had only two hens left in the coop - I paid special attention to the hens when I first discovered the injured/dead birds. Now with only two in one coop one is now showing feathers missing from her crown.

I also had raised pheasant in coops for years and I've never had a problem before this. Now I do believe it is the hen I suspected.

Strangely she is much lighter colored then the other pheasant. (All were suppose to be ringneck)

The coop is low to stop them from jumping, and made of 1/4" plywood lined with foam padding

Gate

 

[wilds of pa]

Mine are in open top flight pens covered with flight top netting...My hens ranged from standard color all the way up to all most black..of course now i only kept all my dark hens and sold the rest off to down size a bit..and kept my blue back male..

Charlie

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

The birds seem to be very individual, my agressive hen is the biggest and best coloured of all, but will pace the fence making angry noises when I am outside just holding another hen pheasant(or the current male).

I had her with peepers, but it didn't have any effect on her at all(she would walk around and anything that she touched with her chest she started pecking, even if it was a wall). Then she got her peeper stuck in the fence and almost tore off her upper beak..... now she is without one(since I do not order stuff online and can't get them locally). She did well with the male and other female I had with her for 2 yrs, now a skunk dug itself into the pen, the one hen escaped through the hole(she stuck around but within 3 hrs a coyote got her) and the male was traumatized an quit eating on me(thus died).

Love your Pen Charlie, I had vegetation in mine once, but now it resembles the moon.... How often do you rotate birds to keep it green?
I kept my trio in a 12mX 12m enclosure with a little shelter. Then when I lost the male and one female I threw the agressive hen in with the chickens, there she was happy, she even came to get treats from me and she would dust bathe and sleep with the chickens. Now that the old pen is fixed I put her in there and wanted to introduce her to the new male, I let him go and she will go at him within 10 seconds....

I like birds with ..... um.... "character", but she is just frustrating right about now.
I put my pair of silvers in with her in the large pen since the silver hen doesn't let herself be pushed around, and lo and behold the ringneck loves the silvers.

Birds can be weird, but it does work out at the end of the day one way or another(at least if you are really trying).

Anna

 

[wilds of pa]

How often do you rotate birds to keep it green?

I never had to rotate the pheasants in the 100' run..I went in about once a month and had to weed wack it..once the grass got so high that it made it hard to find the eggs i knew it was time to weed wack again...

Charlie​

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

Quote:
Cool. I pretty much live on a big rock, grass is spare as is(but we got trees to no end) and is only green from March to July..... the birds make their enclsoures to a desert within 4 weeks.

I envy a friend of mine, he has like 5 or so acres with 30 geese, 100 + ducks, turkeys and a couple hundred chickens turned loose on it and its all lush and green and pretty...... but then he lives about 12 hr drive west of me, nice humid coastal weather, not semi-dry mountains.