Phineas the Ph(f)riendly Pheasant

[hsitk]

We've been raising free range chickens for about 10 years - and have dabbled in heritage turkeys, guineas and meat chickens. We aren't new to raising birds - However on Saturday afternoon when I went out into our garage, a beautiful ringneck pheasant male was walking into the open door. We made eye contact and quickly went our separate ways. I was like -WHAT? that's not a chicken!

Monday and Tuesday (today) He has been all over the place. Almost on our porch, spent lots of time looking/talking to himself in his reflection in our sliding glass door (our cat was sitting on the inside) - He's been mixed in with our chickens several times (roosters are totally ok with him), even casually walks into/through their enclosed run. Yesterday he had pumpkin with the chickens and today he bravely ran to grab a treat when i threw some leftover cooked rice out for the chickens. He won't really stay around when he sees me, but is relaxing more and more every time we see each other, of course.

We believe he is a recently released stocked bird. He's not shown us that he's tame/someone's pet - but clearly comfortable around houses, dogs, cats, chickens

Anyone else with a similar experience?? I'd love for him to stick around. We are surrounded by woods, corn fields, ideal habitat for him. Do you think we could get him a tame girl friend to encourage him to stay local?

Any suggestions in how to lure him into being my friend would be awesome Thank in advance.

 

[Woofless]

That is pretty darn cool

Maybe keep some cracked corn feed scattered around in areas where he likes to hang out? Pretty much any critter seems more likely to stick around when they know there's gonna be something to eat. And make sure nothing harasses him at your place- if there isn't a dog or cat that'll chase him off he will grow more comfortable being around.

I wouldn't worry so much about trying to get a girl pheasant- they mate seasonally in the spring and after that don't seem to care too much about it. Usually by winter the two sexes almost completely separate from one another. You can hunt one field and see nothing but hens, the next will be nothing but roosters. Some kind of survival tactic to get through the worst of the winter, is what I was told. So a lady pheasant might not make a difference either way.

I live on a hunting preserve and there's a pheasant raising facility literally in my backyard- three acres of birds that all ultimately get released on the preserve. Every year a handful of them find their way back "home" and will be seen hanging out outside the pen all the time. Usually as time goes on, the birds start exploring a little further out, which puts them in my backyard at that point. For the last three years we've had at least one or two "Yard Cocks" as we call them- our pleasant pheasant mascots as it were- the first Yard Cock survived for a year and a half before I stopped seeing him around- and I never did anything special to try and "attract" him to my place. Heck I even have obnoxious dogs that'd give him a run once in a while- but he learned to come pecking in the yard when the dogs were inside and I'd see him multiple times a day, every day, close to the house, even find his footprints in the snow on my car and by the porch steps. So I think if you've got a pheasant friend you may not have to do a lot to convince him to stay

 

[313759]

We've been raising free range chickens for about 10 years - and have dabbled in heritage turkeys, guineas and meat chickens. We aren't new to raising birds - However on Saturday afternoon when I went out into our garage, a beautiful ringneck pheasant male was walking into the open door. We made eye contact and quickly went our separate ways. I was like -WHAT? that's not a chicken!


Monday and Tuesday (today) He has been all over the place. Almost on our porch, spent lots of time looking/talking to himself in his reflection in our sliding glass door (our cat was sitting on the inside) - He's been mixed in with our chickens several times (roosters are totally ok with him), even casually walks into/through their enclosed run. Yesterday he had pumpkin with the chickens and today he bravely ran to grab a treat when i threw some leftover cooked rice out for the chickens.  He won't really stay around when he sees me, but is relaxing more and more every time we see each other, of course.

We believe he is a recently released stocked bird. He's not shown us that he's tame/someone's pet - but clearly comfortable around houses, dogs, cats, chickens

Anyone else with a similar experience?? I'd love for him to stick around. We are surrounded by woods, corn fields, ideal habitat for him. Do you think we could get him a tame girl friend to encourage him to stay local?

Any suggestions in how to lure him into being my friend would be awesome Thank in advance.

Had the same thing happen except the pheasant never went into the pen and only came around every few weeks. Then he disappeared