Red Golden Pheasants

[Wolf-Kim]

Thanks everyone. That is a lot of great information. Almost all of it was great to hear.

I first saw these at a local lady's house. She had a pair of Ringneck, a pair of Golden, and a pair of Lady Amherst. All were beautiful, but her Golden male just stuck in my head and I hadn't forgotten him.

It is wonderful to hear that they are hardy to keep. Like I said, I hoped to eventually keep them outside in a large aviary containing several breeds of ornamental fowl. They would have plenty of shade and constant access to water. I plan to have a variety of plants from bushes to small trees and I will always be adjusting it to add new features and hiding spots and what-not.

-Kim

 

[CUDA]

Quote:
Quote:
That is not true. Some breeds are just too aggressive to house without bitting them, even if you provide plenty of space. If you only have a few birds, and a big pen, it won't be so bad, but if you plan on raising a bunch of birds like ringnecks, or quail, you will be bitting them as they are just too wild to be penned in quantities. Some breeds are better than others, like the goldens, but some are very aggressive by nature.

 

[Lophura]

Quote:
Quote:
That is not true. Some breeds are just too aggressive to house without bitting them, even if you provide plenty of space. If you only have a few birds, and a big pen, it won't be so bad, but if you plan on raising a bunch of birds like ringnecks, or quail, you will be bitting them as they are just too wild to be penned in quantities. Some breeds are better than others, like the goldens, but some are very aggressive by nature.

Wow. First off, I'm quite aware that there are aggressive species of pheasants, but "bitting" isn't the best thing NOR is just a big pen. If you have read some of my other posts or skimmed my site, you will see that in aviculture, we want to enrich the birds' lives and provide a simulated natural envrion. Pheasants are not breeds of poultry, they are a wild species and should be treated as such. For aggressive species such as some Syrmaticus, Lophura and Phasianus, "bitting" is not needed if you were to fill your aviary with natural items (large size is good as well, more room to fill it up) to keep the birds BUSY and OCCUPIED. Put me and you in an 8 x 8 cell with nothing to do for our lives, pretty soon, we're going to start beating each other up. Same with these aggressive pheasant species, an overly aggressive male can have his attention thwarted with ease and not have his nose pierced with ugly and dangerous bits/peepers.

If one can't house pheasants without using these things, I suggest they don't keep pheasants.

Dan

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Aww, come on guys. I can form my own opinion on bits and peepers and the likes. I get the picture, some people use them to keep the birds from cannabalism and other people strongly prefer not to use them.

Is there anything else I should know about the Red Golden Pheasants?

A friend of mine had several varieties of ornamental pheasants. She did not like them because she thought the males "flogged the hens mercilessly". Is this typical of pheasants?

I had another lady say that the hens will just sit for the males and it was much less "violent" than chickens. I know it sounds silly but I heard two completly different sides of this aspect. Which is the more accurate?

Thanks everyone.

-Kim

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

The males will chase the hens around but it's more of a dance/flirt thing and when the hen shows a sign of submission he'll mount her. But it is no diffefrent per se than with chickens - you have males with manners and some that are total jerks (guess that goes for the human species as well....lol). I do have to say the male pheasants I have ever had were not as ruthless at getting what tehy wanted as a chicken rooster is - what I witnessed was males waiting until the hen submitted. Some males were more demanding of submission than others but nothing like how a rooster will chase a chicken all over the yard to get what he wants....

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Okay cool. I figured they were similar to chickens in that aspect. The males dominant and whatnot.

My friend who didn't like them. Said her males would chase, mount, flog, and then repeat. I thought maybe her ratio was off, but she said that was not the case. I suppose she just had more aggressive birds. She has chickens and peafowl, so she knows the "ins and outs" of the bird world.

-Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

How well do they lay?

LOL. I come up with more questions as I go.

-Kim

 

[Broke Down Ranch]

I dunno - as pheasants go I guess pretty good. They certainly aren't "production" birds tho....they lay every other day and just like with chickens, some lay better than others but usually they will lay for almost 2 months if you gather their eggs. At least that's what I remember but it's been a few years since I had my pheasants...

 

[LuannKeller]

I saw one at the Local fair and I was taken with him too. I have some woods at the back of my fenced yard and would love to have them here, but I am afraid predators would take them out. I have a 6'x6'x6' pen - would that house a pair? Can you let them out during the day - will they come home to roost at night? Where do you find them?

 

[CUDA]

You know Dan, you don't have to get nasty, I am just stating my opinion, and that of breeders I know that literally raise thousands of these type birds yearly. We all don't have the luxury of the conditions you state, some pheasants are raised for other reasons than pets. I am all for humane treatment of any animal, and I sure don't feel bits are inhumane when the alternative will be them killing each other due to extenuating circumstances out of the birds control. We all do our best to treat our birds the best we can, and we can agree to disagree, I have no problem with that, I am just stating my opinion, and trying to help without belittling anyone.