Reeves pheasants info

[lingle97]

I am trying to figure out an aviary size for the Reeves pheasants. I have tried to research the topic but keep getting different answers. Those of you who raise them would be the best source I believe. First off I hear anything from 100 square feet to 200 plus. What is the recommended area. I know the larger the better. Also do they really get up to 82 inches long. I have heard this from multiple places. This is confusing as that is over 6 feet. That is the size of my peafowl length. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Tony K T]

Well first off,how many do you plan on raising in this pen?With reeves I would recommend 1 male to at least 2 hens.They are very aggressive breeders and multiple hen helps from 1 hen taking the full wrath of his aggression.I think a 8x16 would be good for a trio or quad,but bigger is always better.Keith Howmans book recommends 200 sq ft per pair.I think you could house 5 or 6 birds in that size pen with no problems.Yes tails can grow to 6 feet provided the pen is huge and not many obsticles that can rip the tail feathers.Then of course they love to pace along the sides of the pen which is usually wire and they rub their tails along that and break or just ruff the feathers up.What other breeds do you raise?
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[lingle97]

I raise goldens at the moment as well as peafowl. I have the opportunity to get some silvers and Reeves in trade for a peahen.

 

[Tony K T]

Well same goes for silvers as they are about the same temperament as reeves.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[007Sean]

I agree with Tony. Reeves can be very aggressive towards hens or people. Currently, I have 3 trios, 2 are fairly docile...the other cock bird is absolutely vicious. He'll attack me when Im wearing my white tennis shoes but not when wearing black ones. Also, this is the first time in the 8 years I've had them that he has become so aggressive. The flip side to his aggresiveness is, his courtship and display, comical and truely amazing.
I'd recommend not brooding any other chicks with Reeves chicks. They will kill other chicks of different species. I found out the hard way.
If you can't have a long run for them, I'd recommend a wide as possible enclosure. I keep mine in 10' x 30' x6' planted and lots of pheasant furniture. This seems to help keep them docile and aren't as likely to get bored and pace the perimeter of the enclosure. Ahh, almost forgot, yes, their tail feathers can grow to 6' long. Mine have tail feathers around 5.5'
HTH and good luck.

 

[Midnightman14]

Aggression in pheasants can be tricky to mitigate even with good gender rations. My swinhoe male had to be kept with 2 other juvenile males as well as his own mate. Otherwise she would've taken all the beating. Oddly enough even though he and the other males chased around a bit there was never any serious fighting or even pulled feathers. They even all slept on the same roost like bumps on a log. On the other hand my females went at it like dervishes so I could not keep any of them together regardless of age.