Rescued partridge

[Oolala]

I have been given a rescued partridge today by my neighbour who found it cowering in his garage. It is hunting season now in France and today they have been shooting all day right in the field opposit my house, I absolutely hate it. The only thing we could do to keep it safe was to put it in The chicken coop, the girls were out in the garden so when he released it it flew straight in to the trees I have in my coop and has stayed there although it was the time of day the birds were all settling down for the night. I dont want to let it out only for it to get shot tomorrow but will it be ok for the time being. The girls are used to birds being around them as they fly into the coop and pinch the chicken food. Unfortunately I am not sure how long the season goes on for as it is different for each department but will ask someone tomorrow. Any advice on how to look after it, what should I feed it? Does it carry any diseases which could affect my girls.

 

[007Sean]

Oolala, I would check to see if the bird has been shot/injured already?
If your going to keep it, you'll need to furnish it's own enclosure. Chickens can have dieases that they can tolerate but will kill a partiridge. High protien feed of at least 24% should be fed. Most chicken feed's are not high enough in protien for gamebirds. A clean water source is important.
Partiridges do better in pairs or community type enclosures, as opposed to being single. Wish you the best of luck in your rescue efforts.

 

[Oolala]

Oolala, I would check to see if the bird has been shot/injured already?
If your going to keep it, you'll need to furnish it's own enclosure. Chickens can have dieases that they can tolerate but will kill a partiridge. High protien feed of at least 24% should be fed. Most chicken feed's are not high enough in protien for gamebirds. A clean water source is important.
Partiridges do better in pairs or community type enclosures, as opposed to being single. Wish you the best of luck in your rescue efforts.

Thank you for your reply. It wasnt injured but was quite frightened and hid at the back of the run. I kept it for two days but decided it wasnt fair to keep it as I noticed they are always in pairs or groups on the countryside lanes so I left the run door open. It came into the garden for a look around but ran back in When it saw me so it obviously felt safe there but later that day it flew away, only to come back next day with a mate and they spent a long time wandering around the garden. I hope it survived as they are still shooting in the field each day opposite me, I absolutely hate the hunting season in France and it can continue until the end of February next year for game birds.