Sad day on the farm...

[greymane]

Well, I have done it now. My son and I were transferring some pheasants to the first set of new pens. I opened the shelter top to put the last in and one of the Amhersts was roosting in the shelter. Flew out before I knew what was going on.

A chase ensued, but to no avail. He made it into the woods. The funny part is, he is the one we had in with the female.

The other male now gets that priveledge and the "lost" pheasant was in the corn field behind the house calling to "his" girl tonight. Any hints on how to recover him? (Assuming he survives the predators tonight.)

 

[CheekyMare]

I have no advice but I hope you get him back.

 

[mochicken]

I dont have any idea of how to get him back, he might come back to get his girlfriend. I would say put her in a cage in the old pen so she cant get away, leave the door open and watch for him to return to his one n only lover lol

I am sorry for your loss, I have been there, I had a turkey take off as a poult and it broke my heart.

 

[rittert3]

I had this happen one time too. You will probably catch him next to his hen in the next few days, I would leave an empty pen open with feed and water and put his hen in a smaller pen inside and see if you can shut the door behind him. That would be about the only way to get it done. My ringneck cock lasted about 2 months before we quit seeing him around so you might have a little time.

 

[EmAbTo48]

Hey for some good news, we had one from last year get out and he still comes around to check out the newbies, see him once a week on top of the outside pen looking down at them all LOL! He looks healthy, when hes around I usually will leave some feed out by the pen incase. But he stays for a few hours talking to everyone and scoping everything out!

We release 90% of ours yearly to help re populate our area, but I still can tell him a part from all the others since he has a werid marking on him!

Good Luck!

 

[greymane]

Well, a Lady Amherst will certainly stand out among the ringnecks around here (especially with his white "cape" coming into color)!

 

[SunBaked]

I had my female silver pheasant get out a few weeks ago and was able to walk up to her really slow and grab her, as I was putting her back in the pen the male got out

I was also able to walk up to him really slow while talking soft and make a grab for him. All that time I spent with em when they were small helped though I'm sure.

Hope he comes back and you are able to get him. If you get the chance I noticed crouching down slow next to them and making a grab for their legs then holding them down with the other hand real quick worked good.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I would suggest putting the hen in a cage in the pen and leaving the pen open with food/water. He might return and then you can catch him? A few years back I had a pair of yellow goldens that my MIL let go (on accident) and I never did find them again.

 

[greymane]

My plan is to (tonight) close in another section of my pens (a 10 X 10 section) with one side open (missing a wall) and put the hen in there in a dog crate. We will see how that goes. If he gets in there, it should be easy to corner and net him. On the bright side, at least it was a cockerel and not a hen. That still leaves me with a pair.

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

If I were to attempt pheasants again, I'd build a double door system like they use in zoos in the aviaries.

The set up I used to have was just an extra chicken coop & run....not secure enough to prevent them from freaking out & escaping (obviously).