Temminicks Tragopans and Peacock Pheasants oh my!

[4theLoveofBirds]

I am looking at picking up a couple pairs of Peacock Pheasants (Germains or maybe Grey) as well as some Temminicks Tragopans , and maybe some Brown Eared this fall. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info on the web that I have found as far as care of them goes (a lot of history but little else). For those of you that have them, what are you feeding them? Pen size? Sexual maturity? Are they nervous birds? Personality? Illness they are prone too? How many in a pen? Noise level? And anything else you can think of that someone starting out with them would need to know. I just started with some Golden Pheasants (dark throat and red gold), and have various chickens and some peafowl (very young yet).

 

[Midnightman14]

Greys: They don't handle cold well and need supplemental heating in a more confined area when winter comes. They don't lay nearly as many eggs as other pheasants and can be tamed easier than some of the other more rare pheasants. They love mealworms as an extra bit to their normal feed. They can be kept in trios for breeding.

Temmincks: breed in their second year and should only be kept in pairs unless the hens were raised together but even then it's a toss up. The hens will fight each other and fertility will suffer as a result as well as potentially injuring each other. They are pretty shy and like to have plenty of places to hide and perch in their pen.

hope this helps somewhat

 

[Tony K T]

Greys: They don't handle cold well and need supplemental heating in a more confined area when winter comes. They don't lay nearly as many eggs as other pheasants and can be tamed easier than some of the other more rare pheasants. They love mealworms as an extra bit to their normal feed. They can be kept in trios for breeding.

Temmincks: breed in their second year and should only be kept in pairs unless the hens were raised together but even then it's a toss up. The hens will fight each other and fertility will suffer as a result as well as potentially injuring each other. They are pretty shy and like to have plenty of places to hide and perch in their pen.

hope this helps somewhat

Greys handle winter just fine.You do need to cover their entire pen so no drafts get in,but,do not get it so tight that moister builds up.This will cause bacteria to grow and this is bad.I got 8 eggs from one of my hens before sahe decided to set.She just came off today(wed) with 2 chicks.
Temmincks will trio and some do breed the 1st year,but they are usually early hatch birds.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Midnightman14]

If you're above a certain zone you do need to heat them, I have friends in ohio and even farther south than that who have to. Where I'm at it's a must. Most reputable breeders heat in the winter if it gets cold enough for snow to form.

 

[Tony K T]

Remember snow insulates.
I am in N.H. and it gets cold.I do not provide heat for them.The germains did not do so good,the male lost a toe.The greys are more tolerant if you keep the drafts off from them.My hen has laid here first egg in Feb for the last 2 years.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[Kevin hendricks]

I would go with the temmincks or brown eared they have no problems with the cold ,i have never heated grey pp ,palawans and mountains i have heated and I'm in nc didn't want to take any chances

 

[Tony K T]

It's hard to pick one or two breeds when you like to have all of them.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[4theLoveofBirds]

Yeah...cold is not really an issue here as I am in southern Arizona. Winters are generally 60's and 70's with overnight lows in the 40's. Every once in a great while we get "cold" winters for a couple weeks in January where the temps may drop down into the 30's or 40's during the day. Right now we are pre monsoon so the temps have been 105-112. That's more of a concern for me then winter weather. I plan to put misting systems in the pens and have been busy planting bamboo with plans for planting some giant elephant ears and some Great Gunnera for more shade. Living in the high desert has its challenges but so far all my fowl have made it thru and in a week or two the monsoon season starts and the temps will drop back down below 100 again. But of course, that season has its challenges as well. Flooding, torrential downpours, severe lightning (which reminds me that I need to take down the 13' aerial rig/aka giant lightning rod when I get back in town from work) and red mud tracked everywhere by my 3 dogs.

 

[copperduck]

I'm looking to get palawans but I'm nervous with everything I hear, do I need to keep them separate from other birds and is it easier to keep impeyans? And I also keep yellow goldens with a pair of peafowl, will either the peafowl or pheasants breed being together, they are all at about alil over one year old? Thanks