Breeding and keeping pheasants at home

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Recently, more and more farmers are starting to breed pheasants. And this is not surprising, because this bird is not only an excellent decoration of the yard, but can also become a good source of income. But here it is important to understand that pheasants, the breeding and keeping of which has many nuances, are quite specific birds, so it is necessary to create suitable conditions for them. First of all, you need to build housing for them and make the right diet.

General information

A distinctive feature of pheasants is their attractive appearance. Males have a bright color, as well as a large and long tail. Females are most often gray with small speckles all over the body, which can be brown or black. But here it is important to understand that the color of pheasants may depend on the environmental conditions in which they are raised, so do not be surprised if you see a bird that does not fit this description.

Containment conditions

Pheasants, the conditions of which play a very important role, can be bred on a domestic and industrial scale. In the latter case, the mainefforts are aimed at accelerating growth and increasing the number of poultry. Breeding of this bird can be carried out for commercial purposes and bring a good income to the farmer.

If you are planning industrial cultivation and breeding of pheasants, then you should have a large territory at your disposal, because, as statistics show, the population can reach 10,000 individuals. On small farms, birds can be raised for their own needs.

Pheasants, which we will discuss later, are often found on small farms. Novice poultry farmers first start several males and females, gradually increasing the number of birds. Both female pheasants and ordinary hens can incubate eggs. In addition, you can build an incubator for this.

Where to start?

If you have never bred pheasants before, it is better to start with the silver breed, as it adapts perfectly to any climatic conditions and is less demanding to care for. In addition, the bird quickly gains weight, so it will pay off the cost of fattening and maintenance faster.

Pheasant can be kept both in cages and free range. The first method is used when the main task of the farmer is to feed the bird as quickly as possible and put it on meat. During the breeding season, great attention should be paid to their diet, which should be rich in protein. Little pheasants, up to two years oldmonths, are usually fed a combination diet, which has a protein content of up to 26 percent.

If you want to increase the livestock, then the bird is placed on free range. This will require a free enclosure, in which there should be 2-3 pheasants per square meter. As for the soil, the best option would be sand. The aviary is fenced with a metal mesh and covered with a canopy that will protect the birds from bad weather and sunlight on hot days.

It is recommended to place old trees and bushes inside the enclosure in order to bring the conditions as close as possible to natural ones. It should also have spacious bathing containers filled with a mixture of wood ash and sand.

The maintenance of a pheasant in order to increase the livestock should be carried out in compliance with one rule: there should be no more than three females per male. Otherwise, the egg production of the bird drops greatly.

From the end of winter to the end of summer, the chicks are kept in separate enclosures, after which they can be placed in a common one. At the same time, it is important to provide the bird with peace, since it does not tolerate stressful situations well. For example, pheasants may be frightened by loud noises or sudden movements, which in turn reduces their egg production.

One of the advantages of this bird is that they tolerate frost well, so for the winter period there is no need to insulate their premises or equip the heating system.

Pheasant characteristics

Adult weightcan reach two kilograms. At the same time, males are larger in size than females. The optimal time for fertilization occurs at the end of winter or early spring, when the male is placed with the female. One female per season can lay up to 50 eggs. Care, maintenance and breeding of pheasants do not require much effort. They lay eggs for about three months. One egg weighs an average of 30 grams. The bird can build nests throughout the enclosure, while forgetting the location of all of them. Therefore, it is important to periodically pick up eggs and put them in hens or put them in an incubator.

Here it is important to take into account the fact that each breed of pheasants prefers to lay their eggs in completely different places - grass, bushes and near trees. Therefore, if necessary, the farmer will have to build appropriate nests for the birds.

During the fertilization period, it is forbidden to launch several males to one female, since they can fight among themselves for a female until only one of them remains alive.

As for eating habits, the diet of pheasants has much in common with chicken. The best option would be to use green fodder and wet mash. The daily feed allowance for one individual is 100 grams.

Varieties of pheasants

If you are planning to keep pheasants at home, then you need to have an idea of what breeds of this bird exist. This is important because each breed has certain preferences that should be taken into account in order to get the maximumegg production and fast fattening of poultry.

Today, among most pheasant farmers, three breeds are the most popular:

• diamond;
• silver;
• gold.

Let's take a closer look at each of them and try to figure out which one is better to choose for breeding at home.

Diamond pheasants

This breed was bred by Chinese breeders. Diamond pheasants have many disadvantages, but they are bred for their large size. The main difficulties of keeping and breeding are to create and maintain a certain microclimate. The thing is that this breed is thermophilic and in frost over 25 degrees, the livestock can die. Therefore, for the winter period in the room in which the pheasants are kept, it is necessary to build a heating system.

In addition, the diet should contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals. The bird must receive fresh herbs and fish oil. Egg production can reach 30 eggs per season. The maximum body weight is 1 kilogram.

Silver Pheasant

The maintenance of this breed is less troublesome than the diamond one, so silver pheasants are the most common around the world. China is also the birthplace of this bird, but this breed perfectly adapts to the climatic regions of the area in which it is bred, therefore silver pheasants take root well in our country. itdue to the dense plumage, thanks to which the bird can withstand severe frosts. But the aviary must be well protected from drafts, otherwise the pheasants can get sick and die.

The average body weight of an adult is about 5 kilograms, and egg production is at the level of 50 eggs per season. One of the advantages of this breed is its rapid weight gain, so it can be bred not only to increase livestock, but also to obtain meat that has excellent taste and is widely used in cooking for preparing a large number of dishes.

Golden Pheasant

Keeping a golden pheasant is one of the easiest, because this breed is one of the most unpretentious. This bird is not grown commercially due to its small size and light weight, but it is perfect for decorative breeding.

In one season, a female golden pheasant can bring about 25 eggs. The maximum body weight of an adult reaches 1 kilogram. The meat does not have a special taste, so it is not used in cooking.

The room in which golden pheasants are kept should be heated in winter, as the bird does not tolerate low temperatures. With a frost of 20 degrees, the entire livestock can die. It is best to feed fresh herbs. In addition, fish oil should also be present in the diet, as well as various supplements containing vitamins C, B6 and B12.

What to feed?

Keeping pheasants with your own hands requires proper feeding. Forfeeding chicks use mash made from grated boiled eggs and fresh herbs. Serum is given instead of water. As the chicks grow, compound feeds are gradually introduced into the daily diet. In the second week, you can start giving millet porridge cooked in milk. At the age of two months, you can completely switch to the main food that is given to adult pheasants.

Wheat, barley, corn and fresh vegetables are used to feed adults. To strengthen the immune system and increase the bird's resistance to disease, ascorbic acid and sugar are added to the combined feed. Also essential components of the diet are fish oil and bone meal, which serve as an excellent source of trace elements.

In addition, keeping a pheasant, regardless of age and breed, requires frequent water changes. The thing is that the bird only drinks cold water.

During the breeding season, pheasants should be given antibiotics to increase egg production by approximately 40 percent.

Features of maintenance in winter

Keeping pheasants in winter requires an increase in the daily feeding rate. In addition, birds should be given vitamin supplements to increase their resistance to negative environmental factors and diseases. Additional lighting should be created in the poultry house, since the optimal daylight hours for pheasants is 14 hours. If this is not done, then the bird will begin to lose weight, and its growth and development will significantlyslow down.

Diseases and their control

Keeping pheasants on a personal plot is a fairly simple and laborious task, because with proper care and feeding, the bird rarely gets sick. But the likelihood of the disease still exists, so it is important to recognize the disease in time and begin appropriate treatment.

All diseases that pheasants are susceptible to can be divided into 3 categories:

• infectious;
• non-contagious;
• invasive.

Infectious diseases include various ailments caused by viruses or fungi. These are smallpox, laryngotracheitis and aspergillosis. This category of diseases is the most dangerous, because if left untreated, the livestock dies out very quickly.

Non-contagious diseases include dermatitis and emphysema. A sick bird does not pose any threat to other individuals, but if left untreated, it may die.

Invasive diseases are those caused by various parasites. These include scabies and infection with lice. For treatment, a 0.15% solution of Neguven is used.

Advantages and disadvantages of pheasant breeding

Pheasants, which were discussed earlier, can be a great source of income.

The benefits of this business are:

• dietary meat with great taste;
• Low competition in this area.

Among the main disadvantages are the needlarge investments at the stage of starting a business, as well as creating suitable conditions for maintenance.

In closing

As it turned out, caring for these birds is not so difficult. The most important thing is to provide them with the right care. But be that as it may, whether to breed pheasants or not - each farmer decides for himself.

However, if you do not want to do this on an industrial scale, then you should definitely start at least a few individuals on your farm for the sake of dietary and incredibly tasty meat.