Jean Delacour describes 14 and hens. I have had many males that in ofthe World, with the True I have had to ward off with a stick and Silver Lophura nycthemera on the other hand, our current Silver nycthemera being the most commonly male is perfectly harmless. kept. The True Silver is the largest of the Males can sometimes have very bad subspecies and is found in southeastern attitudes. It is tough to break them from China. The other subspecies include being mean once they have started. My the Lewis's Silver Pheasant L.n. lewisi, first breeder male would kill every hen the Annamese Silver Pheasant L. n. placed with him, while another would annamensis, the Boloven Silver spend his time picking fights through Pheasant L. n. engelbachi, the Bel's the mesh with other and attacking Silver Pheasant L. n. beli, the Berlioz's our legs! Their attitudes usually depend Silver Pheasant L. n. berliiozi, the on the . I once had one male that Silver Ruby Mines Silver Pheasant L. .n. would petform his wing-whirl display rufipes, the Rippon's Silver Pheasant when I would clap my hands and L. n. ripponi, the Jones's Silver would follow me around his enclosure Pheasants Pheasant L. n. jonesi, the Western looking for a hand-out. Silver Pheasant L. n. occidentalis, the Lophura nycthemera They are big birds that are extreme­ Lao Silver Pheasant L. n . beaulieui, ly tough and hardy. We once had an the Fokien Silver Pheasant L. n. fok­ by Dan Cowell ice storm and had to go pull the Silvers iensis, the Silver Pheasant L. n. Kansas City, Missouri, USA off the roost to place them inside the whiteheadi, and the Szechwan Silver shelter only to see them back outside Pheasant L. n. omeiensis. again on the roost within an hour. he Silver Pheasant is one of Of the tnentioned subspecies, I can the best known and popular only find vague information on those Description pheasant species in captivity kept in Atnerican . It is The male True Silver has a long Tand is well represented in captivity. believed that most of the different sub­ black crest, a black chin and throat, Silver Pheasants have been kept as species which made it to America have with a glossy bluish-black belly. The captive birds for many centuries and interbred with the True Silver. I have rest of the oody is white, with many are also well represented in ancient seen breeder listings with Jones's and black lines. Their tails can be quite long, Chinese art and poetry. Lewis's, but I have no infonnation on with the central feathers pure white. their status. One of the most noticeable features are Range and Subspecies the bright red face wattles which are Silver Pheasants are native to south­ Hardy and Aggressive used during courtship. Silvers do not ern China, Burma, Thailand, Male Silvers have the reputation of achieve their brilliant until and Cambodia in a variety of habitats. being aggressive toward their keepers their second year. First year males often have many black markings on the chest, while the rest of the body is mostly brown with light gray steaks. Hens are a drab olive brown over­ all. There is much variation from hen to hen in the vermiculations of the belly and breast, and I have never seen two hens exactly alike. Hens have a much smaller and paler face wattle. The bill is gray and the feet are red. Immature females resemble adults but are often lighter and paler.

Breeding Breeding Silver Pheasants are among the first species to lay in the year. We have even dug eggs out of the snow. While March is the average starting month, we are not surprised by a A male Silver pheasant. Silvers are among the easiest of the ornamental pheasants to February egg. The eggs are quite large, keep and breed. comparable to a domestic chicken egg.

the afa WATCHBIRD 45 Clutch sizes vary from 6 to 15 eggs, usu­ have heard of breeders placing hard­ ally depending on the age of the hen. boiled eggs in the aviaries to distract Incubation lasts about 27 days. We attention. have had great success with hatches We've had Silvers breed in nearly all using an incubator as well as foster sizes of aviaries. An ideal aviary is one Bantams. that is at least 120 square feet, land­ The chicks are easy to raise and scaped with various shrubs, grasses often learn to eat right away. Chicks (which usually do not last long), logs that are stubborn eaters can be coaxed and rocks. Only a miniInal shelter is with mealworms. They grow well required during the winter months. I when fed a high protein game bird have run into problems when trying starter supplemented with greens and to share the aviary with other bird live food such as mealworms and species. If this is a must, place feed small crickets. They are not problem and water stations in areas where the makers like many other species during Silvers do not have access. the brooding phase. I have noticed that they are also much more calm and Diet can be easily tamed. They do grow Diets for adult Silvers are fairly sim­ quickly, and by about six weeks of ple. Many use a commercial game bird age, they can be put in outside pens. pellet that has a protein content of lSO/o or higher during the breeding season General Comments and 14 to 160/0 protein during the off­ Silver Pheasants are perfect aviary season. Grain is often added to the pel­ birds and great for those new to pheas­ lets in the off-season, with cracked corn ant raising, but they do have a few bad being a favorite of the birds. Pheasants habits. One of them is egg eating. I also enjoy greens, veggies and fruits have experienced this and heard from year round. Mealworms are added to many other breeders about the birds the diet as a treat every other day. eating their own eggs. There are many methods to stop it. One that has Bibliography worked for me is to inject a hot or Brown 0 , 1998. A Guide to Pheasants & Waterfowl, ABK Publications. South nasty tasting substance into a bantam Tweed Heads, Australia. egg (we have used Tabasco sauce). Delacour J , 1977. The Pheasants of the World, Once the birds got a taste they didn't Spur Publications, Surrey, England. Delacour J, 1978. Pheasants Breeding & Care, like, they quit eating their eggs. I also TFH Publications, New Jersey, USA. ~

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46 July/August 2000