R1803 Raising Pheasants Benjamin Geaumont Kevin Sedivec Aaron Field Wildlife and Range Extension Rangeland Range Research Scientist Management Specialist Graduate Assistant May 2016 1 • R1803 Raising Pheasants Table of Contents Preface ....................................................... 2 Pheasant History ........................................ 3 Checklist for Raising Pheasants ................. 4 Things to do Before Chicks Arrive ........... 4 Preface Care of Chicks Following Arrival ............. 5 Raising ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus To Hatch or to Buy ...................................... 5 colchicus) can be a rewarding experience Brood Rearing ............................................ 6 when done correctly and things go as planned. However, rearing pen-raised birds can go Feeding and Watering ................................ 7 afowl quickly with poor planning or Flight Pen.................................................... 8 should unforeseen circumstances arise. Cannibalism ................................................ 9 This guide to raising pheasants was developed by Irving Mork and C.R. Grondahl of the NDSU Disease ....................................................... 9 Extension Service (unknown date) and revised Regulations ................................................. 9 by Eric Bakke, also of the NDSU Extension How to Release Birds ............................... 10 Service (1984). We tried to keep the guide somewhat similar in content to its 1984 form, To Stock or Not to Stock ........................... 10 although readers familiar with the original Building Plans for a Flight Pen guide will notice additions and deletions. Suited for 50 Chicks.................................. 11 This guide is intended to provide those Design for Example 1 ............................ 11 interested in raising ring-necked pheasant with Equipment needed for Example 1 ......... 11 some general guidelines that, when followed, Design for Example 2 ............................ 12 should help improve the chances of being Citations .................................................... 12 successful. While this guide provides detail and guidance on raising pheasants, those actively raising or considering raising pheasants should take full advantage of all available resources concerning the subject. 2 • R1803 Raising Pheasants Pheasant History The ring-neck pheasant (Phasianus Several years of poor reproductive Another heavy winter kill in March colchicus) is not a game bird native success hastened the pheasant decline. 1966 further reduced pheasant to this continent. Birds from eastern Population declines were most severe densities in North Dakota. Pheasants China made up the first successful in the northern portions of the state, faced another tough winter in 1968-69, introduction in the Willamette Valley indicating that much of this area was which had record snowfalls. of Oregon in 1881. These birds rapidly marginally suitable as pheasant range. Populations continued to fluctuate increased in numbers, and the first During the 1950s, pheasant throughout the 1970s and into the hunting season was held in 1892. populations fluctuated from low 1980s, with the annual population Since that time, practically all states to moderate levels, compared with generally on a slight upward trend. have attempted to establish pheasants; numbers from the early 1940s. In 1985, the Conservation Reserve however, not all attempts have been Population ups and downs closely Program (CRP) was established by successful. Pheasants were stocked in followed annual reproductive success. the Food Security Act. As a result of North Dakota first in 1910 (Johnson CRP, an influx of grassland vegetation The best populations during the and Knue, 1989). The Game and Fish occurred across the state and peaked 1950s were in the southwestern Department, private organizations in the mid-2000s at approximately portion of the state, with southeastern and individuals continued periodic 3.3 million acres. Ring-necked populations marginal. Although stocking efforts for several years. pheasants responded positively pheasants were in most of the to the new habitat CRP provided By the early 1930s, pheasants were northern two-thirds of the state, and numbers began to grow, with established in the southeastern region numbers remained low. A partial pheasants occurring throughout of the state. This was partly due to reproductive failure in 1959 caused much of the state. birds dispersing from adjoining further declines in pheasant South Dakota counties. By 1932, populations. Beginning in the late 1990s, populations were high enough pheasant numbers greatly increased In 1960, spring breeding populations for the Game and Fish Department until the late 2000s, at which time were the lowest ever recorded, with to trap more than 15,000 birds in the population began to decline. the most severe decreases in the the southeast and release them in Pheasant numbers have continued western portion of the pheasant 44 other counties. to decline in recent years. Pheasant range. Populations fluctuated during populations had another reduction North Dakota’s first pheasant hunting the early 1960s. Another decline in in 2013 because early spring and fall season was held in 1931. Pheasants spring breeding populations in the blizzards negatively affected birds. met with nearly ideal habitat west in 1962 was followed by a conditions during the mid-1930s. steady recovery in 1964. Many factors affect pheasant Good reproduction and survival populations, the most important Pheasants in the southeast also resulted. Peak population levels of which is the need for adequate increased during this period. were reached by the mid-1940s. habitat. Since CRP enrollment peaked These increases were attributed to at approximately 3.3 million acres From the mid-1940s on, pheasant better cover in extensive Soil Bank in North Dakota, CRP acreage has populations declined. Cover acreages, generally improved moisture declined to 1.5 million acres, conditions deteriorated because of and milder winters. The winter of resulting in a significant loss of intensive land use during World 1964-65 caused heavy storm mortality habitat. Pheasant numbers no doubt War II. The decline was particularly throughout the entire range, and will continue to fluctuate; however, noticeable during the period of that spring, breeding populations we likely ever will see numbers as 1948 to 1950, when severe winter reached a new low. they were in the 1940s. mortality reduced pheasant numbers. 3 • R1803 Raising Pheasants Checklists for Raising Pheasants Things to do Before Chicks Arrive: Care of Chicks Following Arrival: n Remove all old litter if brooding house n Dip each chick’s beak in food and water and previously was used. place it under the brooder light or heat source. n Scrub the walls and floor with a good n Adjust the light as needed. disinfectant. Ensure all cracks are cleaned. • If chicks bunch under the light, it likely is too high. n When the house is dry, put down a good litter. • If chicks move away from light, it likely is too low. • Expanded vermiculite or mold-free straw n Leave the chick guard up for at least the first week makes good litter. and longer if the weather is bad. • Sand and shavings are not recommended. n Remove the litter paper or litter cloth at the end of • Chick starter paper can be placed over the fifth day. If the litter paper or cloth becomes soiled the litter for the first five days to prevent before the fifth day, turn it over and use the clean side. the chicks from eating the litter. Be sure the paper is not slick. n Inspect the chicks often during the first week, especially at night, to be sure they are comfortable n Clean and disinfect all feed and watering (neither too hot nor too cold). Be careful when you equipment. work around the chicks. Don’t scare them! n Check that your heat source works. n After the first week, reduce the temperature each • Be sure the heat source is well-secured week by raising the light 2 to 3 inches. Let the chicks to prevent potential fires. be your guide. n Adjust the heat lamp to fit the conditions n At the end of the third week, discontinue the heat when you put chicks in the brooder. during the day, weather permitting, and turn the heat on again at night. By the end of the fourth week, n Follow brooder directions closely. if the weather is nice, discontinuing the heat entirely n Have plenty of food on hand. should be possible. • Store food in a safe place in a rodent-proof n Allow some ventilation in the brooder house, but be sure container. no drafts are blowing directly on the young pheasants. • Pheasants require grit. Check with your n Keep feed and water available to the chicks at all times. feed dealer for details. n Chicks can be moved outside permanently when the use of the heat source is discontinued and nighttime lows stay well above freezing. • Chicks should have adequate shelter when moved outside to protect them from the elements. 4 • R1803 Raising Pheasants To Hatch or to Buy Buying day-old chicks or incubating Another method that can provide Journals should be used to keep pheasant eggs on your own has pros accurate measures of egg records of such things as the length of and cons. The incubation process development is the egg floating time the eggs have been stored, storage requires certain attention to details, method (Westerkov, 1950). As the chick temperature, date and time incubation including temperature and humidity. develops within the egg,