Can one or two pheasants be kept with chickens in a chicken coop? Advantages of pheasants?

[fiddleblue]

I went to a local shop that sells live poultry, mostly to people to eat, and noticed they have pheasants. Not sure what type...but it got me wondering if a pheasant or two could be kept with chickens. What are the advantages to keeping pheasants? Do they lay eggs? ARe they raised mostly for meat? Are they at all tame and can they be handled or do they tend to run or fly off when you approach them?

 

[maxpedley]

Depending on the pheasant species they will lay varying amounts of eggs in spring and summer. Some pheasants like white ringnecks are raised for meat however pheasants are not raised primarily for meat on the whole. If they are bought from a young age they can be tamed. They can be kept with chickens however you will need to keep on top of disease as poultry can transfer many harmfull diseases to pheasants.

 

[OEG Lifer]

Pheasants generally require an enclosed run and males can be aggressive to others birds. They are not likely to use a small chicken door to a coop, preferring to remain outside... For the small varieties they recommend a minimum of 100 square feet. They are primarily ornamental for back yard birder. Red Golden's are an excellent beginner choice! Relatively easy to train to hand feed. Hope this helps!

 

[nicole camp]

We use pheasants to sell to a hunting club, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing them if you don't have a top on the pen. The roosters can get aggressive even when hand raised, and if you have more than one rooster you might have to put on blinders so they don't fight. They also can't eat normal chicken feed because the medication is bad for them. Just some tips if your still going to buy them

 

[maxpedley]

Pheasants generally require an enclosed run and males can be aggressive to others birds. They are not likely to use a small chicken door to a coop, preferring to remain outside... For the small varieties they recommend a minimum of 100 square feet. They are primarily ornamental for back yard birder. Red Golden's are an excellent beginner choice! Relatively easy to train to hand feed. Hope this helps!

All my pheasants spend most of the day in the chicken coops in their aviarys.

 

[maxpedley]

We use pheasants to sell to a hunting club, but I wouldn't recommend purchasing them if you don't have a top on the pen. The roosters can get aggressive even when hand raised, and if you have more than one rooster you might have to put on blinders so they don't fight. They also can't eat normal chicken feed because the medication is bad for them. Just some tips if your still going to buy them

Layers pellets should have no medication in anyway. My pheasants go on to layers pellets now and come off them in late summer when they finish laying and it does them no harm.

 

[nicole camp]

As long as its not medicated feed your good. Maxpedly, do they lay better with the pellets?

 

[maxpedley]

They dont lay more but seeing as how layers pellets are made to provide a bird with the correct nutrients to lay eggs it seems sensible to feed it to pheasants as well. Last season it cleraly worked as my females where laying about 40 eggs each and everything I put in the incubator hatched I think I gave them the right feed. Another option would be poultry breeders pellets.

 

[mrwoodboat]

I have been feeding all of mine layer pellets. Just out of curiosity, what do you transition them too when you take them off of layer pellets? I start mine on starter but when they go on layer pellets, I have kept them on it year round with some 7 grain scratch (more so in the winter months)

 

[maxpedley]

I have been feeding all of mine layer pellets. Just out of curiosity, what do you transition them too when you take them off of layer pellets? I start mine on starter but when they go on layer pellets, I have kept them on it year round with some 7 grain scratch (more so in the winter months)

wheat and mixed corn and sometimes even turkey grower. But they will eat anything so I sometimes put corn on the cobs in their pen and they still have some layers.