I have a few questions about Eliot's pheasants.

[Pheasant fan Colorado]

I just purchased a 2 year old male. he is in a pen that is about 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet tall, that also houses my mandarin duck pair, single male peacock, two roosters and a crap ton of pigeons. I have the following questions,

1. I payed $60 for mine, is that a fair price?

2. is the dimensions of the pen mentioned above roomy enough for this variety?

3. I've heard that Elliot's can be really aggressive, but he seems pretty chill. will his mood shift if I introduce some females?

4. I've also read that I need at least two females so that the male doesn't breed them to death. is that true?

5. do you need to keep females in a separate pen outside of breeding season?

6. is Purina duck food okay for them to eat?

7. how long do they live?

sorry for all the questions, I just really want to get the care right for this guy!

 

[casportpony]

@muddy75 & @007Sean, can either of you help?

 

[Gotbirdsohyeah]

That is a good price.i would not put any birds in with pigeons,they carry a bunch of diseases that over time will kill pheasants and peafowl.They can be aggressive during breeding season,but you dont know until then.You can not add hens to his cage,they have to be introduced in a neutral pen to all,then after a few weeks you can out them into your mixed pen.Ive had a pair for years and they do fine,she has never looked beat up,but again each bird is different.They need a game bird feed,you can mix in layer pellets wild bird seed in the courtship thru the end of breeding season.Courtship starts in Feb so have them set up for their courtship Jan.Have what you are using for nests boxes long before laying season so they know their surroundings.They can live up to 20 years,some even longer.
In N.H.,Tony.

 

[muddy75]

i only have experience with ringneck so as far as Elliot specific questions @007Sean will have the best advice.
1) sounds like a fair price
2) your housing sound ok if just pheasants. while I have mixed species in my aviary, it is not wise especially with a bachelor pheasant in the height of breeding season.
3) his mood may shift as soon as the “new” wears off and he has no females
4) 3-4 hens would be ideal
5) i keep mine together year round.....when breeding season ends, it ends
6) i use an all-flock pellet for gamebirds been really happy with kalmbach

 

[007Sean]

Most of the above advice is sound, I will reinterate, do not keep pheasants with other poultry.
$60 is reasonable for a male Elliot.
Your enclosure is adequate for a male and a trio of hens but not if the other birds are also in that enclosure.

They should be fed a balanced and complete diet of gamebird feed of 24% protein, treats should be limited to 10% of their diet.
l have several Elliots that are 13 years old, they can live to 25 maybe longer if no diseases or predators get them.

Mine are not aggressive toward people but a few are aggressive during breeding season but not to the extent of killing the hens. Personally, I prefer an aggressive breeder.

 

[Pheasant fan Colorado]

Most of the above advice is sound, I will reinterate, do not keep pheasants with other poultry.
$60 is reasonable for a male Elliot.
Your enclosure is adequate for a male and a trio of hens but not if the other birds are also in that enclosure.

They should be fed a balanced and complete diet of gamebird feed of 24% protein, treats should be limited to 10% of their diet.
l have several Elliots that are 13 years old, they can live to 25 maybe longer if no diseases or predators get them.

Mine are not aggressive toward people but a few are aggressive during breeding season but not to the extent of killing the hens. Personally, I prefer an aggressive breeder.

Ok thanks! The set up he’s in right now is just temporary until I can get another pen built.

 

[Pheasant fan Colorado]

That is a good price.i would not put any birds in with pigeons,they carry a bunch of diseases that over time will kill pheasants and peafowl.They can be aggressive during breeding season,but you dont know until then.You can not add hens to his cage,they have to be introduced in a neutral pen to all,then after a few weeks you can out them into your mixed pen.Ive had a pair for years and they do fine,she has never looked beat up,but again each bird is different.They need a game bird feed,you can mix in layer pellets wild bird seed in the courtship thru the end of breeding season.Courtship starts in Feb so have them set up for their courtship Jan.Have what you are using for nests boxes long before laying season so they know their surroundings.They can live up to 20 years,some even longer.
In N.H.,Tony.

yeah the whole set up is temporary. the pen is usually just my pigeon loft where I keep my semi-disabled rooster and the peacock. it's my old chicken yard, so I use it for a transition pen. usually I wouldn't mix so many species, but things lined up just right so that I had all of them come in at once. the mandarins weren't supposed to be in for another few weeks and I had already made arrangements to get this Elliot's. the peacock was supposed to be in his own pen by now but I got the virus in the middle of April and it slowed all my projects down by a lot.

sorry for the lengthy response, I just realized that my original post made it sound like this was a permanent arrangement. just wanted to clarify that its not and that I'm working to get them all separated and that question six was just for the couple weeks they are together, and 2 was just to make sure the design was sound for this type of bird.

 

[007Sean]

yeah the whole set up is temporary. the pen is usually just my pigeon loft where I keep my semi-disabled rooster and the peacock. it's my old chicken yard, so I use it for a transition pen. usually I wouldn't mix so many species, but things lined up just right so that I had all of them come in at once. the mandarins weren't supposed to be in for another few weeks and I had already made arrangements to get this Elliot's. the peacock was supposed to be in his own pen by now but I got the virus in the middle of April and it slowed all my projects down by a lot.

sorry for the lengthy response, I just realized that my original post made it sound like this was a permanent arrangement. just wanted to clarify that its not and that I'm working to get them all separated and that question six was just for the couple weeks they are together, and 2 was just to make sure the design was sound for this type of bird.

Phew!!!! Glad to read this response....so many peeps try to house everything in 1 enclosure....highly not recommended.
Especially if housing with ducks and pigeons.