Pheasants and Chickens- can they live harmoniously?

[menageriemama]

I have a dear friend who has 20 pheasants, and she would like to add some laying hens to her poultry flock. She asked me if the Pheasants and chickens could/would live together happily, and I didn't have a clue! So I am posing the question to you wonderful people

Thanks!!

 

[thekid]

lots of people ask this question there is a disease that can be transfered between chickens and pheasants

 

[Robo]

Yes, coryza will ruin a flock fast, and they will most likely fight...

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
X2!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

several diseases actually, usually they wont fight though, they will get along, just depends on how long it takes for the chicken disease to kill the game birds.
Some get luck and never have problems, their the ones who tell everyone go for it, nothing will ever happen.
Unfortunately , this just isnt true with chickens to any upland gamebird.

Chickens are domestic fowl, and thus over the centuries have been exposed to virtually every poultry disease know. This over time makes them much more resistant than game birds, and a lot of the diseases can be carried by chickens and never even show symptoms .

Gamebirds on the other hand are naturally wild birds who are used to free open ground they they hardly ever step on twice. This reduces poop contamination of the soil, thus the birds arent exposed to much of anything. This being the case, they have a much lower immune resistance to various poultry ailments.
Now when we place these in a captive environment, obviously they dont have the freedom to move to clean land everyday, over time the grass dies off in the pens, and you're left with bare dirt, loaded with poop (which carries the disease) Now when they peck around in it, they'll pick up whatever is in the soil.

Being penned by species is the safest way to keep any form of upland game bird due to all this, and as far away from all domestic birds as possible is best.
Pheasants, peafowl, wild turkeys, etc, they'll all get along with chickens, but in the long run, give it time, eventually they will get sick off the chicken poop.
Sometimes you dont even realise that's where it came from, like I said, they chickens can go without showing signs of a lot of the diseases.

That's why it's advisable to keep them separate from chickens. You can keep them on the same farm, just dont mix them in the same pen.

 

[JJMR794]

BRAVO AUBREY! COULDNT HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF--- VERY WELL PUT

 

[paul88]

I just found out the hard way! I just lost seven red goldens, two males and five females to coryza! I have five bantam chickens in a pen that is next to the pen that held my goldens. They were seperated by chicken wire. The bantams show no signs of the disease, but one by one my goldens got the disease. Needless to say, I learned the hard way! The chickens will be gone soon. Then I'll disinfect the pens and start over this spring with goldens again. No more chickens for me! I thought it would be ok as long as they weren't in the same pen together. Boy was I wrong!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

yep, I sure hate that. Unfortunately when this topic comes up, no one seems to tell those stories, all seem to be on the, well I do it and NEVER had a problem.
Unfortunately, that just causes more folks to try it, and in the end, the outcome is inevitable. Thing is if you ask them how long they have had success like this, usually they just got one or the other, but after a few months are pros at poultry diseases and their causes of transfer from bird to bird. Once they've been doing it for 3-4 or 28 years, they'll change their tune for the most part.

They can be kept at your place, but like I do, I keep my gamebirds about 100 yards from all my bantams, feed the gamebirds first, and change boot when I change to the chickens, never wear the same shoes in both pens, you can transfer problems just as easy as chickens, lets face it, we all step in poop on a daily basis while feeding up if you have more than just a few birds.

 

[menageriemama]

Wow!! GREAT information. Thank you so much, all of you

I will pass this along to my friend.

 

[JJMR794]

Quote:
I KNOW YOU'RE RIGHT! I USED TO BEAT THE WARDRUMS ABOUT DISEASE BUT EVERYTIME I DID ALONG COME THE NAYSAYERS... I LOST AN ENTIRE BROODER FULL OF 3 WK OLD ORNIMENTALS, 50+ BABIES ALL TO A LONE CHICKEN BROODER NANNY THAT WAS ABOUT 2 MOS OLD. A SMALL FORTUNE WORTH OF EGGS TO A MAN ON A TIGHT BUDGET,,, I LEARNED THE HARD WAY TOO. I TRY TO ADVISE FOLKS AGAINST IT BUT IT DOESNT ALWAYS WORK OUT