When do Ringneck Pheasants breed?

[peafowlmom]

What kind of nest do they need? We have 1 male and 4 females. How old are they before they breed? Thanks for any answers.

 

[deserthotwings]

Ringnecks will start getting romatic about the first of February or maybe sooner in warm climates. I've used milk crates, wooden boxes, bushel baskets and all sorts of nesting materials. Seldom will they take advantage of these and usually just lay on the ground. With Christmas coming on soon you may want to place one or two discarded Christmas trees in the pen. They like the cover and concealment and with a little straw or dead grass placed in there they sometimes will use this for nesting. Just cut the branches off one side of the tree and lay it flat on the ground. Be sure there are no artifical icicles or other decorations left on the trees and that they haven't been sprayed with anything. My birds here in southern Arizona start laying around the second week in March. Yours should be on about the same schedule in S.C. They will continue to lay until about the middle of June. Be sure and try to collect the eggs as soon as possible, since if they ever start breaking and eating the eggs its about impossible to stop. They will breed and lay their first spring. Hope this gives you a general idea of what to expect.

 

[Ntsees]

...With Christmas coming on soon you may want to place one or two discarded Christmas trees in the pen. They like the cover and concealment and with a little straw or dead grass placed in there they sometimes will use this for nesting. Just cut the branches off one side of the tree and lay it flat on the ground....

Nice to know someone else uses Christmas trees as well. I don't think I've ever discarded any Christmas trees for the past 3 years. After this past Christmas, I ended up searching for another discarded Christmas tree around the neighborhood because I needed it.

 

[deserthotwings]

Their hard to come by round here. We don't have any close neighbors and most folks now use artificial trees. I never pass up a discarded tree. They work great. Probably would be good for quail too.

 

[Ntsees]

That's what I mostly use the christmas trees for. They are used for my quail to roost (after some trimming on the inside so it's not too thick that is).