What to feed baby pheasant chicks

Tips For Baby Pheasant Raising from MacFarlane Pheasants Inc

by MacFarlane Pheasant Farm

How to Start Rearing Baby Pheasants?

It is easiest to start raisng by purchasing pheasant chicks, as this will give you only one or two age groups. With laying hens, eggs should be set every week to 10 days. Therefore, you will have up to 10 different age groups to care for during breeding season. To avoid having multiple-age groups many pheasant farms purchase their chicks each year.

Brooding House

The brooder house for pheasant chicks should be weather tight, free from drafts and rodent proof. It can be designed for the birds or part of another building that can have a penned in portion.

Brooder Preparation

It is worthwhile to spend some time preparing before your chicks arrive as baby pheasants are very delicate and your brooder must be set up correctly or you may encounter problems. Clean and disinfect your brooder house at least 2 weeks before the chicks arrive. We feel the best litter to use on the floor is chopped straw. Pheasants seem to like to eat wood shavings. If the chicks have access to wood shavings, they will eat them and die. If you insist on using shavings, cover the shavings with brooder paper for the first week after the chicks arrive. Sand or newspaper is not recommended as litter. If brooder paper (a coarse, rough paper that allows chicks to keep their footing) is not available at your feed store, burlap works very well also. Do not use newspaper as the chicks will not be able to get a firm footing. Remember to remove the burlap or brooder paper after the chicks are about one week old.

Heat lamps are the easiest to use. We recommend at least one 250 Watt infrared bulb for each 100 chicks you plan on starting. Make sure to get the bulb with a red end, as it won't be so bright and will help control cannibalism. Hang the heat lamp from the ceiling, about 18 inches from the floor to the bottom of the lamp.

Use a ring or draft shield to confine the chicks for the first 5-7 days the chicks are in the brooder. We use cardboard about 14-18 inches high formed to make a ring or circle. A circle with a diameter of 4 feet will be sufficient for 50 chicks (with the heat lamp in the center). This shield helps cut down on the drafts on the floor.

Your brooder house should be big enough to allow 3/4 of a square foot per baby pheasant. Pheasants tend to be very cannibalistic, so don't overcrowd them.

We recommend at least one 2 foot long feeder for each 50 chicks. Also, 1 one-gallon waterer for each 75 chicks. Use a waterer with a narrow lip (1/2 inch or less) or fill the water trough with marbles so the chicks can't drown.

From the time chicks arrive until they are six weeks old they should be fed a 30% protein medicated gamebird or turkey starter feed. The best medicated started feed contains 1 lb. Amprolium (a coccidiostat) per ton of feed. The feed should be in crumble form. You can add terramyacin soluble powder (an antibiotic) to their water for the first week, but we do not recommend using an antibiotic unless the chicks are sick or dying.

Pheasant Rearing

When the chicks arrive, remove them from the box, dip their beaks in the water and put them under the heat lamp. Most losses occur because the chicks do not start to eat or drink. Never let your chicks run out of feed or water. The chicks should form a circle around the heat lamp. If the chicks bunch up directly under the heat lamp they are cold - lower the lamp, and add more bulbs, or further draft proof your brooder house. If the chicks spread out too far away from the brooder and pant, etc...they are too hot - turn off one of the bulbs, raise the heat lamp and perhaps open a window during hot weather.

Inspect the chicks often during the first week - especially at night during the first few nights. It has been our experience that chicks often die from piling (from being too cold) during the first or second night.

After the chicks are 2 or 3 weeks old it is a good idea to allow the chicks to range outside during the daytime. Wait for a warm sunny day and open the brooder house door into the pen. The pen must be covered and enclosed with one inch hole chicken wire to prevent the chicks from escaping. The pen should be large enough to allow 1 - 2 square feet per bird. Drive the chicks back into the house late each afternoon. Continue to turn the heat on each afternoon. Discontinue operating your heat lamp during the day once the chicks spend each day outside. Continue to turn the heat on each night until they are 3-4 weeks old (depending on how cold it is outside). After the birds are 4-5 weeks old, they will need a bigger pen. On our farm we allow 25 square feet per bird (with peepers) in our covered pens. You should always be on the lookout for cannibalism. The first evidence you will see will be blood on the wing tips and tails of some of the smaller birds. Don't expect it to just go away - instead, it will just get worse. Add branches and alfalfa hay to the pen for the birds to peck at and play on - this will help. You may have to trim the top beaks on your birds to curtail the problem. A pair of fingernail clippers will do - trim far enough back just so it bleeds a little. This can be done as early as 2 weeks old and may have to be repeated.

After the birds are 6 weeks they can be fed a 20% protein grower feed. We recommend that you continue to use Amprolium in their feed until the birds are mature.

This page is only a brief outline to start you out raising pheasants. To obtain information, we have several books for sale, they are:

• Facts on Raising Gamebirds by Dianne Tumey
• MacFarlane Pheasants' Rearing Guide - Free download!
• Game Bird Breeders Handbook by Allen Woodard Pran Vohra and Vern Denton.
• Game Bird Propagation by John Mullin

You are also welcome to call or write. We are willing to do our best to answer any questions that you might have. We would be glad to tell you all of our methods of raising gamebirds here. We feel the best way for you to learn how to raise gamebirds is to come and visit our farm and facilities. It is always easier to understand if you can see it firsthand. We welcome you to call and arrange a time to visit our farm!

Bird Pen Construction

One of the most expensive requirements on a game bird farm are covered pens. It is important to build your game bird pens in such a way that they will do what they are supposed to do (ie: keep the birds in and predators out). Other considerations are 1) cost 2) long life 3) ease of construction 4) resistance to bad weather. Below is a covered pen that incorporates many of these desirable characteristics.

Pen Layout

The size of this pen is 144' x 96'. These pens can be grouped, but for this page, I will describe one pen. The size conforms to two rolls of toprite. On our farm a pen this size would hold 700 hens with peepers or 500 cocks with peepers, or 600 hens and cocks with peepers.

Posts

These posts should be set equidistant from each other around the perimeter of the pen. It works out that the posts should be 12 feet apart. The posts should be 10' long. They should go into the ground 3' and extend 7'.

Wire

The four sides of the pen should be covered with galvanized-after-weaving wire - 1' mesh - either 18 or 20 gauge. This wire should be buried at least 6' and flared to the outside underground. This prevents animals from digging down under the pen. The wire should extend up to the sides of the pen to the tops of the posts.

Standard #9 Wire

A #9 galvanized wire should be strung around the top of the poles around the perimeter of the pen. Another strand of #9 wire should be strung the length of the pen equidistant from the two sides. Two #9 wires should be strung widthwise splitting the pen in thirds. These #9 wires will support the roof. The poles to which the #9 wires is attached should have 'dead-man' poles for support. This will prevent the poles from pulling in.

Toprite Netting

Over the top of this grid put two connected rolls of 150' x 50' toprite netting. The netting should be connected to the four corners first to make sure it is square. It should be pulled over the edges and attached to both the #9 wire and to the wire sides. DO NOT attach the netting to the #9 wire running through the pen. You should hog-ring the #9 wire to the toprite in the inside of the pen about every 5' to prevent ripping in the wind. At the junction of the #9 wire in the middle of the pen, put brace posts made of 2' x 4' material. They should be tall enough (10 to 12 ft.) to make the pen tent-like in appearance. On the top of the 2' x 4' add a screw-in eyehook, run the #9 wire through, then close the eyehook. This pen is designed to be lowered in case of wet snow or icy conditions. In case of foul weather, simply take down the 2' x 4' poles and let the toprite down. Even with the birds inside, they will move to the edges of the pen. This pen is economical as you have fewer posts and #9 wire then most pen designs. I purposely avoided the subject of gates, feeding, watering or catching birds, as each farm has is own situations.

Here are the names and addresses of four companies which bird breeders may want to use to purchase netting or wire:

Wire - Louis E.

Page

P.O. Box 2405
Littleton, MA 01460
Phone: 800-225-0508
Wire Supplier

Endurance Net

Box 127
Roebling, NJ 08554
Phone: 609-499-3450
Netting Supplier

J.A. Cissel Mfg. Co.

P.O. Box 2025
Lakewood, NJ 08701
Phone: 800-631-2234
Netting Supplier

3T Products, LLC

1099 State Route 225
Dalmatia, NJ 17017
Phone: 866-439-4660
Netting Supplier

 

What Do Pheasant Chicks Eat?- A Complete Guide

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Pheasants are flighty game birds that live alone or in small, loose flocks. These beautiful birds were first brought to North America from Asia in the 1700s.

Pheasants can now be found on many farms in the US. The beauty that a male pheasant exudes and their distinct sounds have made them a sensation, and many people are now keeping them as pets

When it comes to feeding baby pheasants, it’s important not to rush them along or give them too much food.

Overfeeding will make your pheasant chicks grow too quickly and get to adult size before they are ready.

Unfortunately, this will make their meat tough and stringy.

Table of Contents

What Do Pheasant Chicks Eat?

Pheasants are omnivores, which makes them easier to care for in terms of what to feed them.

It’s best practice to keep your pheasants with another batch of chicks or young birds of their species for the first few weeks until they’re at least 5-6 weeks old.

This helps them learn how to eat and drink.

The amount of food that pheasant chicks eat varies greatly depending on the type of feed, feeding method, nutritional value, and weather conditions.

A day-old chick to about a 16-week old chick will consume about 11 lbs (5 kgs) of food. At this age, a pheasant cock will weigh approximately 2.8 lbs (1.25 kg), while a pheasant hen will weigh 2.2 lbs (1.0 kg).

The table below explains the protein intake that pheasant chicks should consume at the appropriate age.

Required Protein Intake

Week	Protein ratio
0-4	28%
4-9	24%
9-16	18%

Crop milk

When your chicks first hatch you will need to feed them every two hours during the day, then once at night.

At this stage in the wild, they would be drinking their mothers ‘crop milk,’ which is full of protein and nutrients. Once they are 4-5 days old you can begin weaning them from this diet by offering other foods.

Chick Crumbs

When they are under a week old, pheasant chicks need to be on a constant supply of a powder that contains all the nutrients and vitamins necessary for growth. You will find chick crumbs in your local feed stores and online.

Give them a small amount, about one-third of their feeding container, twice a day. You should avoid giving them feeds with higher than 28% protein content, as too much protein will be hard on their body.

Offer the chicks a handful of crumble once a day if they are with their mother or mix it with dry feed if they are hand-raised so that they can start getting used to eating crumble.

Grains

Grains are the best choice of foods as they are easy to digest and provide plenty of energy. Pheasants are greedy little birds, so you should give them a constant supply of grain throughout the day. Be sure not to leave them for too long without food.

Grit

Don’t forget to give them grit!

The pheasant chicks will need plenty of sand or grit to aid digestion.

They should have access to this at all times – especially when they are eating.

Peas

Pheasant chicks love peas, so you can give them some from a young age. About one handful per chick should be more than enough. Peas are naturally higher in protein, so take care not to overfeed peas.

Whole Foods

Wean them gradually onto whole, live foods.

Once your pheasant chicks are quite big (about five weeks old), you can try feeding them live food for an extra treat! They love crickets and mealworms. 

If you notice that there are some left, pop them into the freezer so that your pheasants can have a treat later on.

Mealworms

Pheasant chicks love mealworms. You can give them about 5 or so each day from the age of five weeks on. Mealworms are very nutritious.

Frozen mealworms can be stored for longer periods of time than live worms, and they contain a lower chance of parasitic infection. Freezing kills any parasites that the mealworm may be carrying, making them safer to eat.

Lettuce

A quarter of a head of lettuce should be given once or twice a week, or as much as your pheasants will eat in about ten minutes.

Lettuce is a great source of vitamins and minerals for your chicks and is also rich in fiber which helps with digestion and softens their droppings. Lettuce should only be given as a treat and not as the main feed.

Bread

Stale bread is a great addition to your pheasant’s diet as it contains lots of vitamins, and protein. Chicks will enjoy pecking away at this tasty treat.

Grasshoppers and Worms

Grasshoppers are a great treat for your pheasant chicks, as they are crunchy and full of nutrients. Make sure that you are feeding them freshly molted ones (soft exoskeleton), or else they will not be full of protein.

Small worms are also a favorite treat of many pheasant chicks.

Insects

Crickets are a favorite among pheasants – they are rich in protein and calcium and high in amino acids. For all of these reasons, they make a great addition to their diet and are very tasty!

Crickets can be found almost anywhere. Try looking under leaves or logs or in damp spaces for live crickets.

Seeds and Grains

Although pheasants enjoy eating seeds, do not give them too many. A quarter of a handful once or twice a week will be sufficient. Don’t be surprised to see some in their droppings.

Pheasant loves eating peanuts, which is a high-fat food. Most of the fat in the peanut is mono-unsaturated which is healthy and good for the heart. It can actually lower the amount of bad cholesterol in the body.

Peanuts also have high levels of protein, which a pheasant chick will benefit from. Peanuts contain vitamin E and some small amounts of calcium and vitamin D.

In the wild, pheasants will consume grains like millet, wheat, or barley that remain in the fields after harvesting. These are also great choices for feeding pet pheasants.

Berries

Pheasants enjoy wild berries such as raspberries. You can provide your pheasants with exercise and entertainment by planting berry bushes nearby so they can help themselves when the fruit is ripe.

Water

The list will not be complete without adding water. Water is essential to any living thing and, thus, vital for keeping your pheasant chicks healthy.

Given that the chicks may not initially know how to drink water, you can encourage them by misting them with warm water using a spray bottle or dribble some water over their beaks to initiate drinking.

Don’t forget to change the water regularly if droppings or food accumulate there. Use boiling water to clean the drinking container properly. This will keep the containers clean and prevent any bacterial or fungal growth.

In conclusion

Pheasants are easy to keep and feed. If you consider having them as delicacies, then a proper diet will be essential to get them to a good weight for eating.

If you want to keep them as pets, you will not have a boring day with these striking birds. All they need is proper care and they will thrive.

Resources

• https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Habitat/Pheasant-Facts.aspx
• https://meyerhatchery.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017739671-Pheasant-Brooding-101-How-to-Raise-Pheasant-Chicks-from-Arrival-to-Outside
• https://www.communitychickens.com/raising-pheasants-chicks-to-maturity
• https://feedingnature.com/what-do-pheasants-eat/
• https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/animals-and-livestock/poultry-and-birds/species/pheasant-raising/feeding-pheasants
• https://what-do-animals-eat.com/pheasants/
• http://www.allandoopheasantry. com/new_treats_for_pheasants.html

How to feed pheasant chicks at home? Day-old chick diet

Published: 12/25/2017

Reading time: 11 min

2293

Pheasants are a category of birds that are great for keeping at home and require relatively little care. Despite this, an important issue is their nutrition, especially cubs. Mostly people breed pigeons, guinea fowls, turkeys, ducks and chickens, while pheasants are not so common, so information about them is quite difficult to find. However, in this text we will try to cover everything that you need to know about feeding pheasants. nine0003

Contents: Display

• What do pheasants eat?
• Feed composition
• Necessary vitamins and nutritional supplements

What do pheasants eat?

In the wild, pheasants eat grain, insects, worms and just about anything they can catch. In addition, they prefer some types of corn, milo, wheat, oats, millet, barley and rye as food. Fruits and vegetables are important to their diet during the winter season. Pheasants do not mind eating mealworms, as well as peanuts. Mealworms, which are fairly easy to grow, are generally one of the most important daily foods for a pheasant's diet. Crushed hard boiled eggs are a good addition to the diets of chicks and adult birds. nine0003

Important! Pheasants, like all other species of birds, need proper and balanced nutrition, which is necessary to maintain the best growth and development of pheasants. Without proper feeding, the growth of your chicks will not be as active. They will be able to achieve optimal weight, which will adversely affect their appearance and reproduction.

The best food for pheasants is a mixture with the required protein content, the amount of which depends on their age. Pheasant chicks between 0 and 4 weeks of age should eat a diet containing approximately 28% protein. For birds 4 - 9weeks, the protein percentage should be 24. For older birds, feed with 18% protein should be given.

Publication from Nastya? Country Life (@nastina_ferma72) Jun 8, 2017 at 6:31 PDT a mixture of 41 grams of wheat, 10 grams of sorghum, 12 grams of meat meal, 31 grams of soy flour, 3 grams of fish meal, 2 grams of animal fat. nine0015

For pheasants 4 to 9 weeks old, a mixture of 56 grams wheat, 10 grams sorghum, 12 grams meat meal, 18 grams soy meal, 3 grams fish meal is suitable.

For older breeds, mix 70 grams of wheat, 8 grams of sorghum, 5 grams of flour mixture, 10 grams of meat meal, 5 grams of soy flour, 1 gram of fish meal.

Specialized bird food is available in stores that contain all these necessary elements. nine0027 It is also possible to prepare compound feed at home, but this will require much more time from you.

If you decide to start feeding young pheasants on your own, then the following diet is most suitable for these birds: nutrients (in the daytime they should be fed every 2 hours, at night it is enough to feed 3 times). nine0015

Pheasants from 2 to 8 weeks old need 7 meals each day.

Chicks up to 12 weeks old - their number is reduced to 4.

Older birds need to eat 3 times a day.

Newly hatched chicks should be given large amounts of crushed egg whites that have been hard boiled. For the next two days, ant eggs, which you can collect yourself or buy in specialized stores, along with a mixture of onions and nettles, are suitable as food for pheasants. For chicks on the fourth day of life, millet porridge and a mixture of spinach, clover and egg shells, which should be thoroughly chopped, are suitable. Salt and chalk are included in the diet of chicks who are 6 days old. On the eighth day, you can add wheat bran and bone meal. Millet is suitable for pheasants at the age of 12 days. nine0003

Sometimes chicks have problems with food intake in the first days. Often this is due to the fact that the necessary conditions for the young pheasant were not provided. To encourage the birds to feed, place the food on the floor on some paper and then place it in small trays. Give the chicks approximately 1.5 cm of comfortable drinking space and 3 cm of eating space for each bird.

Posted by Vidan Osipov (@vidanaosipova) Jun 30, 2017 at 12:32 PDT

Essential Vitamins and Supplements

In most cases, additional nutritional supplements for pheasants are not necessary. If the juveniles do not look particularly healthy, then they may not be eating enough food. In this case, you first need to increase the amount of food, and only then think about nutritional supplements, if necessary.

In the diet of young pheasants, vitamins such as A, B, E, C must be present. In addition, we must not forget that sodium, calcium and trionine will significantly accelerate the growth of birds. In cold weather, it is worth considering adding more vitamins to the chicks' diet. 3 grams of vitamins per individual will be enough. nine0003

Important! Never let your birds drink cold water, as this may cause their death. It is recommended to give them warm water or yogurt. Various vitamins and supplements will also not be superfluous in drinking pheasants.

Thus, we see that pheasants are quite unpretentious birds in terms of caring for them. However, it should always be borne in mind that despite the ease of keeping this type of bird, you need to be very careful about what they eat and drink. nine0003

Feeding pheasants after the incubator: diet, what kind of food to give?

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• What to feed pheasants on the first day of life
• Pheasant feeding norms
• Compound feed for pheasants
• Pheasant breeding advice
• Brooding
• Brooding
• Video

Recently, pheasant breeding has been gaining popularity among poultry farmers. But the lack of information about their content raises a lot of questions - from derivation to correct content. The main one is feeding pheasants on the first day of life, because the full development of birds depends on the correct diet and care. nine0003

What to feed pheasants on the first day of life

Pheasant chicks

Like any bird, young pheasants are extremely helpless after birth. Therefore, special attention should be paid to birds.

Pheasant eggs can take up to 6 hours to hatch and they need to dry first. If the eggs were in the incubator, the chicks can be left in it until dry or moved under the brooder.

Like young pheasants after hatching, you need to start feeding on the first day - this provides the bird with a good foundation for development. The best for the first feeding is the period from 7 to 12 hours after hatching. nine0003

Moreover, birds should not be limited in the amount of food - during the first 10 days their body develops most intensively. Even before 2 weeks old, the chicks are able to fly over meter obstacles.

The hatched chicks are not yet able to peck and drink, so the poultry farmer needs to show the pheasants how to do it. To do this, the food is poured onto a plank and lightly tapped on it with a finger, and to give it a drink, the chick's beak is lowered into the drinker.

Baby pheasants need to be watered from special drinkers so that they cannot get wet. nine0003

Before the first feeding, the pheasants should be drunk with boiled water at room temperature. Since the chicks themselves still do not know how to drink, you need to lower their beak into the drinker. To increase appetite and maintain the vitality of the body, you can make a nutrient solution. For 1 liter of water add:

• 40% glucose solution - 10 mg;
• biomycin - 0.25 g

To increase the immunity of chicks, antibiotics can be introduced into their diet (per pheasant):

• Biovit 40.
  • 1 - 9 days - 20 mg;
  • 10 - 19 days - 25 mg;
  • 20 - 30 days - 30 mg.
• Erythromycin.
  • 1 - 19 days - 40 mg;
  • 20 - 30 days - 60 mg.

The use of these drugs increases the survival rate of chicks up to 20%, and upon reaching maturity, antibiotics are completely eliminated from the bird's body.

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Feeding norms for pheasants

The main requirement for the diet is a high content of animal feed. The protein content of the feed must be at least 24%.

Young stock feeding frequency:

• Days 1 – 14 – feeding every 2 hours. At night, you can limit yourself to two feedings, but you need to increase portions.
• 15 - 61 days - 7 times a day.
• From 2 to 3 months - 4-5 times, then the birds are transferred to three meals a day.

Protein should be at least 24%

On the first day, the chicks can be fed with a mixture of hard-boiled eggs and greens. All this must be rubbed on a grater and stir well. You can add some white crackers soaked in milk. Pheasants should eat plenty - they cannot be limited in feed. nine0003

Ant larvae and mealworms can be added to the feed from the second day. For drinking, you can give yogurt. From day 4, you can diversify the greens - give a little nettle and onion feathers.

For week-old birds, salt and chalk are added to the diet - 0.02 g each, from the 8th day you can give meat and bone meal at 0.06 g.

Up to 15 days you can use the following diet:

chicken egg;

milk.

Mix all this into a dough, divide into small pieces and dry. Grind the resulting crackers on a grater, soak and stir with herbs and other additives. To provide pheasants with protein, mix them with a little chopped cooked meat every two days. nine0003

From two weeks old, pheasants can be given crushed peeled grain, and from a month and a half whole. For variety, you need to add corn, barley, millet, more greens, hard vegetables to the feed.

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Compound feed for pheasants

One of the best compositions for feeding pheasants is the compound feed developed in the Cold Mountain nursery.

Compound feed, %.

nine0220 2% nine0220 1%

Ingredient	Age of pheasants in days
	1-4	5-10	11-16	17-19	20-29	30-60	61-90
Millet	9%	11%	8%	6%	do not give	do not give	do not give
Sprouted wheat	do not give	feed ad libitum
White crackers	31%	24%	14%	do not give	do not give	do not give	do not give
Wheat groats	19%	21%	14. 8	30%	27%	13%	7%
Corn grits	6%	14%	23%	30%	40	40	40%
Powdered milk	2%	2%	2.1%	2.1%	2.1%	2.1%
Fishmeal	do not give	do not give	3%	3%	2%	2%	2%
Sunflower meal	do not give	9%	10%	12%	13%	17%	13%
Compound feed for chickens	do not give						10%
Meat and bone meal	do not give	do not give	5%	5%	5%	5%	5%
Hard boiled eggs	30%	16%	9%	do not give
Bone meal	3%	2. 3%	3%	3%	3%	3.1%	3.1%
Feed yeast	do not give	do not give	1%	3%	3%	3%	3%
Tricalcium phosphate	do not give	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%	0.8%
Chalk, crushed shell	put in a separate feeder
Salt	do not give	do not give	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.1%	0.1%
Trace elements	do not give	do not give	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.5%	0.51%
Vitamin mix	do not give			1%	1%	1%

Another option for feeding pheasants, this diet is cheaper in cost.

Feed composition table for feeding, in %.

nine0218

Ingredient	Age of pheasants in days
	1-15	over 15
Crushed soybeans	24%	23%
Wheat bran	14%	11%
Crushed corn	17.7%	22.7%
Wheat	10%	10%
Alfalfa flour	2%	2%
Fishmeal	13%	12%
Meat and bone meal	12%	13%
Powdered milk	1%	1%
Salt	0.3%	0.3%
Mineral additives	3%	2%
Vitamin supplements	2%	2%

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Recommendations for rearing pheasants

Regardless of whether they are incubator chicks or hatched, pheasant rearing can be organized both under a brooder and with a mother hen. Moreover, if it is planned to use a hen, it is possible to transfer young animals to an independent regime from the 15th day of life. nine0003

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Growing under a mother hen

If the chicks are hatched by a mother hen, they must be removed from her in a separate warm room. This is done so that she does not suppress them. In order for the mother hen not to leave the nest, one chick is left to her. The rest are pheasants, they are returned to her after drying.

If the chicks were hatched from the incubator, you can do it this way - before hatching, lay eggs on the hen, and then replace them with chicks.

Brood chicks are kept in special wooden boxes. On the front side is a double door. The first canvas is a lattice so that the hen could not leave the nest, the second is deaf to close the cage at night and in bad weather. nine0003

The box is single-sided, with small dimensions - 40 * 40 * 50 cm. For walking the chicks, it is equipped with a paddock - for this, a mesh with a small cell (1 * 1 cm) is used. The enclosure is closed on all sides.

Pheasants at 15 days of age, can be taken outside. Chicks can be let out for a walk for the whole day, a hen 2-3 times a day for 15-20 minutes.

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Growing under a brooder

This is what a brooder looks like

Concrete floors are best suited for poultry houses. To insulate them, you can make flooring from boards. For bedding, calcined sand or straw is used. Drinking bowls and feeders should be positioned so that the chicks can freely pass between them. nine0003

Before settling in young animals, the room must be disinfected and dried. If straw is used for bedding, a layer of dry lime should be poured under it to prevent the appearance of parasites.

Humidity should be kept within 70%, and lighting should be made closer to natural - it is worth considering the natural living conditions of birds. The room should be ventilated - pheasants love fresh air.

You can use the method of German poultry farmers. When using it, there is practically no mortality of young animals and cannibalism from stress. When the incubation is over, they put all the pheasants in the house with the windows closed. nine0003

Lighting is turned on for 4 hours a day, the temperature in the room is + 32 degrees. Chicks are planted in a poultry house at the rate of 30 heads per 1 m2. The first 3 days the chicks are given chamomile decoction to drink, in 4 - a mixture of vitamins and minerals with an antibiotic (1 g).

From the 11th day, the windows are opened and sealed with a blue film of medium transparency, the temperature is reduced to + 27 degrees. The density of chicks is reduced to 20 heads per m2.

From day 21 planting density - 15 pcs per m2, temperature drops to + 22 degrees. Daylight is allowed into the room - for this, the doors are left open. nine0003

After a month, the birds are transferred to natural conditions - the film is removed from the windows and the heating is turned off.

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