Pheasant Chicks Tractor Supply (2024)

FAQs

When should I buy pheasant chicks? ›

Pheasant chicks are available from March to August each year.

Pheasant chicks can be brooded in a manner similar to chicken chicks; they need to be in a draft-free brooder for the first 8 weeks, kept warm, and have access to fresh water and game bird or turkey starter feed at all times.

Pheasant chicks need fresh air, sunshine, and lots of exercise to grow rapidly and develop into strong, vigorous birds that can survive in the wild. Remember, you will be turning them out to scratch for themselves at the tender age of seven or eight weeks.

The easiest way to brood 50 pheasant chicks is with a heat lamp. This is called cold room brooding, because the heat is directed at the chicks, irrespec tive of the temperature of the brooder house. Use a 250 watt, red-end, infrared heat lamp. If possible, get the lamp with a pyrex glass.

The chicks can feed themselves soon after hatching, but they will remain with their mother for up to 80 days before becoming independent. The wing feathers are the first to develop, allowing a chick to fly for the first time when just 12 days old.

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.

NOTE: Birds should be 8 weeks of age or older before you put them outside permanently because their feather development is complete by this age.

The feeding of grit is a controversial practice. Thousands of pheasants have been raised successfully on sandy soil without the feeding of grit. Feeding green food is considered by some pheasant breeders to be a desirable practice. Green food saves feed, keeps the pheasants busy and thereby may prevent picking.

Feed them high protein pheasant starter pellets. Pheasant chicks need a lot more protein than chickens and ducklings, for example. Keep pheasants away from other animals to reduce stress and social issues. The size of the brooding coop should accommodate approximately 6cm squared per chick.

Often many of the pheasant species will mix fine with poultry but they do need plenty of space to do so. They are also likely to fly unlike many breeds of poultry so it is best to add soft roof netting to their aviary. Pheasants certainly do not settle in a traditional chicken coop.

What months do pheasants lay eggs? ›

Roosters typically have a harem of several females during spring mating season. Hen pheasants nest on the ground, producing a clutch of around twelve eggs over a two to three week period in April to June. The incubation period is about 23 days.

Pheasants are a territorial species, so it would be best to keep only one male per species in the aviary.

Upon arrival, the room where the chicks are to be placed should be approximately 100°F directly under the brooder. The temperature at the edge of the “ring” which is created by your heat source should be about 93 F. Around the edge of the room the temperature should be 88-90°F.

Pheasant chicks require three weeks after hatching before they can fly well enough to escape danger. Newly hatched chicks weigh two-thirds of an ounce and need to reach 11 days old before they can regulate their own body temperature. During this critical time, chicks are extremely susceptible to cold, rainy weather.

At What Age Can Baby Chicks Go Outside? Chicks, ducklings, and poults are old enough to go outside when they are fully feathered and can adequately regulate their body temperature. This usually occurs around 3-4 weeks of age, depending on breed.

Spring and early summer are historically the most popular times to receive baby chicks, for two basic reasons. First, female chickens start laying eggs at 6 months of age (sometimes even earlier), meaning you'll usually get your eggs before the year is out!

Pheasants are always available fresh throughout the shooting season (October 1st – February 1st) and available frozen outwith these dates.

Our birds are moved outside at 6-8 weeks of age.

“Raising pheasants can be a challenge at times. It is certainly a constant learning process at the very least. However, raising a healthy, well-feathered pheasant to maturity is extremely rewarding. If you are looking to try something different, give pheasants a try.”