Gamekeepers always find raising pheasants a rewarding experience for their multiple uses, which can boost their income.
But it’s not that easy to run after this gamefowl. You need a generous initial investment to start a pheasant farm or hatchery and prepare for rearing challenges.
Here are the key pros and cons of raising pheasants you need to consider to become a successful gamekeeper.
Pros of Raising Pheasants
1. Pheasants Are Hardy Birds
Yes, these gamefowls are hardy to beat the extreme weather, especially winter.
The most common and hardiest are Ring necks, which adapt to different climates and require minimal shelter.
Bornean Crested Firebacks and Peacock Pheasants are sensitive to cold weather, so they need an extra source of heat during the winter.
A healthy pheasant can live for 15 – 25 years.
They aren’t easily prone to outbreaks of common poultry diseases. But a few complications such as coccidiosis and blackhead needs to be considered.
But keepers can reduce the chance of spreading disease by good sanitation, prevention of overcrowding and good husbandry practices.
2. A Sustainable Meat Source
Though a bit gamier, I love to include pheasant meat in my dinner recipes. Their lean, white, and flavorful meat is similar to that of chickens.
These birds have mild taste with more complex and subtle flavor.
But I confirm that they are gamey like duck.
Also, they have good meat and bone ratio with most of the meat coming from breast. Their breast meat is lighter and more tender than the darker, firmer leg and thigh meat.
Pheasants are a popular choice for game meat enthusiasts. They are excellent for roasting and cooking.
Unlike other poultry, pheasant meat is nutritious, low in fat, and high in protein (27 – 28%).
They are easy to dress and butcher at 12 – 14 weeks. You can do wing clipping at a younger age.
3. Beautiful and Exotic Appearance
Some true pheasants include the Chinese Ringneck, Blackneck, and Mongolian.
Besides, there are some other ornamental crossbreeds such as Lady Amherst, Reeves, Golden, Silver and Swinhoe’s.
They have multicolored feathers, making them vibrant and a showstopper at farms and homesteads.
Pheasants are large, chicken-like gamebird with a long, pointed tail. They have small head, plump body and fairly long legs.
My roosters have rich chestnut, golden-brown, and black scale patterns or markings on their bodies and tails. Their head is covered with a dark green shade, and the birds have red face wattling.
Hens are a bit blunt in colorings, only with mottled bodies with paler brown and black.
4. Good for Pest Control
Pheasants are omnivores that eat bugs, grass, and vegetables happily.
They can consume everything from fruit and vegetables, seeds, grains, bulbs, roots, leaves, to insects, grasshoppers, slugs and snails and small lizards.
If allowed in the garden or backyard, they forage and control pests.
This not only help you cut down the feed cost but also reduce reliance on chemical pesticides for garden crops. So, it can contribute to growing organic produce.
5. Require Less Space Compared to Chickens
It’s true that pheasants are smaller than chickens, which obviously require less space in the backyard.
But growing these gamebirds are also differentiate in creating shelter. While chickens require coops and runners, pheasants are kept in in aviaries or large enclosures.
Pheasants need at least 5 square feet of space per bird in a covered pen.
You need to make coop and runners separately for them like chickens.
Also, when building a pen or aviary, you may not want it for a single bird, so hundreds of birds can be raised in one enclosure.
Mine 35 square feet when I had raised pheasants for the first time. You can start with 100 square feet for a decent number of birds.
The size also depends on the breed. While tragopans and great argus would require 400 square feet, Chinese golden pheasants and silver pheasants can thrive in 100 square feet.
6. Egg Production
Though pheasants lay smaller and fewer eggs than chickens, many keepers raise them for eggs.
Their eggs are light brown, dark brown, blue, and olive. You can expect them to give 15-20 eggs per clutch, and they can lay 2 – 3 times a year.
The gamefowl eggs are nutritiously richer than chickens.
These eggs weigh about 1 ounce, so you may need 2 eggs for an omelet. They also taste like chicken eggs.
If you want them to mate, 1 rooster per 8 hens is healthy.
Pheasants also sit on their eggs and hatch them for new flocks. If you want chickens to hatch pheasant eggs, that’s also possible.
Besides, you can also hatch eggs in the incubator. Whatever the method, the incubation and hatching periods range from 23 to 24 days.
7. Low Maintenance Once Established
After the setup, including aviary with feeder and drinker, it is easy to raise pheasants, starting with chicks.
You need to provide only heat to keep birds warm, light, feed, fresh water, and a clean environment.
Adult pheasants are independent and like to roam around the farm. Keepers can raise them in the free-range system, where the birds can forage for their food for free.
So, this helps you cut down on feeding costs, requiring minimal feeding.
8. Excellent for Game Bird Hunting and Training
No doubt that pheasants make perfect gamebirds for hunting and training dogs.
They are flighty and like to shelter in the natural vegetation, meaning free range. So, if you want to play with gamebirds, pheasant can be a good option.
Their hiding skills and hard flight ability amaze the hunters.
Birds also force sportsmen to make some efforts to lock targets and complete the shot. They can make the best of them in bird sports.
The same thing is true with hunting dogs.
The dogs need to have good practice and labor while chasing after and ambushing pheasants.
Definitely, owners and their dogs can have good hunting training with lots of improvement. Look, quails are smaller, so you need to already have some skills to play with them.
So, pheasants can be beginner-friendly gamebirds for sports.
9. Help Maintain Biodiversity
Many keepers also raise pheasants to release them in the wild after a few weeks.
People have released these gamefowls since the late 1800s to increase populations throughout the United States. This helps support the ecosystem in nature.
You can release these gamebirds when they are fully grown or 8 weeks old.
As the government itself promotes and offers grants for the release of pheasants, adult bird release provides more return for your expense and effort.
10. Can Be a Profitable Business
Pheasants take around 18 weeks to reach market weight. You can expect hens weighing 3 lbs and 4 lb roosters. After dressing, their weight range from 2 – 3 lbs, which is not bad.
Though these birds are still lighter than broiler chickens.
But chickens’ feed is also costly than pheasants. Pheasants can live on pasturing, while chickens, especially meat breeds require readymade or commercial feed.
Besides, you won’t need to invest in medical facilities for gamebirds like chickens.
The owners can sell fertile eggs, chicks, or adult birds.
Pheasants as gamebirds have excellent demand from hunters, game reserves, and gourmet markets.
On the top of that, pheasant feathers are beautiful, which can be used in home decor, craft projects and sample collection. These also earn good money.
Cons of Raising Pheasants
1. High Initial Setup Costs
A pair of birds costs around $60 on average, so pheasants are expensive birds themselves.
Common (ring-necked) pheasants, Chinese golden pheasants, and Reeves pheasants come at $50, $60, and $70, respectively.
You also find Lady Amherst pheasants and Silver pheasant at $60 per pair and Swinhoe pheasants at $70 per pair.
The rarer gamefowls are, the more expensive they will be, from $600 to $800 with Siamese fireback pheasants costing around $700.
These are only exposes on birds. You need to invest in initial setups, including building aviaries, enclosures, and secure fencing.
They thrive well in large aviaries or pens.
While tragopans and great argus need at least 400 square feet, Chinese golden pheasants require 100 square feet.
As pheasants require specialized housing, some extra money will also be spent on it. The special enclosure needs to have a large run and a large coop for egg-laying.
2. Prone to Escaping
As wild birds, pheasants are independent and territorial, and they like to decide for themselves where their natural habitat is.
Also, they don’t like human interference in their shelter.
These game birds have strong flight instincts and a tendency to escape. They can fly 38 – 48 mph. So, you cannot catch them once they escape your territory.
For this, you need high fencing or covered aviaries.
3. Can Be Aggressive Toward Each Other
In a stressful or crowded environment, pheasants can be cannibalist, and the chance of wiping out the whole population in the farm is very high.
This shows their aggressive nature.
Pheasants are more like peafowls but are wilder and less calm than other poultry. They display their territorial behavior, especially males.
Males can be double as aggressive as females and attack their victims with their sharp spurs.
I believe Reeve roosters are known for their bad temper so, if you’re a beginner, I don’t recommend raising this breed.
The fighting in the flock often leads to injuries and a tense atmosphere.
4. Not as Domesticated as Chickens
Pheasants are mysterious gamefowls that are easily frightened and alarmed.
They are naturally shy and don’t seek human interaction. So, keepers only need to monitor their speed when they fly away over a hedge.
Due to their wild instinct, it’s hard for beginners to handle pheasants.
Also, they are not as friendly as other poultry. Don’t allow your kids to roam around these gamebirds.
But with patience and care, you can control their behavior. For this, you need to walk around them gently and feed them with your hand.
5. Require Specific Diet for Optimal Health
Pheasants produce high protein meat, so they also need high-protein feed.
Inadequate protein may lead to a higher chance for cannibalism. Keepers can find commercial mixed gain rations.
But you can also use homemade feed, including a corn base with protein, soya bean, meal, and vitamins. The turkey ration is also adequate.
But don’t feed layer mash.
As a supplement, greens, diced apple, and grated carrot are also good to go. With that said, the supply of clean water is unforgettable.
Inexperienced keepers often find challenges in providing proper nutrition.
6. Lower Egg Production Compared to Chickens
You can expect no more than 100 eggs from pheasants, which is lower than that of chicken and quail eggs.
So, the numbers may disappoint you if you’re in the egg production and breeding business.
Also, pheasant eggs are relatively smaller than chicken eggs, requiring more eggs for meals and recipes.
7. Susceptible to Predators
Pheasants often stay on the ground, apart from when roosting, so predators have a high chance to attack.
Foxes, raccoons, hawks, and owls are a few predators from which you have to save your gamefowls.
Like all gamebirds, pheasants are vulnerable to predation during nesting. So, gamekeepers need to reduce the levels of nest predation to increase the stock of wild-bred birds.
Pen-reared pheasants are more prone to becoming victims of predators as they are unfamiliar with the wild atmosphere.
You can increase their foraging time and build protected and safe shelters to avoid predation.
8. Legal Restrictions in Some Areas
Most regions in the United States require a permit or license to own pheasants.
For example, Missouri and Kansas have mentioned that owners must abide by rules and regulations to raise, release, and sell game birds.
The regulations can vary from state to state.
You can check out your local extension office or game warden for information. Local wildlife and agricultural laws also provide this information.
9. Seasonal Breeding Challenges
Aviaries require enough brush and bushes as pheasants are reserved nesters and build their nests on the earth. Also, they don’t make good sitters, so you need an incubator for a successful hatch.
Pheasants have a specific breeding season.
They breed in early spring, from mid-March to early June, when males start crowing territories. Hens have a peak laying period from two to three weeks in April to June.
Pheasants have seasonal limitations in breeding and laying. They have relatively lower yield and chick hatch.
10. Niche Market and Ethical Consideration
Though pheasant meat and eggs have demand in market, but everyone don’t like them, so they have limited markets.
People who fancy gamey taste and particularly nutritious eggs can only be gamekeepers’ customers.
Besides, raising pheasants only for meat and sport seems a bit inhumane and causes concern for wildlife.
However, breeding and releasing at the same time balances everything.
Final Thoughts
Pheasants are beautiful, tough, adaptable, intense flyers, and delicious. Due to their foraging skills, they are easy to rear once the initial setup is complete.
It can also make a profitable business through meat and egg production and selling adult birds to hunters and wildlife reserves.
But rearing this gamebird also has some challenges, including diseases, low yield, and heavy initial investment.
What I don’t like is that they take 18 weeks to grow, nearly the mature time of chickens and 3 times longer than quails.
But I like their multiple-use case, which increases the income for owners.
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