Can pheasants be raised with chickens? Yes, and anyone who says otherwise is perhaps lazy, or doesn’t know much about pheasants.
Pheasants can be raised with chickens, but it takes some thought and preparation.
When people begin to raise chickens it is often fun and rewarding. This may spark the idea of raising other birds, and whether or not these other bird varieties can be raised with their chickens.
This article discusses what needs to be adjusted when adding pheasants to your backyard flock based on our personal experience doing so.
Characteristics of Pheasants
Pheasants are not a native species to many areas, and actually originate from China. They have been introduced all over the world and have done particularly well in the United States and Canada. In fact, the pheasant has become the most popular game bird in the United States.
Due to the popularity of the pheasant being a game bird, it has not been domesticated like the chicken has. Generally, pheasants have been raised to populate an area for game bird pursuits as opposed to domestic opportunities.
When raising pheasants, perhaps the most important fact to know, is that they need a lot more room than chickens. If they get too crowded, they can be prone to cannibalism. Pheasants will also need to have a larger hen per male bird ratio than chickens. For instance, you would need around 8 hens for each male.
Pheasants can eat almost anything. They love what can be foraged from the homestead, but to begin with, they need a good mix of grain, corn, and high protein game food. More and more people are raising exotic birds and game birds, so game bird food is becoming more readily available.
Pheasants also need good shelter that is located low to the ground. Pheasants naturally try to hide from predators and naturally want to roam far distances to range for food. Having interspersed low to the ground shelters available will keep pheasants happy and safe.
Pheasants are competitive and aggressive. If pheasants perceive another bird as a threat to their food or territory, they may attack. They can easily attack and kill smaller birds and chicks, if they view them as a threat. For that reason, putting a big ring neck pheasant with your favorite little bantam chicken is probably not a good idea.
Pheasants can become cannibalistic when under stress. Stress factors may include lack of enough room to roam, not enough food, smaller birds in the flock, and too many males per females in the mix. Not a pretty sight at all.
Pheasants will lay eggs throughout the year, though fewer in quantity than a chicken does. The eggs are smaller, about half the size of a chicken egg. Pheasant eggs have a richer yolk, and less white to yolk ratio than a chicken egg. They can be eaten just like chicken eggs, but don’t do as well with baking.
If you are raising pheasants for meat, they dress out fairly well. The males will be around 4 pounds dressed out, and the females will be around 2-2.5 pounds dressed out.
Characteristics of Chickens
Chickens have been domesticated for centuries. Due to this they are easily raised in all kinds of conditions for all kinds of reasons and results. Many are raised for egg production, meat production, plumage, and as pets.
Many of the more wild characteristics have been bred out of chickens to make them easier to raise and more productive from a consumer point of view. They are easy to get from many suppliers and backyard raisers. The supplies to raise them are easily attainable as well. Keep in mind however, that this more docile temperament can make them easy prey to an aggressive pheasant, so again, you will want to exercise caution when raising pheasants with chickens.
Staring up your own backyard chicken flock is relatively simple. We have an article about starting up chickens here.
Do chickens and pheasants eat the same thing?
Yes, chickens and pheasants can eat the same things. It is recommended to use a higher protein feed with pheasants. Good quality scratch grains and mash are helpful when raising chicks.
Ideally you can feed the pheasants game bird feed. As mentioned above, game bird feed is becoming more and more available as the popularity of raising exotic and game birds grows.
I have my chickens free ranging around the farm. Free ranging pheasants would be very beneficial from a diet point of view. The pheasants can eat bugs, worms, grass, alfalfa, the overlooked tomato, seeds, and weeds. The greater the variety of their diet, the better.
Sprouted grain and corn also work well, and pheasants and chickens both love it. Fermented grains are a good idea to encourage good “gut bacteria” within your flock. Also fodder from sprouted grains and corn are a good source of food for both pheasants and chickens.
What kind of room and shelter are needed?
In the wild pheasants are long ranging birds. You will need to plan for a lot more room for pheasants to roam than chickens do. A larger farm, or ranch with plenty of room would be ideal.
In their natural habitat, pheasants seek shelter under bushes, in tall grass, on ditch banks, etc. When raising pheasants, you need to provide low to the ground shelters for the birds to hide and take refuge in. These shelters can be rather simple but are a necessity for the pheasants.
If you don’t have a lot of room for the pheasants to roam, then you will need to provide as much room as possible and close the pheasant/chicken run in. You will create essentially an aviary for the birds. This can be accomplished with bird netting overtop of the chicken/pheasant yard. Without the netting the pheasants can just fly over fences and escape.
If you don’t want to use bird netting over your aviary, you will need to do something to keep the pheasants inside the run. One method is to brail one wing of the pheasant, this is where tape is wrapped on one wing keeping the wing from opening up. You will need to switch off to the other wing every other month to four months. You can also clip one wing to keep them off balance so they can’t fly. You will need to repeat clipping the feathers as feather grow back.
Where do I get pheasant chicks?
Commercially available pheasants used to be pretty rare. As the popularity of raising pheasants has increased so has the availability. Many commercial hatcheries and specialty hatcheries have pheasant chicks available. I have seen game birds such as quail and pheasant, becoming available at farm and ranch stores when they get their chicken chicks in the spring.
Things to consider when raising pheasants with chickens.
Pheasants are much wilder than chickens and can be aggressive. One way to prevent this aggression and aid in the peace with the flock is to raise pheasant chicks with the chicken chicks. Being raised together they see the chickens as a normal part of their flock and are less prone to aggression.
The male pheasants are just as loud as male chickens and crow loudly like roosters. If you are zoned where roosters are allowed you should be fine. If you are not zoned where roosters can be kept, you may find some neighbors upset with you and the loud pheasants.
Both chickens and pheasants need to have predator prevention considered. Pheasants are susceptible to the same predators as chickens. You need to account for foxes, coyotes, racoons, hawks, dogs, ferrets, mink, over active neighbors, etc. Take into account what the predatory threats could be, and plan ahead for them. For example, of you have hawks around give places for the birds to run and hide under bushes, lower shelters, and grasses.
Cannibalism happens often with game birds. Precautions need to be taken to prevent cannibalism, or it will be a trait that could decimate your flock. If you see cannibalism beginning, analyze the stress causing issue and fix or change it quickly. Often it is the result of not enough room for the pheasants.
Raising pheasant chicks.
Use a red heat lamp with the chicks. Pheasant eyes are sensitive, and the red lamp will be easier for their eyes. A bright light shining in their eyes can stress them out and make them aggressive.
Keep the brooder warm but not too warm. Either too much heat or too much cold can trigger stress and cannibalism. The ideal temperature is 95 degrees Fahrenheit to begin with, then taper it down 5 degrees every week or so.
A game bird starter feed is great if you can get it. If you don’t have access you can use a chicken starter mash, just have it higher in protein than regular chicken mash.
The brooder needs to be round or have a circular barrier or ring so that the pheasant chicks won’t cluster and pile into a corner. This can result in suffocation or aggression. Do not overcrowd the chicks, they will turn to cannibalism if they are too crowded.
Simple waterers are good to use. Make sure you put marbles in the trough of the waterer. This will help to keep the little chicks from drowning.
The bedding is also an important factor. Chopped straw, burlap, or rough paper is good bedding material, chopped straw being the favorite. Try not to use newspaper or slick paper where the chicks can’t get good footing. Do not use cedar bedding, this can kill the chicks.
Summary
Can you raise pheasants with chickens? Yes, you can with a lot of caution. You need to take the precautions necessary and you can have a beautiful ring neck pheasant with your speckled Sussex. The main keys being to not stress the pheasants, have enough room for the pheasants, and raise the pheasants with the chickens from the beginning.