Today, lovers of feathered animals are very interested in pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home, care - this is what primarily concerns many aspiring entrepreneurs. Pheasants were cultivated in tsarist Russia. A similar occupation brought good income, and also served as an excellent illustration of the wealth of the owner of the estate.
Currently, the ecological and decorative direction in the agricultural business is relevant. It was no exception to grow such rare birds as pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home is even for beginners. Birds became available in price, and therefore many graduation projects of students of economic educational institutions are associated with pheasants. The reason for the growing popularity of this direction, experts consider the simplification of conditions for keeping birds. On sale you can find all the goods that you need to organize your own business for growing pheasants.
We grow and contain domestic pheasants
Since ancient times, different types of domestic pheasants have been known. In the estates of Russian nobles there were kennels, private houses, ponds with outlandish fish. Bright pheasants walked through greenhouses with overseas flowers and unusual bushes. Birds were an indicator of material wealth; only wealthy people could afford their breeding. In the age of computer technology, pheasants can be grown in a common garden and even in a small cottage. Caring for them is similar to raising chickens, a thermophilic bird easily adapts in mid-latitudes.
About the origin of birds
For the first time, unusual birds were found near the Phasis River by the ancient Greeks. It is the Hellenes that pheasants owe their name. One of the species of birds that became domestic in the days of Ancient Rome was precisely pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home outlandish birds are of interest to exotic lovers. A great contribution to the breeding of such domestic animals was made by the Chinese. It was they who managed to develop new breeds of pheasants with beautiful feathers, an unusual combination of colors.
The bird impresses with its beauty, graceful gait, brightness of plumage. Pheasants belong to the order of chickens, but they are not inferior to tropical birds in the unusual color of feathers.
Nature provided only males with a bright plumage, and females have a nondescript brown color, but with bizarre dark patterns. In a dull autumn, when the leaves from the trees almost fell, the multi-colored males of pheasants become a real decoration of the garden.
Pheasant breeding rules
If you are interested in pheasants, breeding and keeping at home. Chickens - it’s easiest to start a business with them, especially since they are much cheaper than an adult bird. They can be bought in hunting farms engaged in the cultivation of birds in order to restore the hunting grounds. It is there that thoroughbred poultry is grown for lovers of exotic animals.
When buying pheasants, it is advisable to choose young chickens rather than adult birds. Chicks should be well-fed, lively, not injured, no signs of disease. If the chicks have their feathers broken off, it is better to immediately refuse to purchase it. Plumage damage is most often a sign of health problems. Pheasants change plumage in early summer. All old feathers drop out, new ones appear in their place. In a luxurious new outfit, the bird will flaunt a whole year.
Where to breed birds
The pheasants have a rather wild disposition, they are afraid of sudden movements, screams. Sensing any danger, the birds immediately try to fly away or find reliable shelter. In the photo - young pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home: an aviary for these birds equip according to certain rules. Do not cut the wings of the birds, as they will become more cautious, nervous, will struggle to fly away. It is better to try to create a calm and comfortable atmosphere for the birds. The best place to place are free aviaries. The size for a pair of birds is approximately 2 by 2 meters. In such a barrier, the birds will be comfortable, they will quickly get used to it.
The family of the golden pheasant consists of several females and one male, but diamond pheasants prefer to live in pairs. What nuances are important to consider when breeding birds? Not everyone knows that they love colorful pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home in the winter of these birds deserves separate consideration. In winter, several adult males of a pheasant can be placed in one enclosure at once. But already in early spring, males should be resettled in different enclosures, since the breeding season begins in birds.
Propagation Features
So, pheasants appeared on your site. Breeding and keeping at home: what to feed, what to include in the diet? Quite natural questions for novice breeders. Professionals are sure that it will be more profitable to purchase more females, and males it is enough to buy one or two. If the birds are bought for decorative purposes, you can limit yourself to bright males pheasants.
Arrangement of an aviary
In an aviary, the floor is best covered with fine sand. Pheasants love to take sand baths. With its help, birds get rid of harmful parasites. In addition, the sand is easy to clean, change if dirty. If the enclosure has a clay coating, in this case, additionally need to put boxes for birds or bathtubs with a sand-ash mixture.
In addition to the sand box in which pheasants will bathe, a feeder and a drinking bowl are necessarily placed inside the enclosure. They are installed so that the birds can stand up, but not overturn the drinker and feeder. In the enclosure there should be 2-3 perches for rest and sleep, they are located about 1-2 meters from the surface of the earth. For the nesting period, professionals recommend placing reeds, reeds, hay, moss in the corner of the aviary. These natural materials will be used by birds for the construction of nests.
No other pheasant equipment is required. The birds will be uncomfortable moving around, their tail feathers will break. If the enclosures are spacious enough, you can make flowing ponds in them, plant shrubs, create an analogy of the natural landscape. In summer, you can organize an open-air cage in the garden. It is advisable to make it mobile so that there are no problems with cleaning.
Incubation
In captivity, the breed reproduces poorly in a natural way. An incubator is needed for those who decide to create a pheasant farming farm. Often, chicks die due to low temperatures, malnutrition, so it is better to pick up eggs from a brood hen in 20-22 days and place them in an incubator. Immediately after the appearance of the chicks, it is important to control temperature condition. The first 3-4 months it is difficult to understand whether the male or female was born. Only after 4 months did the pheasant have sex differences. Finally, the color of the birds is formed only after the first change of plumage, a year later.
Pheasant Feeding Rules
An important question is what do pheasants eat? Breeding and keeping at home will, of course, be easier for those involved in chickens and turkeys. But breeders do not have special problems with feeding these birds. Pheasants should regularly receive green plants: plantain, chickweed, dandelion, wood lice. The diet includes meat, bread, cottage cheese, cereals mixed with sunflower, corn, millet grains. A real treat for these birds are:
- earthworms;
- fresh snails;
- a variety of insects;
- fruits and vegetables
In suburban areas, pheasants are increasingly appearing. Breeding and keeping at home primarily excites those who dream of replenishing the number of birds. Keep in mind that the diet should be balanced and complete.
Water supply option
Drinkers in which water is poured must be stable. In winter, water is replaced by snow. Drinking problems for pheasants often appear in early spring, when there is practically no snow, but the water still freezes due to the cold. In this case, you can deal with the problem as follows. The necks are cut off the plastic bottles, the edges are carefully grinded so that the birds do not get injured. Then the cut-off bottles are placed in the ground, water is poured into them, and pheasants drink it. Breeding and keeping at home is not a cheap pleasure. The most expensive step will be the acquisition of chicks, if you need pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home: the bird is selected from breeds with high egg production. Farmers who decide to start breeding new breeds save on females, but males are looked for from elite flocks. In winter, up to 80 grams of feed is required for the full nutrition of one adult bird. In the summer, thanks to the addition of greens to the diet, the cost of raising birds is significantly reduced. The addition of coarse sand pheasants to food contributes to better absorption of grain. Shell rock is used as top dressing, since it is necessary for the formation of a full shell.
Some breeds of pheasants
If you are interested in the topic: “Pheasants: breeding and keeping at home,” a photo of the birds will help determine the purchase. Which breeds are suitable for home breeding? This question is of interest to all beginners who like pheasants. Breeding and keeping at home a bird that is sensitive to life changes does not always tolerate well. Therefore, mainly in homestead farms grow two breeds: gold and diamond pheasant.
Features of the Golden Pheasant
The name of the breed fully corresponds to the appearance of the birds. On his head is a beautiful golden crest. A yellow-orange fan-shaped feathers adorn the collar of the male; their tips are painted black. Females are characterized by brown-reddish plumage. The male reaches a meter in length, his tail in the open state is 78 cm. The female has more modest dimensions: body length up to 67 cm, tail no more than 38 cm. The female begins to lay eggs in April, one egg a day. On average, up to 15 eggs per clutch.
Diamond Pheasant Features
The diamond pheasant has a small crest with red-black feathers. The collar of the male is silver and white, the belly and panties are white. The steering feathers have original transverse black stripes, painted on a silver-white background. The male has a length of up to 170 centimeters, the tail is more than a meter. The female has the same color as gold. The difference is only in the number of black-brown marks. The female is almost 70 cm long. Pheasants are no longer rare in the middle latitudes. Breeding and keeping at home, breeds suitable for our latitudes, we described above. Apparently, it is better to grow the second variety. They are not only noticeably larger, but also better tolerate low temperatures.
Conclusion
In addition to pheasants, other birds can also be accommodated in the aviary. Songbird small birds living with pheasants, with their gentle voices, complement the beauty of the plumage of pheasants. If inside the enclosure to make additional fences for each pair, you can count on an increase in the number of offspring. Before embarking on a project to grow pheasants, it is important to study the literature in detail, to pay attention to the features of the diet. Without the availability of full theoretical knowledge, it will be difficult for you to count on a profitable project.It is important to carefully study and put into practice all the recommendations given by experienced farmers. In our country, there are several dozen farms that already receive real profits from the cultivation and sale of diamond and gold pheasants.
