Poultry/pheasant pen

blackstairsboy

I am currently planning my first pheasant and poultry pen. I am hoping to rear pheasants in the spring under bantams. I plan on putting up a permanent pen about 40m x 15m. I have access to as many pheasant eggs as I want as a fella I know fills an incubator and whatever he has left over he then gives away. I will hopefully have 6 bantams rearing a clutch of 8-10 each. I have been told that bantam reared pheasants are usually more inclined to breed in the wild which is why I am going this way and also I like the idea of having poultry around. My questions are:

If I have 6 different bantams rearing a clutch each in the same pen will they all get along or do they each need there own space?

Will each bantam need a separate plywood nest box waterproofed and closed off from the pen when sitting on the eggs or will they all nest in the barn-a-building I have?


I am a newbie to this and all advice is welcome. Advice on the pen construction also and general dos and don'ts is also appreciated.

homerhop

have a pen that can hold 500 birds if you want to look at it some evening

blackstairsboy

Thats a fair pen. I will probably start at the pen after Christmas as I have a few weeks off college. I might pm you if I have a few hours some time around then. I want to get the pen right from the start rather than having to make changes to it later. I really need someone to talk me through rearing pheasants under bantams from the start right up to release to be honest as I have dozens of questions to ask. Thanks for the offer.

homerhop

No worries just let me know and we can arrange a day. One of the lads at home here will be able to talk ya through rearing under a bantam

blackstairsboy

Well I couldn't ask for better thats great. I'll pm you then probably after Christmas. Cheers.

Pkiernan

I don't want to start a free-for all, but if there was room for one more I'd love to have a look.

arrowloopboy

I'm in the process of getting an incubator,i all ready keep poultry ,but i might have a go at a few phesants next year.
Anyone know the price of eggs and where i might get them ?
On a side note, an electric fencer is a great yoke to keep out foxes.

blackstairsboy

I was offered eggs last year for nothing as a fella I half know breeds pheasants and say he was producing 200 eggs a week his incubator would only hold 160 so he was giving away what was left over rather than wasting them. I wasn't set up last year so I didn't get any but he said it will be the same this year. When he has eggs left over I'll put a post up here and I'm sure he'll have no bother getting rid of them. I saw them advertised on done deal at 50 cent a pop last year so that will be worth a look in the spring as well.

IceMaiden

You will need to be sure the bantams are setty/broodie birds to have any chance of self hatching, bantams are usually good for setting but not all birds are, we have used silkys or silky crosses mostly for pheasant/partridge & duck eggs as well as an incubator. The nest coops we used where approx 1ft6inches length x height x width or 2 feet across the front & 18 inches depth & height
For both hens & duck we used a cut of green turf put into box so it that fills the floor & hard pressed to dish/bowl the centre with fine hay/straw etc over the top.
The potential setty birds are introduced & locked away overnight with a few dummy eggs , & inspection the following day tends to show that birds very eager to be let out to feed/drink etc become the most difficult to sit, you can soon see the setteys as they are happy to sit tight in comparison.

Over time & depending where we have lived we’ve used both traditional type A frames with a coop & floor of mesh & the other method of a large pen with a row of coops each fitted with a bottom hinged vented door & removable dowel sections to retain the henbirds All boxes should start of clean & creosote or disinfect. .If your bantams are new birds it would be wise to set up your arrangement earlier than required ,if they are laying it can be easier to get them setty, if they aren’t laying then feed some layers & try making sure they get more daylight hours & not in any drafts. house/restrict if required & get them sitting on dummy eggs to determine if they are suitable for the task, otherwise all your hopes are pinned on unknown birds. If its very hot weather during incubation ,then the turf can be moistened along the back/rear edge it helps the bird to keep the correct atmosphere.
Storing & turning your egg supply is also important & they should be marked & turned by hand each day until ready to set under the birds.

pheasant tail

Blackstairsboy im doing the very very same as you after xmas,so let me no how you get on!
Im constructing the pen from scratch,,have a shed and going to make a big hole in it so the birds wil have a run outside!
If you want the hen pheasants to breed in the wild bantees i hear are the only way to go as in order for the hens to breed in the wild they must have originaly been sat on while they where eggs! Hens that where bred by incubators and released into the wild will breed and lay eggs but they will not sit on them therefore no good!!

wildfowler94

Lads Have A Pens Set Up At Home...In 1 Pen I Have Pheasants Breeding And Laying, In The Other I Have Bantams And Broody Hens Sitting And Hatching, Works Well.:)
Have an Incubator Hatching To Then Put Chicks In a Shed Under Infa Red Light, I Often Have Left Over Eggs, 10 EURO a Dozen!
Set Up Can Be Viwed But Work Being Done On It At The Moment!

blackstairsboy

Thanks for the advice lads. Does anyone have a few photos of their set up as it would really help to be able to see what way the coups are constructed etc.

Best of luck with your rearing pheasant tail and let me know how you get on and if you learn anything interesting that might help me.

wildfowler94

blackstairsboy wrote: »

Thanks for the advice lads. Does anyone have a few photos of their set up as it would really help to be able to see what way the coups are constructed etc.

Best of luck with your rearing pheasant tail and let me know how you get on and if you learn anything interesting that might help me.

Ill Get A Few Pics Tommorrow!

rugerman

im also in process have 5 bantoms hens all laying and looking to put phesant eggs under them dont want to jump in the deep end yet how many should i start off with first