How to Raise Pheasants? A Detailed Guide to Breeding Techniques and Management Essentials

Pheasant meat is delicious with a unique flavor, making it a popular meat poultry breed. Currently, pheasants are in short supply on the market. So how do you raise pheasants?

1. Selection of breeding site

Site selection should take many factors into account, such as site size, terrain conditions, water source, whether there is sufficient sunlight, and epidemic prevention conditions.

1. Site size. The site must be large enough to ensure pheasants have sufficient space for activity.

2. The site should be in a cool, open, elevated area with good water supply and drainage. There should also be shade measures within the site, such as various trees, to ensure pheasants have a good place for activity. It is best to choose deep-mountain grassland with no infectious diseases, good air, good

soil and good water quality, with plenty of weeds and trees, as this is more conducive to free-range raising of pheasants.

3. Conducive to epidemic prevention. The pheasant breeding site should not be chosen in densely populated residential areas or areas with concentrated factories; it is best to choose a relatively remote place that vehicles can still reach. Such places are less susceptible to disease transmission and are conducive to epidemic prevention.

2. Pheasant Living Habits

1. Pheasant feeding habits. Pheasants eat a wide variety of foods; tender leaves, fruits and seeds of plants can all serve as their food, such as various grains and miscellaneous cereals. Under normal circumstances, pheasants also like to eat small insects, such as various insects.

2. Pheasant physiological habits. Pheasants generally rely on their claws to walk on the ground and are not good at flying. Their flight distance is also very short, and sometimes they move by jumping.

3. Reproduction. Pheasants raised for about 10 months can reproduce, and late spring to early summer is the peak breeding period for pheasants. They can lay two clutches of eggs each year.

3. Feeding and Management Techniques

1. Reasonable feeding. Use special feed for chickens, and additionally appropriately add corn, sorghum and other feeds. In addition, ensure pheasants have sufficient drinking water. On this basis, it is also necessary to appropriately add green grass and green leaf feed, which can supplement vita-

mins for pheasants and help them digest better.

2. Control the temperature and humidity of the chicken coop. Under normal circumstances, the brooding temperature is 25 °C ~ 35 °C. After 5 weeks, they can be raised at normal temperature.

3. Control density. In the early stage of breeding, generally raise about 10 birds per sq m; after a period, they can be grouped by weight, size and sex, gradually reducing the density to about 6 birds per sq m. At the same time, enough feed troughs should be set up to meet the pheasants' feeding needs.

4. Place perches inside the coop to prevent feather pecking. Perches should be placed inside and outside the fattening coop for pheasants to rest on; this not only makes full use of the breeding space but also helps reduce feather pecking.

4. Precautions During Feeding

1. Put some cellulose-rich green vegetable leaves in the chicken coop; this not only supplements vitamins and cellulose for the chickens but can also avoid the occurrence of feather pecking.

2. Increase the amount of salt added to the feed, or add salt to the drinking water, and ensure an adequate water supply.

3. Keep the breeding site quiet and tidy, and make the breeding environment as consistent as possible with the wild natural environment to reduce the influence of external factors.

4. Generally, chicks hatched from March to April can be transferred to groups once they are raised to 6 weeks of age, and chicks hatched in summer can be transferred once raised to 5 weeks of age, and sufficient light should be given before transfer.

5. Do not use spoiled or moldy feed. Growing pheasants in the early stage are susceptible to Aspergillus, with relatively high incidence and mortality rates, so in feeding management, care should be taken not to use moldy and spoiled feed, control the coop environment well, maintain suitable temperature and humidity, and frequently

disinfect the coop, and carry out disease checks on the pheasants at regular intervals to ensure they grow healthily and normally.

At present, because market supply falls short of demand, pheasant prices are also higher than ordinary meat chickens, so the breeding benefits of pheasants are also quite good. Breeders can choose according to their own actual circumstances.