Golden pheasants are bred not only for tasty meat, but also for decorative purposes, because they are incredibly beautiful and attract attention with their appearance. Birds are absolutely unpretentious, so raising and caring for them will not be difficult. The basic breeding rules are described in this article.
Breed description
The Golden Pheasant is an ornamental bird, belongs to the genus Vorotnichkovye, and has characteristic differences.
Males:
- Unusual plumage. The backs of birds are bright yellow with a golden overflow, the lower part of the body is bright red, the shoulders are dark blue with purple spots.
- Thick tuft of golden color and orange "collar" with a black border.
- The wedge-shaped long tail is gray. The area above the tail is a purple hue.
- Spurs on the legs.
- Weight is 1-3 kg.
- Body length - up to 85 cm.
Females:
- Do not differ in bright colors. They have brown-brown color feathers with black spots and stripes.
- Weight - less than a kilogram.
- Body length - up to 50 cm.
- About 50 eggs weighing 25-35 g are laid per season.
A characteristic color appears in chicks after molting at the age of 2 months, and even then you can clearly distinguish sex.
The look of the male and female of the golden pheasant, the nature of their behavior in captivity can be found in the video clip:
Breeding and caring for chickens
Pheasant females very rarely hatch eggs outside the wild, so an incubator will be needed for breeding.
To raise healthy chicks, follow these rules:
- First, collect the eggs as soon as possible until the birds have pecked them. At the same time, they will have to be found throughout the aviary, because pheasants do not lay eggs in one place.
- Select for incubation only good eggs - large, regular in shape, smooth, without damage.
In addition, pay attention to the colors: most often, chicks hatch from light gray eggs. Do not take with too light or too dark shells.
- Material for incubation should be fresh - no more than 3 days after collection. If this does not work, then store the eggs in a cool place for up to 15 days, do not wash and turn them over daily.
- Before laying, let them warm to room temperature.
- Turn on the incubator and set the temperature to 37.8 ° C.
- After a day, you can place material for breeding.
Further incubation is divided into 4 stages:
- 1 to 7 day. There remains the initially set temperature, humidity - 60-65%. Turn eggs 4 times a day.
- From 8 to 14 days. The temperature and humidity does not change, the eggs should be turned over 6 times a day.
- From 15-21 days. Everything remains, as in the previous period, but now 2 times a day you need to open the incubator for 15 minutes to cool.
- 22-24 day - the period of birth of the chicks. Humidity - 80%, temperature - 37.5 degrees. No need to turn and cool eggs.
It is very convenient to use an automatic incubator, it changes the position of the eggs itself.
We suggest you watch a video clip to see how the golden pheasant chickens hatch from eggs in an incubator:
After the birth of the chickens weakened, and they need special care:
- Lay a thick litter of hay and sawdust on the floor, and also provide warmth and the absence of drafts in the room.
- In the first week, the temperature should be 28 ° C, and then gradually increase the heating to 34 degrees. Such heat should be in the aviary for the entire first month of the life of the chicks.
- Drinking bowls should choose vacuum, they are safer for chickens.
- For the prevention of diseases, give young animals antibiotics: "Erythromycin" or "Biovit" in the dosage specified in the instructions for the drug.
The food in the early days of chickens is very diverse:
- 1 day - finely chopped protein of chicken eggs and yogurt;
- 2-3 day - nettle, green onion, ant eggs;
- 4-5 day - powdered eggshell, clover, spinach, wheat porridge;
- 6-7 day - to all of the above add 0.02 grams of salt and chalk for each chicken;
- 8-11 day - enter 0.05 grams of bone meal and 0.3 grams of wheat bran into the diet;
- from 12 days - to all that was given earlier, add millet;
- from the age of 1 month, they begin to feed the chicks with oatmeal and ground wheat, and transfer to adult food.
The first two weeks of pheasants are fed 10 times a day, then up to two months of age - 7 times, and up to 3 months - 4. After the onset of 3 months, they eat three times a day.
Adult Content
For keeping and breeding pheasants in a farm or at home, an aviary is required (at least 2 square meters per family, also at least 2 meters high), a walking yard and a warm house for the winter.
You need to equip the territory by following these rules:
- The walls and floor of the enclosure are best covered with a metal mesh so that other birds and rats do not get inside.
- Pour a layer of sand or clay onto the floor.
- Build perches at different heights, but not less than a meter from the floor.
- Make a roof of kapron material, as pheasants can try to fly out of the enclosure, which can lead to injury.
- If the floor is not sandy, install sand and ash baths so that birds can clean their feathers.
- Install feeders and drinking bowls, be sure to wash them regularly.
- For walks, pheasants need a walking yard - about 10 square meters. If the area allows, plant a couple of bushes or trees on its territory, and also plant grass.
- Build a hole from the enclosure into the yard, which you keep open all day. And in the warm season, you can leave it at night, because birds sometimes like to sleep on a tree.
- In harsh winters, the house is insulated with foam. Additional heating, most likely, will not be needed, but additional lighting needs to be installed.
- Before wintering, conduct antibiotic therapy for the birds.
- On frosty, sunny days, organize a walk in the yard.
Diet
Pheasants eat a lot and often, so a lot of food will be needed.
Basic nutrition rules:
- In winter, the diet is constructed as follows:
- 50% - grain mixtures and dry feed mixed with broth;
- 20% - grated vegetables (carrots and cabbage);
- 16% - cottage cheese, minced meat, bone meal.
Additionally give vitamins to enhance immunity.
- In addition, in the winter, 2 grams of fish oil and 5 grams of ascorbic acid are added to the drink to make up for the lack of fruit.
- In the summer diet should be required:
- 45% of crops (corn, barley and wheat);
- 20% of fruits and vegetables.
- Any new feed should be introduced gradually, since even for adult birds this threatens problems with the digestive organs.
Disease susceptibility
In captivity, golden pheasants, especially chicks, often suffer from viral infections and colds. If you identify this at the initial stage, then they can be easily and quickly cured with antibiotics.
There are such serious diseases:
- laryngotracheitis;
- smallpox
- marble disease - affects the spleen;
- Marek's disease - paralyzes the legs of birds;
- mycoplasmosis;
- pasteurellosis;
- tuberculosis.
To avoid health problems in pheasants, follow these recommendations:
- keep the birds you just purchased a month in quarantine, separately from others;
- take care of protection against drafts, cold and excessive humidity;
- if at least one individual is sick, immediately drop it off from the others until complete recovery.
Golden pheasant can be a real decoration of the bird's yard. Decorative birds grow well, have high productivity. Caring for them is simple - they are unpretentious to the conditions of detention and food. To prevent the development of diseases, pheasants should be protected from drafts and stresses, and antibiotics should be prevented on time.