I'm considering ordering a few Chinese Ringneck Pheasants to raise this year, and wondered if they are difficult to raise, and whether they will set and raise any young? The hatcheries don't have a lot info on them, just minor "how tos" for when you first get them. Has anyone raised them? I had been considering guineas, but after reading some of the posts last year about them not staying home, I hesitate to chance it. I do have a separate pen I can use, and could clip the wings to prevent wanderlust :) I would love to have birds that could help keep the grasshopper population down without decimating the garden. Any experience with pheasants? Thanks, Jan

-- Jan in CO (Janice12@aol.com), February 24, 2001

Answers

We have had both and found pheasants to be very nervous and flighty birds,not at all friendly. They will also fight {males} and require alot of space. Ours got out at about 6mon.of age and we still see and hear them once in a great while,they bascily have gone wild.Guineas if raised right make ok stock,ours stayed around and did a great job of bug control,I will be reordering them this year.

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), February 24, 2001.

We haven't raised pheasants but do raise guineas. Ours have been trained to come to roost at night. They also haven't wandered away (yet). If you can manage to have some chickens, raising guinea keets with chicks is a great way to train them to come in to roost and not to wander away from home. Great bug control. I think we only sawy 2-3 crickets all fall. Good Luck.

-- Trisha-MN (tank@Linkup.net), February 24, 2001.

We have had some Guineas since they were a few days old. We pampered the little guys,gave 'em hugs. Kept them in a tiny little pen while they got used to the pen area,then we released them. They will stay mostly in the pen area,because they'rw afraid to wonder out.And if they do,they eat snakes,bugs,and other little critters.Then they're back in the pen by the next morning. They're really loud at night though,and they're TERRIFIC 'watch dogs' they bark at anything unfamiliar.

-- Cosmic CountryGirl (CosmicCountry@Yahoo.com), February 25, 2001.

Guineas eat lots of ticks. I don't know if other birds do as good a job at that as guineas, but growing up we always had a flock of about 30 or more and I never got ticks on me unless I ventured FAR out in the pasture. We tried to get ours to roost with the chickens, but they always preferred a big tree right above my mom's car. If you can get them to roost in an enclosed coop, clipping their wings would be fine, but I wouldn't unless you could definitely keep them in at night or they would be sitting ducks for varmints. Ours always came back to the house at night ~ I think throwing out a bunch of scratch grain for them and the other birds every single evening helped with that.

If you want to keep pheasants around, you really need to keep them in an enclosure. We raised a few when I was younger, but they got out and we haven't seen 'em since. A buddy raised them and kept them in enclosures. I HATED going in their pen because they would fly around, scared to death, beating you with their wings in the process and even land on your head! I'd come out of that pen with scratches somewhere every time. Maybe a bigger pen would have helped them stay a bit calmer. To my knowledge, their pheasants never hatched eggs on their own ~ I think they need lots of room and high grass to do that successfully.

-- Wingnut (wingnut@moment.net), February 25, 2001.

Hi Jan, I don't know anything about Pheasants, but I know a little about guineas.

We got ours as day old keets. We had day old chicks as well, and that really, really does help! Our next batch of keets (hatched out from Mama guinea, then we took..)were brooded without chicks and they were much more flighty and excitable! But still with both groups, we have "trained" them to roost at night in the coop. I think you probably got good info on how to do this from the archives. If not, let me know and I'll post how we do it.

We have never had any that did not stay home. They travel in groups around the property and eat, eat, eat...bugs! We love them and do not use any "stuff" for garden pests (other than squash bugs)and the guineas are the reason why. It will take (if I remember right) about 5 or so months before they are useful in the bug patrol, but well worth the wait. Good Luck!

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), February 25, 2001.

Thanks, everyone. Some good advice and things to think about. I think I may give the guineas a try, after your postings! Thanks again, and I'll let you know later in the year how it goes. Don't have many trees here, but the neighbor, a real horses behind, does, so I was worried they might go there to roost, and be dinner! Thanks, Jan

-- Jan in Co (Janice12@aol.com), February 25, 2001.

http://www.quailco.com/ringneck.html

http://www.quailco.com/links.html

Guineas are excellent of ridding your property of all kinds of insects. Those who live where there's Lyme Disease really appreciate the birds keeping the property free of ticks. They'll also do a number on the snakes. But you can't have any nearby neighbors; the birds can be exceedingly noisy. There's a good choice of colors:

http://www.guineas.com/colors.htm

You can train the birds to stay home by keeping them penned for a full six weeks. Then you can open the gate and let them free range during the day. They should return to their pens at dusk to roost and you can close the gates.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), February 26, 2001.

Combined with a good cat, guineas are good at eliminating rodents, as well. (mice AND rats). Guineas also are strangely protective of basement windows, truck-camper-caps at ground level, and other assorted GLASS (reflective) items. They will come at you repeatedly, if you are working near their "friend". I finally took one out with a golf club at one point, when I was working on the rear deck, near that basement window he spent his time chatting with... Strange birds! (he was back, 10 minutes later...) As mentioned previously, they are great tick killers, too.

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), February 26, 2001.

Action Dude: If you put a large mirror where you'd rather have the guineas hang out, they'll leave your work places alone!

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), February 26, 2001.

Rogo: Gotcha. Either that or put a chunk of plywood in front of their window, and they'll go back to bothering the camper top.

-- Action Dude (theactiondude@yahoo.com), February 27, 2001.