Photo: MacFarlane Pheasants (pheasant.com)
Ring-necked Pheasant
The most widely raised game bird in North America — colorful, fast-growing, and the backbone of commercial pheasant operations.
Overview
Ring-necked Pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) are native to Asia and were first brought to North America in 1733, with the Chinese Ring-Necked subspecies successfully established in Oregon in 1881. Today they are the most widely raised game bird in the United States, bred for hunting preserves, meat, and release programs. Pheasants are fast-growing — reaching moveout at 6–8 weeks and maturity around 20 weeks — but they are delicate as chicks and notoriously cannibalistic, which makes brooder management and space planning critical. Commercial operations like MacFarlane Pheasants (the largest in the U.S.) raise hundreds of thousands of birds per season using proven protocols for temperature, feed, ventilation, and space.
Chick Setup
The brooder house must be weather-tight, draft-free, and rodent-proof. Clean and disinfect at least 2 weeks before pheasant chicks arrive. Use dried pine shavings (kiln-dried, dust-free, about 1 inch in size) as bedding for the first 3 weeks in the brooder — the size matters; shavings that are too fine get eaten and cause gizzard impaction. Avoid sand, peat moss, and cedar/cypress (toxic). Cover bedding with brooder paper or burlap for the first week so pheasant chicks don't eat the litter. After 3 weeks, when pheasant chicks move to a bigger space, switch to wheat straw. Start at 4 birds per square foot for the first 3 weeks. Use a draft shield (cardboard ring, 14–18 inches high, 4-foot diameter for 50 pheasant chicks) to confine pheasant chicks near heat for the first 5–7 days. Hang heat lamps 18 inches off the floor. Place feed and water 18–24 inches from the edge of the brooder — never directly under the heat. (Source: MacFarlane Pheasants)
Temperature
Start at 95°F at the edge of the brooder (100°F directly under the stove, 88–90°F at the room edge). Hold this for the first 5 days. After one week, drop the temperature 1 degree every other day. At 3 weeks, drop 1 degree every day. By 6 weeks, birds should be acclimated to the lowest outside temperature. Never overheat — chicks in rings cannot escape heat stress. Watch chick behavior: piling under the lamp = too cold; spread out and panting = too hot.
Feed Stages
Days 0–21: 30% protein pre-starter, fine crumble (medicated with Amprolium coccidiostat). Days 22–49: 26% protein starter crumble (medicated). Week 6 onward: 20% protein grower feed (continue Amprolium until mature). Feed consumption: ~2 lbs per bird for the first 6 weeks, then ~1 lb per week from weeks 6–20, totaling ~16 lbs per bird from 0–20 weeks. Use crumble form only — never pellets for young chicks. Provide 2 feet of feeder space per 50 chicks (0.3–0.5 linear inches per bird).
Water Requirements
Clean, fresh water must be available at all times. Pheasants drink 1–2 times as much water by volume as they eat in feed. Use one gallon waterer per 75 chicks with a narrow lip (1/2 inch or less) to prevent drowning, or fill troughs with marbles. At day-old, use one satellite drinker per 100 birds; after 3 weeks, one 'plus-one' waterer per 250 birds. Check waterers throughout the day for crowding, empty/malfunctioning units, dirty water, and wet bedding.
Lighting
Lighting is used in place of rings at commercial farms — birds are attracted to brighter lights and find their own comfort zone. Use red-end bulbs to reduce brightness and control cannibalism. Proper dimmer/timer lighting reduces cannibalism and resource competition. Never place feed and water under brooders. Continue heat lamps at night until chicks are 3–4 weeks old (depending on outside temperature).
Stocking Considerations
First 3 weeks: 1/4 sq ft per chick (4 birds/sq ft). Weeks 3–6: 1/2 sq ft per bird (move to larger 'B' room). Weeks 4–5: 1–2 sq ft per bird in day pens. After 6 weeks outside: 25 sq ft per bird with peepers. At maturity: 55 sq ft per cock, 40 sq ft per hen without peepers; 30 sq ft per cock, 20 sq ft per hen with peepers. Overcrowding causes piling, stress, uneven growth, feather picking, cannibalism, and mortality.
Common Behavior
Chicks should form a circle around the heat lamp at comfortable temperature. Healthy chicks are distributed throughout the brooder, eating and drinking regularly, growing evenly, active and alert, and developing healthy feathers. Pheasants are very cannibalistic by nature — watch for blood on wing tips and tails, the first sign of feather picking. Chicks peck at the floor instinctively after hatching, which is why litter choice matters.
Moving Outside
Move birds outside at 6–8 weeks of age. Wait for a window of 2–3 days of good weather with minimal rain — birds must adjust to wind, rain, dew, and fluctuating temperatures. Acclimate by lowering brooder temperature to match the lowest outside temperature in the week before moveout. Flight pens must be covered with 1-inch mesh netting, with buried wire (6 inches deep, flared outward) to stop predators. Provide 25 sq ft per bird with peepers. Plant cover (lambsquarters, ragweed, corn) for shade, shelter, and to reduce bird-to-bird eye contact.
Adult Bird Considerations
At maturity (~20 weeks), birds need 55 sq ft per cock and 40 sq ft per hen without peepers, or 30/20 sq ft with peepers. Continue Amprolium in feed until birds are mature. Clip wings at 3–4 weeks to prevent flying through 1-inch netting and breaking heat lamps. For breeders, clip wings to prevent injury from flying into posts/fences. Monitor for continued cannibalism — peepers may need re-fitting.
Milestones
Common Mistakes
- Using fine shavings or sawdust — pheasant chicks eat the fine particles and suffer gizzard impaction
- Using sand as bedding — causes crop impaction
- Using peat moss — it expands in the crop and kills pheasant chicks
- Using cedar or cypress shavings — highly toxic to poultry
- Placing feed and water directly under brooders — causes dehydration and overheating
- Overheating pheasant chicks in rings — they cannot escape and suffer heat stress
- Ignoring early signs of cannibalism — it only gets worse, never resolves on its own
- Overcrowding — the #1 cause of feather picking, piling, and mortality
- Letting feed or water run out — most early losses are from pheasant chicks never starting to eat or drink
- Not checking pheasant chicks at night during the first few nights — piling deaths happen then
- Moving birds outside without 2–3 days of good weather to acclimate
Common Health Concerns
- •Starve-out — chicks fail to find feed/water; mortality spikes at 4–5 days
- •Coccidiosis — controlled with Amprolium-medicated feed
- •Cannibalism / feather picking — managed with peepers, space, and enrichment
- •Piling — chicks crush each other when cold, especially first 1–2 nights
- •Heat stress — chicks in rings cannot escape overheating
- •Ammonia buildup from poor ventilation — damages respiratory health
- •Wet litter — causes chilling, disease, and caking
- •Impacted crop from eating litter or inappropriate bedding