Probably everyone has heard of such a bird as the royal pheasant. Its main advantage is amazing beauty. And it almost became the cause of the extinction of birds - in the natural habitat they are actively hunted. However, pheasants managed to domesticate, and today they can be seen in many farms around the world, including Russia.
Appearance
Perhaps the most beautiful bird that is bred by humans for meat is the royal pheasant. Photos attached to the article will verify this.
The first thing that catches your eye when looking at the male is the tail. The length of the bird can be 200-210 centimeters. And of these, about 120-140 centimeters fall precisely on the tail. After molting, the length increases slightly. Females of pheasants are slightly smaller, and the length of their tails does not exceed 50 centimeters. The weight of adult males is approximately 1.5 kilograms. Females weigh about 1 kilogram.
Head and neck combine areas of white and black. The wings and body are covered with white and golden feathers with small specks of black and chestnut. The tail feathers are white, but have yellowish edges and pronounced black transverse stripes.
The legs are gray and the beak is almost white.
As you can see, the sight is really impressive. Alas, that was what almost caused the death of the royal pheasants.
Where do they live
The only place in the wild where this magnificent bird lives is China. You can meet them both in the central and northeastern regions. Prefer mountains and foothills, densely covered with forests. Deciduous forests usually inhabit, but in some cases they also live in conifers. Found at an altitude of 300 to 1800 meters.
Interestingly, in the UK there is also a small colony of these magnificent birds. However, it was created by chance - as a result of the fact that several individuals escaped from humans and settled in the wild. The mild climate, the almost complete absence of dangerous predators and the love of people allowed them to survive and multiply successfully.
Lifestyle
If you make a description of the royal pheasant, then we can say with confidence: this is a sedentary bird who does not like to travel long distances without emergency. Birds are surprisingly hardy - they tolerate both high and low temperatures perfectly.
In winter and autumn, they gather in small flocks - up to 10 individuals. In the spring, when the time of laying and hatching eggs is approaching, they are divided into small groups. Moreover, males have pronounced polygamy. Fertilizing one female, he hurries in search of the next and so on. In taking care of the children, their protection and feeding the female during the hatching of eggs, the male does not take the slightest part.
Most of the food is found on the ground, but prefer to spend the night on trees, so as not to become a victim of nocturnal predators.
A certain territory is assigned to the males of the pheasant, which they zealously guard, often arranging very fierce skirmishes if a stranger enters his land. Even if for some reason the bird has left its usual habitat, you can be sure that at the first opportunity it will definitely return.
Surprisingly, for all their beauty and apparent slowness, they are quite aggressive - they boldly rush not only at males of their breed who have violated the border, but also at various animals, as well as people.
Prevalence in nature
Unfortunately, it was the beautiful feathers of the royal pheasant that almost became the reason for its extinction in the wild. In China, local people are actively hunting for him, not only because of delicious, tender meat, but also to get feathers that are used for jewelry.
Officially, today in China there are about 5 thousand individuals living in the wild. And some sources claim that this figure is even more frightening - no more than 2 thousand birds.
Although killing wild pheasants in China is prohibited by law, it does not stop local hunters and peasants who want to enjoy poultry meat. Therefore, every year the number of royal pheasants is reduced.
Captivity
Fortunately, complete destruction does not threaten these birds. If only because they were domesticated in Europe and breed well in ordinary farms.
Surprisingly, they are only slightly more difficult to breed than chickens. So, if you want to breed royal pheasants, the features of their content must be considered.
First of all, you need an aviary - 15 square meters are enough for a small flock. If you want the birds to show themselves in all its glory, it is desirable to have an aviary of 60 square meters or more - here the male pheasants will be able to grow a longer tail, and it is he who is the main decoration. In general, per square meter should not be more than 1 individual. And this despite the fact that you are ready to provide them with quality food - with such a dense population, they obviously will not be able to find a sufficient amount of feed themselves.
It is very convenient that they are polygamous - you can contain only one male per flock of 10-15 females.
In the aviary, it is worth installing several perches at different heights - from 150 to 200 centimeters. Having fed on the day, pheasants prefer to fly up into the trees at night. In captivity, trees can be easily replaced with a normal perch of sufficient thickness.
It is advisable to sprinkle the floor of the enclosure with a thick layer of sand so that dirt does not appear, otherwise the tails will always be dirty, shed and ugly.
Diet
Of course, many farmer enthusiasts are interested in trying to work with such an unusual bird as the royal pheasant. Their breeding is inextricably linked to a proper diet.
In nature, they eat various berries, acorns, seeds, and also do not disdain insects and invertebrates, if they can be caught. In winter and early spring, when food becomes scarce in the forest, pheasants can often be seen on agricultural land, which is an additional reason for their destruction.
When breeding on a farm, it is advisable for birds to give greater freedom of movement - then they themselves will collect insects and eat grass. But still, additional complementary foods are also very important. The optimal diet is considered to include:
- chopped corn - 55%;
- crushed wheat - 30%;
- fish trash - 10%;
- yeast and meat and bone meal - 5%.
About 75 grams of feed should be per bird per day. You also need to give them a large amount of grass, which they eat with appetite.
From mid-spring, you can add various berries, calcium and some sunflower oil to the standard diet. Then the pheasants will grow faster, and their meat will acquire a particularly delicate and pleasant taste.
Breeding
Of course, giving a characteristic of the breed of the royal pheasant, one can not help but touch upon such an important area as reproduction.
As mentioned above, males are polygamous and able to fertilize a large number of females.
The latter create nests right on the ground, usually just digging a hole of a suitable size. Clutch can consist of 7-14 eggs. It has long been observed that the larger the female, the more eggs she hatches at a time. It takes about 24-25 days to incubate the eggs.
Many farms use incubators to increase the number of eggs laid by a pheasant female during the warm season. They lay only fresh (not older than a week) eggs that were stored under certain conditions. Eggs are not washed, but in order to prevent infection from entering the incubator, they can be lowered for a short time in a warm solution of potassium permanganate. The incubation temperature is 37-38 degrees. Therefore, a conventional incubator used for breeding chickens is suitable. It is also necessary to provide a sufficiently high humidity - up to 80%. It is very important to turn the eggs at least 4-5 times a day so that they warm evenly. Starting from the third week, the incubator is opened daily for 10-15 minutes for ventilation.
With proper care, hatching can be up to 90%.
Baby Care
Adult royal pheasants do not need special care. But the young - very much so. You need to make sure that they are warm enough - if necessary, install additional heating or put a container of hot water wrapped in a thick cloth so that the chicks can bask in the night. It is important to ensure that there are not too many young animals — no more than 25 individuals per square meter. Otherwise, the weak will simply be trampled by healthier and more impudent relatives. Gradually, the area needs to be increased - from 10 to 30 days a maximum of 15 individuals should fall on the same area. And after a month - no more than 6.
It is also very important to draw up a suitable diet - it is impossible to give the same food as adults.
Conventional chicken eggs will be a good choice - they need to be boiled hard and finely chopped. In the first days of life they give only protein, but starting from the second week, you can already give the yolk. You can also add young nettles to the diet - it is advisable to pre-pour it with boiling water so that it does not burn, and chop finely. Over time, young animals can be accustomed to grain, they usually start with millet and are gradually transferred to rye and wheat.
