A Beginner’s Guide to Raising Pheasants on Your Property

Raising pheasants can transform your land into an elegant, wildlife-rich haven. Whether you’re aiming to sell game birds, stock a private aviary, or simply enjoy the spectacle of these colorful birds, starting correctly makes all the difference. If you’re new to the world of pheasants, here’s what you need to know—step by step.

1. Understand What You’re Getting Into

Pheasants are game birds, not the same as domestic chickens or other backyard poultry. They retain many wild instincts, requiring more space, cover, and careful handling.

Before you begin, check local regulations: some regions require permits or have restrictions on owning or releasing game birds.

Decide your goal: breeding, selling live birds, releasing for hunting, or keeping as ornamental. Each path has slightly different priorities.

2. Select the Right Pheasant Breeds and Chicks

Choosing the right breed (or species) matters. Many beginners start with ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), due to their relative hardiness and common availability.

When ordering, purchase from a reputable hatchery to ensure healthy, disease-free stock. Many guides recommend starting with pheasant chicks rather than adults to control their early development.

Chicks may come with a game bird starter feed (at high protein levels) and possibly vaccination or coccidiostat treatment

3. Prepare Your Brooder & Housing Facilities

Brooder Stage

For the first few weeks, the chicks need a warm, safe brooder. Use a draft-free enclosed space with bedding, heat lamps or brooders, and chick guards.

• Maintain temperature around 95 °F (35 °C) at chick height initially, then reduce gradually as they grow.

• Use litter such as chopped straw or coarse, absorbent material (avoid fine dust) to keep footing and dryness

• Provide multiple shallow waterers and feed trays so chicks always have access.

After about 3–4 weeks (depending on species and growth), chicks can move into outdoor flight pens or “flyways.”

Flight Pens / Aviaries

Pheasants need space to move, hide, and flap their wings. A well-structured aviary or flight pen helps them acclimate and reduces stress.

• Use mesh or wire netting overhead to prevent escape and protect from aerial predators. Provide natural cover inside the flight pen—grass, brush, weeds, or planted cover—to mimic habitat and give birds places to hide. 

• Maintain recommended space: many producers suggest ~24 square feet per bird or more, depending on the breed.

• The pen floor should be well drained, with shelter from weather, and secure against ground predators.

4. Feeding & Nutrition

Pheasants have nutritional needs that differ somewhat from chickens or other poultry. They require high protein, vitamins, minerals, and access to forage.

Feed for Chicks / Growers

Young pheasants (0–6 weeks) generally need feed with 28–30% protein (a “game bird starter” formula) to fuel rapid growth.
Many feeds include coccidiostats to help prevent coccidiosis, a common disease in crowded young birds.

Adult / Maintenance Feed

Once mature or in the grow-out stage, switch to a lower-protein feed (around 16–18% protein, depending on the breed) balanced for maintenance, egg production (if using hens), and health.
Offer grit to assist digestion. Also allow for insects, worms, seeds, and greens if the birds free-range or in pens with natural vegetation.

Water & Feeding Management

Ensure constant access to fresh, clean water. Waterers should be cleaned daily and disinfected regularly.
Use multiple feeders and spread them to reduce competition and stress. Rotate feed types as needed and monitor consumption.

5. Habitat & Cover Management

Pheasants thrive when their environment mirrors their natural habitat: cover, nesting sites, feeding plots, and protection.

• Provide nesting cover of grasses, herbaceous plants, or shrubs where hens can nest safely. Cover should be undisturbed during nesting season.

• Maintain winter cover or shelter belts of woody shrubs, cattails, or stiff-stemmed plants to protect birds from harsh weather.

• Create food plots or cover strips near dense vegetation to provide feeding areas that are also protected.

Habitat management benefits both captive and semi-wild pheasants, especially if you intend to release birds or allow freer movement.

6. Health, Disease Prevention & Predator Control

Disease & Parasite Management

Pheasants are susceptible to many of the same diseases as poultry: coccidiosis, blackhead, worms, respiratory infections, and more
Preventive strategies include:

• Clean, dry housing

• Avoiding overcrowding

• Good ventilation

• Routine deworming or parasite control

• Quarantine new birds before introducing them to the flock

Monitoring for signs of illness—weight loss, lethargy, unusual droppings—is key. Work with a poultry veterinarian when needed.

Predator Control & Biosecurity

Pheasants are vulnerable to foxes, raccoons, snakes, hawks, feral cats, and even domestic pets. Ensure your pens are secure:

• Bury mesh fencing into the ground to prevent tunneling

• Use overhead netting to block aerial predators

• Lock birds in secure shelters at night

• Remove attractants like open feed or easily accessible water that may draw predators

Also enforce biosecurity: restrict access, clean footwear, disinfect equipment, and prevent mixing wild and captive birds unnecessarily.

7. Breeding, Nesting & Eggs

If your aim is breeding, you’ll need to establish proper roosters to hens ratio (often 1 rooster per 8–12 hens, depending on species).

Provide private nesting areas—dense cover or nesting boxes—where hens can lay eggs with minimal disturbance.
Egg incubation may be done via natural hen incubation (if the species is willing) or artificial incubators. Manage humidity, temperature, turning, and candling carefully.

For release-based systems (if you plan to let birds go wild), gently acclimate birds via pre-release pens and follow best practices on timing, predator conditioning, and habitat readiness.

8. Monitoring & Maintenance

Regular checks and maintenance are essential:

• Count birds daily to detect losses

• Inspect for injuries, feather loss, pecking issues

• Rotate or refresh ground cover to reduce parasite buildup

• Repair damaged fencing or netting immediately

• Maintain record-keeping for feed use, mortality, growth rates, and health interventions

These data help you improve your protocols over time.

9. Release or Marketing Options

If your goal is releasing pheasants (for hunting or wild stock augmentation), be cautious: many game farm birds lack the survival instincts to do well in the wild.
Instead, consider soft releases or acclimatization pens that help birds transition gradually.

If you’re raising pheasants for sale, target markets like aviary enthusiasts, game preserves, hobby breeders, or restaurants where legal. Ensure birds are healthy, well-conditioned, and well-marketed.

10. Tips & Troubleshooting for Beginners

• Don’t overcrowd your pens — space is critical for pheasants.

• Start small before scaling up.

• Watch for feather pecking or cannibalism, especially early on.

• Use red heat lamps in the brooder stage to reduce stress and aggressive behavior.

• Be patient — pheasants mature on their own schedule.

• Learn from failures; no two seasons will be identical.

Conclusion

Raising pheasants on your property is an exciting journey that demands attention to habitat, housing, nutrition, and health. While they require more care and space than typical backyard chickens, the reward is a flock of astonishing wild-beauty birds that enrich your property, your connection to nature, and possibly your farm’s offerings.

Start with a few healthy pheasant chicks, build secure enclosures, feed them the right game bird feed, protect them from predators, and adapt your management as you learn. Over time, your skills will grow, and you’ll be running an elegant, thriving pheasant operation.