Originally Posted by
Mason Brubaker
Alright yall that got a little heated. I have heard and read about the Sichuan pheasant program. And while I do realize that it was not a success, habitat for pheasants at that time was quite frankly terrible. That was back when they thought simply putting more birds out would solve the problem. Another cool thing I found was that one of the release sites is exactly where our farm is now back when it was a dairy operation. I do believe that wild birds are better but when our valley was surveyed for a WPRA application, the PGC said that there were too many Amish farms that wouldn’t participate in the program, so wild birds are not obtainable. I’m simply trying to find as close of an alternative as I can. Much has changed in the area since the 80s when the Sichuan project took place, with quite literally over a thousand acres of idle grass set aside. Some of it is not high quality grass being goldenrod and some cool seasons like Timothy and orchard grass yes I understand but it beats “dirt and macadam” as OT said. A couple of the neighboring farms CREP contracts expired and are putting them into NWSGs so that’s a big step in the right direction. While as stated before with the wild birds not being obtainable, we have seen levels of success with our version of soft release with regular ringnecks, and I think that if we use even a slightly wilder bird, we might see a pocket of sustaining birds. As said before. We had two hens both rear successful broods this past summer so with extensive habitat management I think some form of success is reachable.
IMO micro instead of macro has a higher chance of success. I had pockets of Pheasant success on a consolidated lease of 3000 hectares. I raised small clutches and set them out in ideal areas. IMO the only path to success is experimentation and see what works. Domesticated Ringnecks are doomed to fail to establish a breeding population. They are normally raised as huntable birds and replenished as needed. The same traits that make them ideal for domesticated raising pretty much make their long term survivability in the wild unlikely. My observations tell me survival traits are missing. Wild birds will beat themselves to death on the wire in a pen when they get spooked. Domesticated birds are more docile and less nervous.
I read a hybrid Ringneck is said to lose much of the domesticated traits and is likely to be a better survivor.
Wild hens need almost total quiet to breed in captivity. There was one local breeder that bred wild hens, he was successful.
I had one Ringneck nesting area that was typically three hens in close proximity and a single Cock. They had some strange habits. Early in the season, they would lay in a communal clutch/nest I called it a throwaway nest as none would brood the clutch. No idea why they'd do this. I\d sneak in at night and steal some of the eggs and transport them to an incubator. Some were viable. Pheasants lay way more eggs than you'd think.
I've said it before and will say it again if you want success you have to really thin out the local predator population. And Pheasant often need supplemental water. Ideal habitat may not help if it is too dry.