Flown the coop

Well, actually they sauntered. I released my seven baby pheasants on a place north of town. It's the most wonderful habitat for them as there are resident birds in the area and also at least one batch of chicks this year. Because they usually blast out of the crate I didn't take my camera along. Naturally they just slowly walked out and into the sagebrush and tall grass. I wish them well and may they never hear the sound of a shotgun.

They've arrived !

Back on May 21st a lady brought me 11 pheasant eggs. She said that she'd been monitoring the nest for some time but one day the female just left and didn't come back. I immediately put them in my incubator but didn't know if they were fertile or how long they'd been left to the elements.

In order for eggs to hatch the temperature must be at 99.5 degrees. Naturally when the female gets up to either adjust the eggs or change partners the temperature goes down but not for more than a minute or less.

Well, seven of them hatched yesterday and so far they are going just fine. I already have a baby mallard in my brooder so I borrowed this one from Greg Blessing at The Barn. They have lots of room, water and food and a non-slip surface so they won't fall. I already have a home for them when they get big enough for release. In the meantime, they're just about the cutest things on the planet.

First time visitor

I went out to put the chickens to bed and gather eggs when I caught a small movement out near the redtails pen. I couldn't believe it, for the first time ever a male Ring-necked Pheasant visited the property. Well, at least it's the first time I'd seen one. He's a handsome fellow and let me get quite close for this photo. Hopefully this means more of them will take up residence in the area.

Little huns

I used to see these little game birds on my place but not for a decade or more. They used to be called Hungarian Partridge but for some reason they are now called Gray Partridge. We saw this group of six when out doing our yearly eagle count.

4th of July babies

Today I received eight very tiny pheasant chicks. They appear to have been hatched yesterday and were found coming out of a recentlty swathed hay field with no parent seen. These little babies will be capable of flight in just a short time but because they have to be brooded at night, they will stay here for a few weeks until old enough and feathered enough for release back where they were found. It's apparently a very good habitat for raising pheasants.

First there were 10......

But only five of the pheasant eggs I received many weeks ago hatched. These five are now going to be released on the Curtis place north of town which is where they came from. Every year when Stan is out swathing his hay he usually comes across a pheasant nest full of eggs. This year it wasn't until he went back to bale the hay that he found it.

These babies will be in a very safe place where there are already pheasants living so it's apparently the right habitat for them. Hopefully they won't fall victim to hunters or predators and live a long life.