August

Time for the first chicks of the year to leave

Our first chicks leave us in August.  We don’t sell any birds under 3 months old. By the time they go they are used to being outside without heat.  They are also used to eating a variety of foods so there is less of a shock to them when they go to a new home and a different diet.

We do have a lot of chicks to look after but they are kept in fairly small groups usually around 6 – 10 chicks in a pen and are fed small treats on a daily basis such as mealworms, broken peanuts and fruit. This helps to keep them fairly tame and many will eat from our hands.

If anyone would like like a look round or wish to collect birds from us they are very welcome to come and see our aviaries (It does help if you phone first just to check we will be there). Please be aware however that we are NOT “open” to the public and do not have any amenities such as a tea room and toilets etc.

Of course, for anyone not able to collect birds, we can arrange a courier during our busy months when we have many young birds leaving (about August until November). During the rest of the year we usually have very few birds to go so the couriers can work out too expensive for most people. If you would like birds delivered by courier anywhere in the UK (mainland) please ask and we will see what we can do for you. We will NOT be exporting birds in 2007.

For travelling, our birds are boxed in our recycled cardboard boxes with many ventilation holes. We use carpet offcuts (these are new as we do not wish to spread disease) on the base of the boxes. This allows the birds to get a good grip and not slide about as much when in transit. The top of the box (the underside) has foam padding attached as pheasants do have a bad habit of flying upwards and banging their heads. We have had birds arrive at us in the past in a terrible state as they have hurt themselves when en route by repeatedly jumping up in their box and hitting their heads. This can lead to serious injuries. Again the foam padding is offcuts from the furniture trade and is new even though it is considered a waste product. All of these precautions are to help protect the birds so they arrive at their new homes in the best condition possible.

We rarely have mature birds for sale but if anyone is looking for some beautiful birds which they do NOT intend to breed we sometimes have adult birds which have failed to provide us with good strong chicks. These birds are still lovely but we sell them at a greatly reduced price as they will not be good breeders.