White Eared Pheasant

(Crossoptilon crossoptilon)

Wild White eared pheasants live in the Himalayan mountains and are extremely hardy. Because our White eared pheasants are hardy we have shelters for them that are open from the ground up to three feet and also have an open doorway. We have found that the birds are calmer when they have this means of escape. Our birds enjoy being out whatever the weather in fact they relish the rain and will play with any water available to them. They are large birds which use their powerful beaks to dig for roots and grubs. Our pheasants have shrubs planted in their pens which are used regularly for perching on. They also dig them up so the plants must be pretty tough and have time to get established before the pheasants are put in with them.
We feed them on an ordinary pheasant pellet but also give them “treats” which consist of grain, peanuts, fruit, and live food. Everything is gulped down with relish although peanuts and mealworms are the firm favourites. The treats have made it very easy to tame our white eared pheasants and they have become quite petted. 
Our white eared pheasants will always try to have our attention and come up to the edge of the pen to see us. They will peck at clothing or if we are feeding birds in the pen next to them at the wooden boarding between them and us. They also use their perches to get a better view of what we are doing. They are very inquisitive, friendly birds.
White eared pheasants will start breeding in their second year and will usually lay a clutch of between 4 and 7 eggs. From the end of April until the end of June they can lay up to around 20 eggs.
There have been a lot of problems with fertility in White eared pheasants but luckily due to the perseverance of breeders trying to find new bloodlines these problems are diminishing. It is very important for the survival of any species that they are not inbred. Hopefully the future of these lovely birds will be safe. They are in trouble in the wild and it is paramount that everything possible is done to help them. We believe that aviculturists have a crucial role to play in helping conserve the white eared pheasant and many other bird species. To find out more about the conservation of pheasants please have a look at The World Pheasant Association website.
 

Allandoo Pheasantry

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