Pheasant.com Blog

Pheasant mating is triggered by the longer spring days. The roosters’ pituitary glands become active at this time and the hormones produced cause the roosters to have the physiological desire to mate. At MacFarlane Pheasant Farms we have a select group of breeders, so of course we don’t want the pheasants we are growing for mature sales, to breed. Read More »

Madison Demel is a senior in the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University. She is an ambitious student with a double minor in the Animal Science Industry and Business. Her major field of study is Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management. Read More »

About a year and half ago we started having Town Hall Meetings, every six months, with each crew on the farm. Managers are not present at these meetings. Our owner, Bill MacFarlane, coordinates the discussions. This is an opportunity for employees to share concerns and ideas with Bill. Read More »

There are two different strategies for introducing pheasants to a new property. Regardless of the strategy used, it is important that you prepare your property in advance as a good habitat for pheasants. Grasslands with low to medium grasses, wetlands, croplands, brush, shrubs and idle fields would be a good start. The goal is to establish a self-sustaining population on a new property. Read More »

We finally got a new refrigerated truck for all of our food deliveries!!! This is very exciting and it's also larger than our last truck. Read More »

Workrooms are the rooms we enter before the bird rooms. Each crew member has dedicated coveralls and dedicated footwear for each bird room they enter. A water bath outside the room is used to clean mud from shoes and there is a soap mat inside to disinfect footwear before you enter the workroom. A bench is located outside the bird room to separate it from incoming traffic. Read More »

It is extremely important to maintain a clean, dry environment for our birds to live in while they are in our barns. Usually the housekeeping is done during our regular barn chores. However, sometimes the cleaning takes a little longer, so we add an extra crew member to speed up the process. That might mean adding a time in our schedule for barn housekeeping after lunch and before afternoon barn checks. Once a barn is flagged for housekeeping, we make it a priority to get it done right away. Read More »

Pheasant peeping is typically done when chicks are 5 weeks of age. We want to keep them as healthy as possible and chicks tend to pick at each other. That sounds almost simplistic, but we are talking some serious picking here! They will pull out feathers and grab onto skin with their sharp beaks with an intensity that can lead to infections and even death. Read More »