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First Things First: Prioritizing Daily Pheasant Care

On September 16, 2014 in General by spope

There are plenty of reasons to never turn your back on pheasant care, which is why at MacFarlane Pheasants, we’re constantly making the rounds on our birds. Twice a day our staff checks each pen for problems that can develop. But how they deal with those problems—and when—is something we’ve learned over time to be vital to raising game birds.

The biggest emergency we can run into with our outdoor pens is water interruption and birds caught in the nets. When a water line breaks, it is damaging to our resources—water isn’t free—and also to the birds themselves. If a water interruption occurs, birds can practically wilt in the summer heat. When we discover a water break, it becomes priority number one to get it back in working order. Equally imperative are birds in the netting. When birds flush, they can occasionally entangle their peepers in the net and hang there like Christmas decorations. If we find a bird dangling, our staff goes about immediately freeing it before any permanent damage can occur. Other issues that demand immediate action are spotting predators in the pens.

But not all problems are emergencies. For instance, if one of the water bowls to a pen is malfunctioning, but one or two others are working, then we can put a pin in it. Instead of running around like a pheasant with its head cut off, we’ll return to the problem later that evening when we have more time. The same holds true for low feed dishes: as long as there’s some food left in it, we can push a refill off until the late afternoon. A bird or two in the central lane is also a lower priority. While a single pheasant loose is problematic, as long as the end gates are closed we’ll leave the pheasant roaming until later in the day when we can shoo it back inside. This prioritizing allows us to ensure the greatest care of birds that need it first.

Finally, there are some problems that, once discovered, we’ll plan out a resolution for a few days later. These include slow leaks in the water lines. Obviously, it’s not the most efficient. But it’s not critical either—birds still have ready access to water. So we’ll push this problem later into the week to better handle the immediate problems like complete water stoppages first. It also allows us the freedom to be vigilant with our checks, ensuring that when a problem arises, our hands are free.

Pheasant care takes consistent monitoring, and part of that consistency comes with knowing what has to be handled right now, and what can be delayed. Twice a day our crew spends about two hours checking the status of each and every pen. But what’s as important as careful monitoring is learning to prioritize problems as they come. Our farm is built on the special nature of each and every bird, and this discernment allows us to focus on each bird as a part of our success.

First Things First: Prioritizing Daily Pheasant Care


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