Pheasant.com Blog

Chicks raised in the Hen Barn under the guidance of Research Manager, Kate Rol-lette, are raised as pedigree breeders for the white pheasants we produce for food con-sumption at MacFarlane Pheasants. Read More »

We are always looking for ways to improve our chick ordering procedures at MacFarlane Pheasants. In the past, we used an Excel worksheet to keep track of orders and availability of chicks. Two or three people worked on keeping the worksheet updated.  Read More »

Our job posting for a brooder crew worker lists the basic skills needed to work anywhere on our farm. A crew member needs to be: responsible, dependable, motivated, have organizational skills, common sense, acute attention to detail, have a valid driver’s license, and be able to lift 50 pounds or more. Read More »

This past chick season, we raised 2.4 million chicks between March and August. 600,000 chicks were kept on the farm and raised to maturity to meet the needs of hunt clubs, individuals, and government agencies. The rest were sold as day-old chicks to folks who wanted to raise their own game birds. Read More »

Record keeping is essential to making business decisions at MacFarlane Pheasants. In the brooder barns we record key information on a daily basis. There is a mortality sheet in each workroom. The workroom is a special room for sanitation right before the chick barn. Information recorded at the top of the mortality sheet includes the barn number, the number of chicks placed into the room and the hatch date. Read More »

Incubating and hatching pheasant eggs requires a specific process to insure success. The process we use at MacFarlane Pheasants is documented in our online booklet called The Complete Guide to Incubation. You can download our booklet for free and try incubating and hatching your own baby pheasants! Let me use this article to share some of the finer points of preparing and incubating pheasant eggs so you are aware of just what it takes to end up with beautiful baby chicks! Read More »

Each year we sell lots of chicks over the course of our main chick season from April to mid-August.  Consistently, our sales reach 1.5 million chicks by the end of the season! During the several months, when sales are booming, our staff is working long intensive days to take orders, prepare records, and ship chicks all over the world! August is the end of our chick sales season and the month of chick sales that is least understood by our customers. Read More »

During the month of April,I wrote an article about practices for incubating and hatching eggs in our hatchery that was an overview of our practices at MacFarlane Pheasants. We hatch over two million chicks per year so our staff is quite knowledgeable about incubating eggs and hatching baby chicks! After that article was written, we published The Complete Guide to Incubation.  Our employees spent many hours preparing this document and I think you will be pleased with the results. The booklet is a free download and gives you detailed information about how to incubate wild bird eggs for a successful hatch. Read More »

Our hatchery at MacFarlane Pheasants is where we incubate eggs and hatch our pheasant chicks. The most important part of incubating eggs is to provide heat, humidity, and ventilation. If you can provide those basic needs and follow some basic steps, 25 days later you will have some beautiful peeping chicks. Read More »

Gro-gel is a super hydrating gel for newborn chicks. In addition to hydration, it is filled with nutrients and good bacteria. The Gro-gel we purchase comes in a powder and we add water to the amount we need and mix it until it is gel-like. Then, we place a heaping spoonful onto a small paper plate. Read More »