Pheasant.com Blog

Our Maintenance Department does a complete inspection of our leased trucks before they leave the farm for deliveries. Each inspection follows the Department of Transportation guidelines. We start with a walk-around review that looks for leaks, dents, or other damage. We check the muffler, tire pressure, wheels, lights, doors, windows, and mirrors. Our next procedure involves an under-the-hood inspection. We check the oil, radiator, and all fluids. The battery connections, drive belt, hoses and wires are inspected. We start the engine to ensure gauges, wipers, horns, defroster, emergency brakes, steering, lifts, and back-up beepers are in perfect condition. At the end of our complete inspection we ensure that the fire extinguisher and first aid kit are full and included. The seat belt cutter, reflectors, seatbelts and handrails are examined for security and condition. All repairs are made before our trucks leave MacFarlane Pheasants. The Maintenance Department is responsible for making sure we are compliant with all state and federal guidelines. This is a very important component for ensuring that deliveries leave and arrive on time! Read More »

A few weeks ago, we updated you about the 76 new flight pens we built on a new property we purchased. We are happy to say that our pens are currently full of our birds for the upcoming mature pheasant season. Hatchery Plans Ronnie Viljoen, our Hatchery Manager, reported that we have been planning for months to expand and modernize our hatchery with new technology because the demand for day-old chicks is very high. We have identified our new incubators. They are the Jamesway Platinum 3 Incubators. These incubators use intelligent software, conserve energy, increase efficiency in hatch rates, and are less labor intensive! We will be the first in the pheasant industry to use these incubators, and with the extra hatching space we are planning, we expect to raise 100’s of thousands more chicks. Our Chick and Egg Sales Manager, Tassia Gonzalez, shared more powerful news for our customers. We will open the chick ordering system sometime in October this year, a month earlier than usual! We expect to have all breeds available and do not expect to need a waiting list because of our new and improved hatchery! Read More »

Did you know our pheasant chicks are shipped the same day they hatch? We started our chick shipments on March 14, 2023, and continued through August 15, 2023. This season, we shipped 1,809,632 chicks! It was an outstanding chick season for us at MacFarlane Pheasants, and we expect 2024 to be even busier. Our shipping success is one of the reasons why our customers keep returning to order chicks each year. Our pheasants are shipped by priority USPS mail in well-vented boxes, with fine wood wool and a grow gel that gives the chicks nutrients during shipping. Chicks do very well using this shipping method. Chicks can survive for three days without food and water because they get their nutrients from absorbing their yolk sacs. Customers also receive an extra 5% off their chick order to ensure that a complete order is received. Our chicks were shipped to all fifty states and Canada this year, which is typical. Chicks arrived at the post office selected by our customers within three days. We send a tracking number to the customers on the night the chicks are shipped so customers can prepare for new chicks. We provide rearing tips that customers can access on our website. We want everyone who purchases chicks from MacFarlane Pheasants to be prepared and satisfied, so don’t hesitate to email us with any questions. Read More »

Hatching pheasant eggs requires an incubation time of 23-25 days. The incubation time is affected by temperature, genetics, and management; these factors are considered the most important part of hatching in our hatchery department. There are two different processes to hatch poultry eggs – single-stage and multi-stage incubation. We use multi-stage incubation at MacFarlane, but both processes are effective. Read More »

Troy Cisewski, our Production Manager, oversees the three MacFarlane Pheasants’ farms in Missouri. They are all located within a 30-minute driving distance of each other. The primary purpose for having the Missouri farms is biosecurity. Multiple egg sources protect us if a disease occurs and other farms would need to be quarantined. Another safety measure we employ at the Missouri sites is to have designated employees at each location to eliminate cross-traffic contamination. The Missouri sites also free pen space in Janesville for our famous flight birds. Read More »

It is essential to order your chicks for spring and summer delivery soon to be sure that you get them for the 2022 season. Early ordering also makes it possible to get the specific breed and sex you want. Read More »

May is the busiest time during MacFarlane Pheasants’ chick season. Why, you might ask? Our customers are preparing for the fall season to either release birds into the wild or prepare for the upcoming hunting season. Read More »

The MacFarlane Pheasants Chick Catalog is ready to go! We sent an e-blast to customers who have ordered from us in the past, letting them know that we are ready to accept orders. Read More »