Pheasant.com Blog

We are in the process of making plans to expand our hatchery because the demand for day-old pheasant chicks is very high. Months before we place the eggs in the brooders, we find that MacFarlane Pheasants’ orders have surpassed the eggs we are hatching! So, we are discussing what our hatchery would need to look like so we can increase production and modernize our facility at the same time. Our staff in Mo can raise more breeding hens, allowing us to fill the expanded hatchery with more eggs. We also intend to continue growing our dressed business, so we need space to hatch more white chicks. We hope to complete the expansion during the winter and spring of 2024. Read More »

MacFarlane Pheasants Inc. raises nearly two million chicks each year. We produce a wide range of chicks, including Hungarian Partridges, Red Leg Partridges, Kansas Ringneck, Manchurian Redneck Cross, Melanistic Mutants, Chinese Rednecks, the Extra Large Ringneck, and our White Meat Pheasants. Many of our chicks stay on the farm and are raised to maturity by the brooder department, but many other day-old chicks are shipped to our customers. Our hatchery employees pride themselves on providing high quality chicks through meticulous care of our eggs and facility. There are consistent guidelines in place for cleanliness and efficacy at the hatchery. The policies guarantee that healthy chicks are shipped to customers on time and in good health. We sanitize the entire hatchery weekly. Culture plates from each hatcher are incubated to check for bacteria. Since we do not vaccinate our chicks, it is of utmost importance that the chicks are not exposed to bacteria or diseases before they start their lives! Read More »

Moisture and temperature are the main issues that can slow down our hatches and affect our chick hatching. As we go into the winter season, the hatchery crew performs various tasks that keep weather-related issues to a minimum. Read More »

Keagan Strange, MacFarlane’s Hatchery Manager, typically starts his day arriving at the hatchery between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. 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 »

There’s always a lot of activity outside at MacFarlane’s. The pheasant pens are full now that the weather has evened out, there’s always something that needs to be mowed and it just seems people and birds just do a lot more moving around at the start of the summer. Read More »