New "Bird" on the Block - Kansas Thunder

 Brad Lillie - [email protected]

At MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. we strive to be the most progressive and innovative pheasant farm in the world. Our success in market birds throughout the world has been tied to our unique genetics. In the past we have been able to import wild pheasants from China to produce our Manchurian Cross, the wildest pheasant being sold on the market. And we continue to work diligently to maintain and improve our current pheasant stocks. 

But as you know the world around us is constantly changing, and customer’s preferences certainly are no different. It’s not surprising that we’ve seen some shift in the pheasant industry toward smaller bodied birds. As anyone who raises pheasants would know, the cost of feed has risen dramatically over the last few years. 

Being a connoisseur of fine pheasant genetics we began evaluating our options to respond to the specific needs of our customers. We were lucky to have worked with Thundering Wings Pheasant Farm of Kansas in the past. Larry Weber is the owner and has been breeding pheasants for greater than 20 years. His bird, the Kansas Thunder, is the best Kansas type pheasant we’ve evaluated. A small uniform sized bird with explosive flight characteristics combined with good livability and demeanor. Feedback from Europe was also very positive. 

In the spring of 2011 we began discussing with Larry about providing MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. with breeding stock to produce the Kansas Thunder pheasants. In May of 2011 I was able to visit Thundering Wings to finalize the agreement for MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. to become the distributor of Kansas Thunder pheasants. Shortly after primary breeder stock eggs were placed in our incubators that will produce our 2012 Kansas Thunder breeder flock. As part of our agreement Thundering Wings will continually provide us with new primary breeding stock on a yearly basis. 

In the spring of 2012 we will begin selling Kansas Thunder chicks, and we will have mature Kansas Thunder available for the fall of 2012. We are very excited to have access to such a unique bird. A very special thanks goes to Larry Weber of Thundering Wings Pheasant Farm. We look forward to providing his breeding excellence to our customers in the years to come.