I'm very happy to introduce you to my brand new baby - a Reeves pheasant chick. Though I may not be on my farm yet, I'm already starting to build a number of businesses that will transfer to the land when I eventually move. One of these is an ornamental pheasantry.
Ornamental pheasants have become very popular in the UK, from the more common Golden, Reeves and Silver pheasants to the very exotic Tragopans. Traditional farming no longer earns its keep, so small farms have to diversify and one of the ways I'd like to do this is in breeding and selling exotic pheasants.
A Rollercoaster Start
I have to admit, the start of my business hasn't been easy. I sourced a male Reeves (in fact it was from my new job role) and so set about finding a hen. After a few weeks I secured her and then, on the weekend I picked her up, my male at work was murdered by his dad!
It took about a month to find a replacement male and we took a 4-hour round-trip up to the Midlands to get him. The weather was grim and we probably spent more on petrol than the actual bird cost (£20) BUT we had him. Sadly, after another few weeks the HEN died. I think she might have been eggbound. So now I'm back to a single male again.
As luck would have it, the pair of birds at work began laying and I was all set to allow them to brood when...another drama...the male started eating the eggs! I managed to rescue one, popped it into the incubator and today it hatched!
The New Baby
It's such a sweet little thing and luckily, whatever sex it is, I'll keep it. Ideally I want two pairs of each pheasant species so I can supply unrelated hatching eggs and chicks to buyers. If this is a girl it'll go with the current cock bird. If it's a boy it'll be one half of another pair.
With 3 more reeves eggs in the incubator, two monal eggs and some silver pheasants, I hope they will be some more game birds joining it soon.
Thanks for reading,
Geoff
