Incubation of pheasant eggs: mode and table of indicators at home

Pheasant breeding is a profitable business. The meat of these birds is sold well in cafes and restaurants, dishes from them are an excellent treat for friends and family members. When pheasant eggs are incubated, the survival rate of hatched chicks and their number increases greatly, rapidly increasing the number of birds on the farm. The final result depends on the knowledge of the intricacies of this process.

Pros and cons of incubation

Pheasants are rarely kept in private backyards, but there are farms that breed these birds. Pheasant females have a poorly expressed brooding instinct, they abandon their nests, so a pheasant hatchery is the best solution.

Pros and consthe opportunity to get the first generation of birds from fertilized eggs, which significantly reduces the cost of breeding;a large number of eggs are laid in the incubator, it becomes possible to sell the chicks;during incubation, high productivity is ensured, because pheasant females hatch hardly 1/3 of the eggs laid.high costs at the initial stage of breeding birds;to get he althy, strong chicks, knowledge and experience are needed;the timing of incubation depends on the type of birds, often they can only be determined experimentally.

Before laying in the incubator, eggs are sorted by size, they can be stored in a cool room for up to 2 weeks, after this period, the likelihood of chicks is noticeably reduced.

Selection and storage

Pheasant eggs are gray or greenish, they are smaller than chicken eggs. When selecting, you should pay attention to their size and shape. For incubation, large specimens of the correct shape are selected, without growths and cracks in the shell.

Important: it is better to choose gray eggs for laying, as chicks hatch much more often.

Store the selected incubation material in the dark, at a temperature of +5 to +12 °C. It is laid vertically, up with a blunt end. If eggs are to be stored for more than 3 days before incubation, they should be turned daily to prevent the yolk from sticking to the shell. These eggs will not hatch.

The room should have good ventilation and humidity of 60-70%. Before laying, the eggs are calibrated, the smaller ones are laid separately - the chicks hatched from such eggs are smaller and weaker than the rest of the population and require special attention, but quickly catch up with their brethren.

Disinfection and cleansing of dirt

Heavily soiled eggs are cleaned with a soft brush. Washing them is not recommended. To prevent infection during incubation, all selected specimens are disinfected. They are placed for 3 minutes in a warm solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate), the temperature of the solution is +30 ° C. After that, the eggs must be pulled out of the solution and dried without wiping.

It is necessary to clean and disinfect the incubation material 1-2 hours after collection. Eggs should be kept clean. When cleaning and disinfecting, be aware that pheasant eggs have a more fragile shell than chicken.

Bookmarking the incubator at home

You don't need a special incubator to breed pheasants. A variant of the system with which chickens, quails, and other poultry were bred is quite suitable. The incubator must be clean, it is turned on in advance to warm up, a day before laying the material. Eggs are kept in the incubator for 4-5 weeks.

Before laying, they are viewed with an ovoscope. The device allows you to select eggs without flaws (displaced air chamber, foreign inclusions). In fertilized specimens, a darker spot is clearly visible - the embryo.

The second ovoscope test is carried out on the 7-8th day after laying in the incubator. The embryo should enlarge and begin to move, specimens in which movement does not occur are discarded.

Pheasant Egg Incubation Chart

In order for chicks to hatch from eggs, a certain temperature and humidity are necessary, at each stage of incubation and a special regime. Changing the parameters leads to the death of the embryo. Chicks hatch for 25-30 days, depending on the type of pheasants. Set temperature

Humidity Number of turns per dayVentilation Each 6 hours Every 4-6 hours 15-21 days37.860-65% 1-2 times a day 37.575-80 % - -

		1-7 days	37.8	60-65%
No production		8-14 days	37, 8	60-65 %
No production				After 4-6 hours
	22-24 days

Turn eggs from day 3 to day 18 of incubation. The babies hatch together, after being born they are briefly left in the incubation chamber, allowing to dry.

Further care of pheasants

After the chicks are completely dry, they should be fed and watered. This is done 6-12 hours after birth. Chicks are helpless, they do not know how to feed and drink on their own. To teach the chicks to eat, lightly tap on the food container; to drink, lower their beak into the drinker. Before the first feeding, the chicks are given boiled water. To improve appetite and protect against infections, pheasants are fed with a solution of glucose and biomycin. 10-15 grams of 40% glucose and 0.25 grams of biomycin are added per liter of water.

In the early days, birds are not limited in food. The first 2 weeks of life, the chicks are fed every 2 hours during the day. At night, 2 feedings are enough, while the chicks are left with more food. From 3 weeks to 2 months - 6-7 times a day, up to 3 months - 4-5 times a day. After the age of three months, the chicks are transferred to 3 meals a day, like adult birds.

On the 1st day, babies are given a finely chopped, hard-boiled chicken egg and a little nettle, the next day, ant larvae and mealworm larvae are introduced into the diet, then the food is diversified with green onion feathers. From day 15, pheasants are fed with refined crushed grain, once a week they are given boiled finely chopped meat. From the same age, s alt, chalk, bone meal are introduced into the diet.

After 1.5 months the grain is not crushed.The diet of birds should include corn, millet, wheat, oats. Additionally, vitamin complexes and fodder yeast are introduced into the diet. Babies should have strong legs, clear eyes and clean down. He althy chicks are active and curious, they intensively turn their heads, squeak. Young animals are transferred to enclosures after 35-40 days.

What problems might you encounter

Eggs for incubation should be bought in specialized farms, when buying, breeders advise beginners, they can be contacted with doubts and questions about the content. For drinking, it is better for pheasants to install nipple drinkers so that the babies cannot get wet.

Nimble and shy baby pheasants begin to fly after 2-3 weeks of life. The aviary for chicks must be covered from above so that they do not scatter.

Quality nutrition and keeping birds allows you to quickly form a breeding stock and start making money on their breeding.Pheasants are easy to keep, they are not susceptible to most bird diseases. Birds naturally have strong immunity, in Chinese medicine, pheasant meat is considered healing, it is used to recuperate after serious illnesses, it is recommended for people with cancer. Males are often bought as ornamental birds due to their bright plumage. That is why the cost of breeding and keeping birds quickly pays off.

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