Dark Nepalese Pheasant

The Nepalese pheasant got its name from its natural habitat, which is the mountainous regions of Nepal up to an altitude of 3,600 meters. Its size is about 65 cm. In captivity it is not rare; however, it is less widespread than, for example, the Golden, Lady Amherst’s (Diamond), and Silver pheasants. It is also affordably priced.

I photographed Nepalese pheasants and discussed their breeding with a successful breeder of several pheasant species, Štefan Šulák. He has long been an admirer of these birds and is a member of the Slovak Union of Breeders as well as the Club of Breeders of Pheasants, Doves, Ornamental Waterfowl, and Softbills. He regularly exhibits his home-bred birds at the national animal exhibitions in Nitra and Trenčianske Turné.

Like other pheasant species, he keeps Nepalese pheasants in aviaries measuring 2.5 m wide, 2.5 m high, and 4 m deep. The floor consists of soil with a layer of fine gravel. The entire aviary is roofed to keep it dry. Our climatic conditions suit Nepalese pheasants well, as our winters are considerably milder than those in their natural habitat. All kept specimens come from domestic breeding. The young birds acquire adult plumage in their first year, so pairs can be formed from young birds already in autumn. They reach sexual maturity and are capable of breeding the following year. According to Š. Šulák’s experience, they can be kept not only in pairs but also in groups, with two to three females per male.

In western Slovakia, the mating season begins in early to mid-March, and egg-laying starts by the end of March at the latest. The hen lays 8 to 12 brownish eggs on the ground, in a shallow depression under a shrub lined with leaves, or in a nook created from conifer branches, such as used Christmas trees—though sometimes she lays fewer, even only two. The incubation period is 25 days. The breeder places the eggs under broody bantam hens. After hatching, the hen is kept in a separate box and cares for the chicks until they are feathered. Sometimes the broody hen starts laying again and sits on infertile eggs, while the pheasant chicks try to hide under her at night. It looks comical, as only their heads fit under the hen and the rest of their bodies remain outside.

Some breeders use only incubators, because when a broody hen is needed, no bantam hen may be brooding. An incubator for pheasants is set to 38.5°C, and the temperature may drop to 37.5°C. If the temperature is correct, the chicks begin to hatch after 25–26 days of incubation and emerge within 24 hours from the start of pipping. In the shell of a healthy hatched chick, there is no residue of egg white or blood. Sometimes a chick makes a small hole in the shell and its beak gets stuck, preventing it from completing the circular cracking necessary to leave the shell. In such cases, the breeder must assist the chick, otherwise it would die inside the egg.

The incubator should have a hygrometer to monitor the required humidity. Nowadays this is not a problem, as specialized companies supply incubators equipped with everything necessary. At the beginning of incubation, relative humidity should range between 40–50%; before hatching, it should be increased to 60–65%. In simple tabletop incubators, a shallow metal or plastic container with water is used to create and maintain the required humidity.

After hatching and drying, the chicks are placed under an electric brooder. With a small number of chicks, breeders use ceramic heat lamps; sometimes even a regular light bulb is sufficient to heat a larger box with 5–7 chicks to 32°C. As the chicks grow feathers, they are given more space and use the artificial brooder at a distance that provides the most suitable temperature. At 10 weeks of age, they can be moved to an outdoor covered aviary.

The chicks are fed a pheasant starter feed, such as “Pheasant Mini,” for the first three to five weeks, later transitioning to complete feed mixtures according to age and breeding season. From the third day of age, the breeder adds grated carrot, grated apple, and finely chopped young green nettles to the loose feed or wheat meal. At 30 days of age, the birds are ringed with rings of 12 mm internal diameter.

Nepalese pheasants feed mainly on plant-based food. They are given green feed; in winter, dried nettles are added to a soft mash made of fruit and vegetables, along with halved onions twice a week, chopped garlic, wheat, and in late autumn, as preparation for winter, maize, maize meal, and some sunflower seeds.

An example of a traditional feeding regimen: during the resting period they receive wheat, barley, oats, yellow and red millet; from legumes, field peas, vetch, and broad beans; and red rowan berries. Root crops such as Jerusalem artichoke tubers, carrots, potatoes, fodder beet, and kohlrabi are also suitable, as well as apples. In early spring, sprouted wheat, barley, and oats are fed. Soft mash is prepared from maize meal with added breadcrumbs, boiled eggs, and vitamin and mineral supplements. Mealworm larvae are also suitable. Access to grit should be permanent. Besides this traditional method, complete pheasant feed mixtures—either mash or pellets, or a combination of both—are considered most suitable.