No records found for this page

Over the years we have had the pleasure of quite a number of quail, pheasant and partridge and even some Guinea Fowl. As always, they have brought their high points but have not been without problems, particularly at breeding time. However, they provide an attractive and engaging contrast to the busy lives of the fully-flighted birds and we have had some success in raising chicks. The Guinea Fowl were the first that we aquired but, attractive as they are, we had to pass them on to a farm as the noise that they made was becoming unbearable for our neighbours.

Feeding all of them is easy as they tuck into the millet etc from spilt finch food, finish up fallen fruit and battle for dropped mealworms as well eating insects and grass from the aviary floor. We suspect that the pheasant, like chickens which we have kept in the past, will eat small mice also - it is certainly rare to see a mouse even though conditions are fairly ideal for them.

It has never been possible to anticipate what will get on with what. There seem to be so many considerations such as when and how new stock is introduced, what bird is dominant at that time, what cock birds are ready to breed and so on. There have been times when a Bob White has been vocally dominant and all other ground birds have given way - equally, we have had some very placid pairs of Bob Whites.

In general, all birds are less anxious when in a pair or larger grouping. However, breeding time often requires that a cock bird or two is isolated for the sake of the community. Pheasant cocks can become very aggressive and protective of the mate, impacting on all other ground birds. Quail cocks are also separated on occasion to give the hens a break - they loose a lot of neck feathers to the cocks in the early spring and we watch to see that the hens are not being over-serviced.