Pheasant Nesting

[naomi24]

We have a lovely lady pheasant sitting on eggs under a bush right beneath our kitchen window - and dad visiting occasionally. It's a busy area regularly frequented by our dogs, so why she decided to settle there is anyone's guess. We have plenty of land with much less busy spots. My husband speculates that her waters broke unexpectedly so she had no choice. A bit like a human giving birth in a taxi. :o)

Naturally, the area has been cordoned off - food and water provided, and no dogs allowed - but the question is when can we expect to see the babies trotting around?

[Frank97]

They should start to hatch at 23 days, so shortly after that.

[humbersloop]

do you intend to eat them?

[naomi24]

Thanks Frank. I'll keep a look-out. :o)

[Frank97]

And what a lovely thing to have outside your window, btw! :-)

[humbersloop]

it was a serious question

birds lay eggs, they don't have breaking waters, lovely though the thought might be

[Frank97]

Never tried a pheasant egg!

[naomi24]

Frank, it really is. My garden is a sanctuary for wildlife, which I tell myself is why we have so many pheasants here - they know they're not going to be shot! I have masses of trees and bushes but no formal, fancy, fussy, flower beds, and I never complain about the rabbits eating whatever they want, or the deer chewing the tree bark in the orchard, or the squirrels pinching the bird food, or the moles making little hills in the middle of a lawn - even when replacing relatively tiny patches has cost us up to £1000. On sunny mornings when everyone comes out for breakfast the bits of my garden that I can see from the back door is like Disneyland! Love it! I hope our little lady is comfortable. Can't wait to see the babies. :o)

[Frank97]

Sounds beautiful, Naomi. :-)

[naomi24]

It is, Frank. Thanks for your answers. Night. :o)

[wildwood]

As per Frank. I am jealous Naomi. Mind that the division is chick-proof, they can easily walk through 2" wire netting. Also, the water should be in a low dish as the chicks can easily drown. They can jump surprisingly high, even at 24 hours old. I guess at 14 days the hen would try to lure the young back to the woods so you need to be prepared for that - perhaps open it up at night when the dogs are shut up.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

We had 8 ladies and Mr Feziwick over the winter...fed daily with rich tea biscuits...and sometimes my ginger nuts!!!!.Most of the ladies have gone to ground to lay and we expect to see the chicks in about a month.

[KARL]

I once woke up at somewhere around 3-4 o'clock in the morning to a terrific racket. It was a blackbird couple screaming their heads off on our bedroom windowsill, their nest was (and is again this year) in a dense bush up against the wall. I walked up close to the window to see what was up. The birds kept looking at me and then intently out over the garden again. At first I was puzzled but then I saw a cat move at the far side of the garden. I watched it for a while and decided that, happily, it had probably not been to the nest (it was a bit uncertain of which way to go and possibly conscious of the protest) - eventually it walked off and the birds followed at a distance, always shouting.

There is plenty of evidence to the effect that birds and other creatures temporarily overcoming their dislike of close proximity of humans to rear their young very close to and even among people. One explanation for this is that they instinctively assume that no predator is going to approach this close to "the monsters" - security and protection courtesy of us whom they then do not really see as predators but temporarily useful (as "scarecrows" of sort).

You may never see the chicks, unless you see the early hatched ones because the entire family will walk off almost as soon as the last one is out of the egg.

[naomi24]

wildwood, the dogs can't get in, but the mother is not confined to that area - there are gaps that allow her to walk out into the rest of the garden where the trees and bushes are really dense - so when the babies hatch they can all trundle off at will.

karl, that's a thought.

[ladybirder]

How lovely, sounds like my idea of heaven. Fancy a very quiet lodger Naomi?

[naomi24]

Ha ha. You can pop in for tea any time you like, Ladybirder. :o)

[tamborine]

The dogs offer protection from foxes

[jim360]

Unfortunately the closest I have ever been to a pheasant was when it was dead at the roadside. How lovely to be able to see one alive, and nesting, so close. Enjoy.

[viv38]

Blimey Naomi where you live sounds like my idea of paradise. I wish I had a pheasant nest under my window. How lovely !

[ladybirder]

OK. I suppose I'll have to settle for that then Naomi, which would be lovely of course:-)
When I lived in the Yorkshire Dales, Pheasants were all around us, dead and alive. I used to wake up to the kwok kwok sound of them under my bedroom window. They are really stupid though - faced with an oncoming vehicle they will run under your wheels rather than retreat over the dry stone wall.

[naomi24]

viv, you're welcome to come to tea too. :o)

Ladybirder, they do seem to be away with the fairies! Took a quick peep at her earlier - all's well. I hope the foxes don't find her. At the moment we have a lot of baby rabbits finding their feet but I'm so looking forward to the patter of tiny pheasant feet - something I've never witnessed. :o)