Raising pheasants is considered a rather complex process. In order for birds to develop normally and not get sick, they need a balanced diet. To do this, you should include a sufficient amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in your diet. The diet should also contain vitamins and minerals. You can make food yourself or buy it ready-made. So, what is the best way to feed pheasants at home?
What can you give?
When preparing a diet for pheasants, you should adhere to the following rules:
- Make your diet balanced. Pheasants need to receive vitamins and minerals every day.
- Food should be close to natural food. It is important that it does not provoke digestive problems. Under natural conditions, the pheasant feeds on cereals and grass seeds. The diet also contains protein foods.
- It is important to control a certain amount of feed. At the same time, birds should not starve or overeat.
- Feed the birds at the same time of day - about 2-3 times a day.
- In winter, the amount of food should be reduced, since the birds move little. The breeding season begins in summer. Therefore, the diet should be more high in calories.
The following is usually used to feed pheasants:
- cereals - corn, wheat, peas, barley;
- compound feed;
- animal feed – cottage cheese, crushed insects;
- food waste;
- juicy types of food - these include chopped vegetables and herbs.
What to feed pheasants at home
Feeding pheasants has certain characteristics. Nutrition is determined by age and characteristics of the content.
Nutrition of an adult bird
Adult birds need a balanced diet. At the same time, food should be introduced into the menu gradually to avoid damage to the delicate digestive organs. A minimum of 3 feedings per day is recommended. In this case, one of them should include wet food, and the other two should include mixed feed or mash.
When calculating the amount of food, you need to take into account that after eating the container should remain completely empty. On average, pheasants eat at least 70 grams of feed. It is recommended to feed adult birds the following types of products:
- boiled potatoes;
- carrot;
- fresh herbs;
- legumes;
- cabbage;
- wheat;
- oats;
- pumpkin.
You should definitely use vitamin-mineral complexes and protein sources. It is worth including chalk, limestone, and shell rock in the diet of birds. Animal supplements used include cottage cheese and bone meal. Birds also require fish oil.
Feeding pheasants
It is recommended to feed small chickens from the first day of life. Before the first meal, they need to be given some warm boiled water. In the first days, the chicks eat very often. Therefore, day-old birds need to be fed at intervals of 2 hours.
It is recommended to give chicks chopped greens mixed with boiled eggs. Subsequently, small mealworms can be introduced into the menu.
At first, instead of water, you should use yogurt. This will help provide the chicks with the required substances. To teach birds to eat, you need to pour food into feeders and tap it with your finger. For up to 1 month, chicks can eat small insects, non-acidic cottage cheese, and chopped vegetables. Approximately 30% of the total feed should be fresh grass. After 1 month, the birds should be switched to feeding on adult pheasants.
In this case, it is recommended to feed the birds with mixtures that contain cereals and animal feed. It is worth including millet and oatmeal in cereal mixtures. It is also acceptable to give birds corn and peas.
Features of nutrition in winter
In winter, birds should be fed more often than in summer. It is recommended to do this at intervals of 6-7 hours. By the arrival of winter, you should gradually reduce the amount of greenery - to 7-10 grams per bird. In this case, the total volume of food should be at least 70 grams.
To facilitate the molting process, it is permissible to replace part of the food with animal protein - bone meal, cottage cheese or fish oil.
The basis of nutrition should be foods that contain a lot of proteins.These include all kinds of cereals, legumes, and corn. It is important to introduce sufficient amounts of minerals into the diet. To do this, it is worth giving the birds chalk, shells, and limestone.
What not to give
Pheasants are prohibited from feeding the following foods:
- millet;
- large pumpkin or sunflower seeds;
- fried foods;
- too salty food;
- potato peel;
- overly wet mash.
Feeding pheasants has certain characteristics. The diet of birds depends on age and conditions of detention. To raise birds effectively, it is important to provide them with a balanced diet.
