Depending on the time of year, the consumption of nutrients in the pheasant’s body varies, and therefore the bird needs a different diet in winter and summer, although it should be varied and balanced. Excess or lack of at least one nutrient leads to metabolic disorders in the body of the bird. So, at any time of the year, you need to pay attention to the question: “what do pheasants eat”.
Basic rules
Adult birds are given food 2-3 times a day. Grain crops should be present in the diet to a greater extent — this is wheat, oats, barley, crushed corn. Pheasants also enjoy eating seeds and grass in the warm season.
The feeding place and the place where do pheasants sleep should be different. In the wild, the bird spends the night in trees, and with the appearance of the first rays they move to feeding places or feeders.
Compound feed
You can feed pheasants and mixed feed. But since it is quite expensive in the UK, it is more expedient to make a mix of mixed feed and grain. In order for pheasants to grow well, it is better to use compound feed for turkeys or broilers.
If what do pheasants eat is compound feed, then one bird per day needs about 75-110 g. With the onset of autumn until spring, the feed rate decreases slightly — 75 g per day is enough for one bird. But at this time, pheasants are fed with minced meat, cottage cheese, sometimes they are given root vegetables, sprouted oats. At the end of January, birds are preparing for reproduction, pheasant nesting in garden, then one individual is given 85 g of compound feed and mineral fertilizing in the form of chalk and shells, as well as boiled potatoes and carrots.
In March, feeding rates are still increasing — each individual needs 110 g of compound feed, 3 g of chalk and 5 g of vegetable oil per day.
How to save on compound feed
To save on compound feed, you can make food for pheasants from:
- compound feed;
- wheat grains;
- millet;
- barley;
- peas, other crushed legumes;
- insects;
- vegetables;
- greenery;
- fish oil.
You can introduce berries, chalk, vegetable oil into the diet of pheasants. In winter, 2 g of ascorbic acid is added to 0.5 kg of feed. During this period, pheasants shed. Therefore, they need to provide limestone, chalk, shells. These additives will also make the eggshells harder.