do you leave blinders on breeding pheasants

[willowtreelabs]

I am new to this forum and to breeding pheasants. I have raised pheasants and chukars from peeps for over 10 years. This year i decided to try my hand breeding and then incubating the eggs. I have seperated the pheasants at a 1 to 9 ratio in smaller pens, Nomally they are in flight pens. I put blinders or peepers on all of my pheasants. The question is do i leave the blinders on in the breeding pens or should i remove them. Oh yeah the breeding pens are all inside with some natural light but mostly artifical light.

[greyghost]

I do not put peepers on my breeders. Your breeders should be together months before they start to mate though. In my experience if you mate birds and then add another, the original hen will kill the newcomer. Ghost.

[willowtreelabs]

Thank you ghost. That is the response that seemed most logical to me. The breeders have been seperated in the new pens since the new year.

[jimmurray3]

Willowtreelabs, If you just have 1 rooster and 8 hens in a pen by them selfs I wouold not even put blinders on them. But if you have more than 1 rooster in the same pen then I would use the blinders.  Jim

[willowtreelabs]

Thank you guys. I have one other question. I have some birds that are still in my flight pen. Probably 25 hens and 15 males should i leave the blinders on them, should i take off the blinders from the females, or should i take all of the blinders off of the birds. The pen is 50' x 150'. I really don't need them for the eggs however the more fertile eggs i get the more i can sell after they hatch if i have extras.

[greyghost]

Willow, you are beyond my expertise on this one. Although my experience tells me that peepers do NOT interfere with breeding. If the lights are off, do you have a problem? Exactly! I wuold wait until the hens start laying, incubate for ten days, then candle. Ghost.
Then let us all know.

[bugflipper]

I leave the blinders on the males and females. In my experience it keeps them digging less ( or chewing up the floor wire for my breeders). I also beak trim them as well. I always heard if the problem starts it can ruin you. I just nip it in the bud before it started.