Red Golden
The beautiful golden pheasant is a well known aviary bird, they are hardy and easy to keep, and are often the first pheasant a beginner acquires. They do not require a large aviary and can be kept with other bird species, such as waterfowl, doves, pigeons or peafowl. Goldens can be kept in pairs or in small groups consisting of one cock and two or three hens.
The wild form of the golden is often called the "red golden" in captivity. There are many different color mutations of this species, including the yellow golden, dark throat golden and cinnamon golden just to name a few
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This species is closely related to the Lady Amherst Pheasant, they will readily cross, so care should be taken to keep these species separate
Goldens breed easily in captivity. Males are often fertile their first year even though they do not aquire their full color until their second year. My birds prefer to nest in natural cover, a few cedar branches placed in a corner of their enclosure works well. Hens will lay a clutch of 6-10 eggs. Some hens will sit and hatch their own eggs.
Most of my eggs are collected and given to bantams to hatch. Incubation last about 24 days. The chics are easy to raise, and are not cared for much differently than my bantam chics.
This species does well in captivity, and is seen in many collections. These birds are hardy and get along with others in a mixed collection.
They can breed their first year, and nest on the ground in thick vegetation, some will except nest boxes.
Breeding season is in Spring ,and in my region starts in May. This is a species that we have had some success breeding in trios (1 male 2 females) Clutches consist of 6-10 cream-white eggs and are incubated for about 25 days. The ducklings are not difficult to rear, they grow quickly and can fly at about 8 weeks.
