Foxes kill pheasant chicks??

Frankie B.

New member
I noted that outside of hunting outfitters who stock them, there are no pheasants in Florida. A little research uncovered that pheasants don't like to breed in the south. Or, could it be the absurd law that protects foxes from being killed. So the over abundance of the cute little foxes kill the chicks before they have a chance to grow up. Anyone else have any knowledge along these lines?
 
fox do eat eggs and chicks and anythinbg else they can get their teeth into BUT I doubt that is the reaso there aren't any phessents in FL.
 
Habitat is everything for pheasants. I'm betting there aren't a lot of corn fields surrounded by prairie grass in FL. Most of the areas that have good populations are also on the same latitude as where pheasants originate from.

There are plenty of fox in SD(at least there were at one time) along with coons and skunks. They just need the proper cover and food to stay ahead of the predators.

Tim
 
Most of the south is all wrong, environmentally speaking, for pheasants. As is most of New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Look at the native habitat of these birds. Pheasants are native to the moderately high elevation grasslands of Asia. They originally hail from countries like China, Mongolia, parts of Russia and other former Soviet Republics like Kazakhastan, Korea, and Japan. They live in temperate climates, which are not extremely hot and not extremely cold for long periods of time. The first pheasants appeared in the US in the late mid-1800's and were first introduced to the river valleys of Oregon. They spread east from there.

Foxes, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, Crows, magpies, ravens, as well as raptors all do a number on pheasant nests and brood numbers. But given the right climate with the right amounts of feed and cover, in proximity to water and hide/roosting cover, they do alright. The betterthe cover, the more successful they are at avoiding the predators.
 
Pheasants can live in Florida, but more that likely they cant reproduce successfully. It is the same in VA, i know a lot of people that have let them go, and NEVER seen a single one with a nest anywhere. Sometimes they will produce some eggs and even hatch them, but the weather out here sucks real bad, and it changes too much for the chicks to adapt. That is the most important part. They have to adapt before the will be able to survive! Ive done some research on pheasants and wanted to raise some, then breed them until i have about 1000 and then let them go and put bands and such, to see if they are actually reproducing or not.

andrew
 
OK guys! I'm convinced that the south ain't a good place for pheasants to proliferate. When I lived in NY there was always a pheasant to be had in the oven. The cornfields of Long Island fed them and they were the tastiest sweetest birds one could eat. Beat turkey anyday. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 


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