Breeding
At New Zealand Game Birds our breeding pheasants are housed in outdoor, netted pens which contain natural cover of grass and shrubs enhanced by extra cut scrub for shade.
Each pen contains 30 hens and 4 cock birds. We run a closed breeding flock and these birds are selected and renewed annually.
Egg production begins in mid September and continues until the end of January.
In the wild the clutch size (ie number of eggs layed before the hen sits and incubates them) is around 12 eggs. The number of eggs which each hen lays in a season is greatly increased by frequently removing the eggs.
At New Zealand Game Birds we collect eggs twice daily during peak egg production. The eggs are stored for up to a week at 10-12°C.
