Red Golden Pheasants Pair
Red Golden Pheasants (Chrysolophus pictus) are among the most popular ornamental gamebirds. This color mutation of the wild type Golden Pheasant originates from the mountains of Western China. It is calm and hardy, one of the easiest pheasants to raise, and makes a wonderful first pheasant for beginners.
Description
Compared to the Golden Pheasant, the body, crest, and rump feathers of the Red Golden male (cock) are scarlet red instead of golden-yellow. The tail feathers make up about two-thirds of the male’s total body length. The golden cape feathers spectacularly expand to cover the male’s head during courtship.
The female (hen) is a more subdued mottled brown to better hide from predators while nesting. Hens are smaller than males and their tail is about half their total length. The chicks are similarly brownish to blend in better with the environment.
| Average | Male | Female |
| Weight | 1.38 lb | 1 lb |
| Length | 40 in | 27 in |
Habitat
The natural habitat of the Red Golden Pheasant is temperate old-growth forests with plentiful understory. The altitude of their moutainous home range is up to 10,000 feet, resulting in their extreme cold hardiness. They thrive during cold winter months, even with minimal shelter. However, they do need shade during hot summer months.
These pheasants require a predator-proof aviary with a minimum size of 150 square feet per pair. Although they are not strong flyers, they enjoy moving from perch to perch at various levels. They also like lots of shrubs and large rocks where they can explore or hide, especially while nesting.
Diet
The Red Golden Pheasant’s natural diet consists of berries, greens, seeds, grains, insects, and small inverebrates. In captivity they eat gamebird ration supplemented with leafy greens, dandelion leaves, and sprouted grains plus crushed oyster shell.
The chicks eat gamebird starter, transitioning to gamebird grower for juveniles. Clean fresh water should, of course be available at all times.
Temperament
Red Golden Pheasants are usually quite peaceful, although juveniles and territorial males may occasionally fight. Otherwise they have a calm, quiet nature and can easily be hand tamed given time and patience.
Lifespan
Red Golden pheasants are hardy, resilient birds that thrive under proper maintenance and preventive care. Their life expectancy in captivity is 15 to 20 years.
Breeding
Red Golden Pheasant hens usually begin laying by their first year and they easily breed in captivity. One male can breed with several females.
- Breeding season: April through June
- Clutch size: 8 – 12 eggs
- Egg color: cream or light brown
- Incubation period: 22 – 23 days
You might also like Ornamental Pheasant Chicks or Mature Pheasant Pairs offered by Cackle Hatchery®.
We can not ship grown fowl to Minnesota.
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