[SamnElla]

Hi Folks
Does anyone know if a pheasant would attack a chicken if it gets too close to it's territory?
We live in a wood where lots of pheasants have been bred and at the moment they're very frisky and territorial  (National Cocker Spaniel Championships in the wood later this week)   
When I went out to give the girls their afternoon corn, four of the five hens had disappeared (they know what time to be back in the garden, they get their corn, then they go to bed).
After walking around the woods for about half an hour calling and rattling the corn container, one of the chooks virtually dragged herself out of the undergrowth with blood coming from different wounds (blood on her wing, tail, and chest) and went into the hen house.
By this time it was getting slightly dark and still no sign of the other three girls
Unfortunately, I had to go and pick up my partner from work, so made sure that the coop was shut with the one remaining hen, and the injured chicken inside, but left the door to the run open.
When we got back an hour later (only broke the speed limit a couple of times) all of the other hens had turned up safe and sound !
We have taken injured hen (known as Costly) into the house and cleaned her up a bit, she seems to have what feels like a puncture wound on her chest.
She has been eating mealworms, and is currently in a box in the bedroom (dark and quiet).
So once again, could this have been a pheasant, if so I'll keep the hens in the run until all the pheasants have been blasted out of the sky later in the week !
Can chickens suffer from shock ?
Also any other advice - I'm going to give her some anti-biotics in the morning
Sorry to ramble but I'm worried about my wee girl !
Thanks

[joyfull]

chickens can suffer from shock  , as for pheasant attack I'm not sure - we have pheasants near us but had no problems, however it might be worth keeping them in for a few days just in case.

[Junie]

Not sure about the pheasanrs either, but my Maran had an attack by what seemed to be a fox last year, we found here cowering under a box bush in the wood, she had cuts down one side of her back and the other the skin was actually ripped off by about an inch or so.  I cleaned up the wound, put on some non stinging iodine , but left her in the henhouse, separated but next to the other girls ( I did not want to bring her in as I was worried that would scare her more, but felt she would be better in familiar surroundings, but it was summer).  I went out early next morning expecting a dead bird, but she was fine, I let her out withthe other girls, kept on eye on her, but she slept on her own for a few nights.  She is still very skittish, and missing feathers down her side, but she survived the attack.

I Hoe she is fine in the morning and that you manage to get some sleep

[orchardlady]

I think it is extremely unlikely that a pheasant would make this kind of injury. We have a cock pheasant that 'comes in for the winter' and have never had a problem. In the past we have had two cockerels that one got into the others pen and fought each other to complete exhaustion. All the injuries were deep scratches and violent pecks to the head. Lot's of blood and swelling. So I really think you should be looking for a completely different predator. With all those pheasants around I feel quite sure a fox would have worked out they were there and if he came across your sweet natured domesticated bird it probably thought it's luck was in with easy pickings. It sounds as if your little hen had had a very close call. I do hope she recovers swiftly and is back to her usual self very soon.

OL

[8doubles]

More likely a fox ?
I have read of cock game pheasants killing cockerels belonging to a poultry collector but never hens.

There may have been gundogs about blanking in pheasant for the coming spaniel trials.

[SamnElla]

Thanks for the sympathy folks,
We are talking hundreds of pheasants (10 in the garden yesterday morning when I went to let the girls out ) not just one or two, they were bred in a pen a couple of hundred yards away from the house and are fed even closer, so for them this is home.
There are lots of pheasant fights going on daily over territory, and the area is heavily patrolled by gamekeepers (it's part of the Drumlanrig estate)
I think I will tell the gamekeeper about the incident tomorrow anyway, so if it is a fox I don't fancy it's chances!
The girls are petrified of the pheasants and quite often run into the coop when one appears
As long as she survives the night I think she'll be O.K
Thanks again

[orchardlady]

Hey Sam and Ella. My parents are over at Tynron..small world.

OL

[SamnElla]

Costly chicken update
She made it through the night, and I took her to the vets first thing this morning.
The vet can't be sure what made the wounds, it could be a dog/fox/pheasant, but nothing broken and the wounds aren't too deep
She's had anti-inflammatories,anti-biotics, and the good old purple spray(except our vet uses a turquoisey one)
She's back in with the other girls (who are safely locked in the run today) and besides looking a bit stiff when she walks, is happily pecking away at the pellets.
Thanks for all the kind wishes, this is the second time that we've had poorly chickens (Sam of Sam n Ella died) but it doesn't get any easier when you become attached to them.
Orchardlady - Tynron's about 5 miles away, it's a lovely wee place, We were up Tynron Doon for a walk just before Crimbo

[alancane]

When you said the gamekeeprs patrol the area, could it by any chance be one of his/her dogs and the dog was called back by the keeper? Hope she fully recovers?

[arugula]

It sounds very much like a fox to me. If there are that many pheasants around, this will most certainly attract foxes. The keepers dogs should also be very highly trained not to go for and/or damage birds.

[SamnElla]

There was shooting going on in the woods close to us sometime before it happened, I've still to make enquiries at the estate office to see who was shooting yesterday.
If it was a keepers dog I'm going to be a bit hacked off that no one came to see us, and they just kept quiet about it.
I suppose that I should be grateful that if it was a "trained" dog it didn't bite too hard.
Anyway, she seems to be fine now, she's laid her daily egg (if a little later than usual) and has gone off to bed with the other girls
Thanks all

[8doubles]

Chances are that the picker-up knows nothing about the event , even a soft mouthed dog would do some damage if the hen struggled. If the dog realized something was not quite right and released it in dense cover the handler would not see it happening.

Hope she mends ok.

[Chookiechook]

A cock pheasant would certainly damage a hen if it strayed into its territory.... not sure if it would go looking for trouble though

Hope costly makes a speedy recovery

[penninehillbilly]

We have pheasants around, they sneak quietly in and pinch a bit of hen feed, they are welcome to it, I like to see them. My cockerel chunters a bit but there is never any bother.
does the gamekeeper (or someone) have a jack russel running about? (come to think of it - unlikely)
Hope Costly is feeling better
And I've got to ask - Why the name Costly?

[hillfooter]

Pheasants are the commonest birds in our garden as they are bred in 10's  of thousands by a local farmer for shoots.  I often get them pinching food.  I've never known one attack a hen and if anything the hens and cockerels case them off.  I think is is more likely a dog given your cirrcumstances.

HF