Raising partridges

[shirlthegirl43]

WOW, thanks for sharing. Best of luck with rearing them.

[julesapple]

Only just caught up with this thread.

They are beautiful! Keep us posted!

Jules

[RichmondHens]

Quick update - All 8 still doing fine and out and about with mum in the coop. Eating combo of crumb/dried mealworm plus as many live insects as I can gather. Not too flighty and still handleable at this stage. Mum has now learnt they don't cheep and is offering food ad lib. I'm quite impressed as this particular young bantam has not been a mum before to anything (I took a gamble putting her on the eggs in the first place) but seems to be ok so far.

[Bramble-Poultry]

well done. if you give me your address i will post you the bloody caterpillars i have just picked off me cabbages if that helps !!!

[MaureenHall]

Well done!! They're pretty little things aren't they

[Nicos]

Well done with the rescue- they look lovely- and congrats to adopted mom too- she's clearly doing a grand job with them!

[RichmondHens]

I think the caterpillars will die in transit Bramble, but thanks for the offer!! We have a fly zapper in the house which collects the dead ones in a tray underneath. Emptying that into the coop proved a success. I've also been gathering earwigs which I currently seem to have millions of living in corners of various cold frames, coops, hen houses etc which they love if they can catch them.

Looking up info on line earlier I read that apparently the red leg partridge (which we have) has a more advanced digestive system earlier on than the grey - can digest grass seed at 2 days as opposed to 10 days in the grey. So they make the change to a largely herbivorous diet much earlier, hence them being easier to raise than greys. I have housed mine in a moveable coop on a (now) freshly cut paddock so they can rummage for seed, which they seem to be doing.

Will try and post more pics soon.

[RichmondHens]

Thought I'd just let you know all 8 chicks now 10 days old and still doing fine. All growing and eating well. The diet of crumb plus mealworm seems to suit them. Am now giving them whole soaked mealworms instead of crushed, and they go wild for them! All developing wing feathers now. Have been spending some time trying to see which are male and which female, but no obvious differences yet.

Keep being given different opinions as to what I should do with them - keep and raise for meat or release into the countryside (to probably be shot as loads of shoots here in the winter). Can't make up my mind.

[di]

They are gorgeous RH.
Well Done with it...sounds like a lot of TLC!

If you can stay detatched enough,I'd say rear them for your own table,like you said in reality if you let them into the wild,someone else is only going to benefit from all your work!

[Hilary B]

Thought I'd just let you know all 8 chicks now 10 days old and still doing fine. All growing and eating well. The diet of crumb plus mealworm seems to suit them. Am now giving them whole soaked mealworms instead of crushed, and they go wild for them! All developing wing feathers now. Have been spending some time trying to see which are male and which female, but no obvious differences yet.

Keep being given different opinions as to what I should do with them - keep and raise for meat or release into the countryside (to probably be shot as loads of shoots here in the winter). Can't make up my mind.

If they stay tame (can't see why they wouldn't) why not simply treat them as very free-range poultry? Offer feed, but let them come and go as they wish. Odds are they will hang around (or the girls anyway) and rear another generation of semi-tame birdies. You may find they keep down insect pests too....

[Peebels]

Well done with your rescue and good luck with them. They are very very cute!

p

[Polly Fouracre]

Well done you!!!

[RichmondHens]

Well just thought I'd update you - 7 out of 8 escaped this morning! Having let them out into their coop as usual went back a little later only to find 7 of them outside and milling around. As soon as they saw me they took off into the skies! Right up over a mature apple tree and beyond, well away from the coop. Thought long and hard and then decided to let broody plus remaining chick out so they could find her if need be, but I have to say, at three and a half weeks I was impressed with the height they could get up to. Just hope they don't get eaten up although not overly confident they will make it - we shall see.

Just been out again and another chick has returned so now 2 with mum, and I can hear cheeping in the long grass, so maybe some more will come back. I had hoped to hang on to them for a bit longer - my fault really. I moved the coop onto fresh ground last night and obviously didn't get it completely level and they found a gap.

[di]

Sorry!
Hope more return.xx

[RichmondHens]

Thanks Di. Latest update is 5 are back with the hen (one caught by cat and released in my kitchen but seemingly none the worse). Hopefully they will last till tonight and follow hen back into coop when I can then shut them back up.