Pip The Pheasant (Diva!)

The arrival of Pip was a complete surprise when the stable cat turned up one morning with a newly hatched pheasant chick, which she spat un-ceremoniously on the ground in front of me.  I was even more surprised when I saw that, not only was the chick still alive, but it was keen to try and get away.  Moving quickly, I grabbed her before the cat could, wrapped her up in some straw and hid her away from the somewhat disgruntled feline.  I didn’t expect her to survive the ordeal but we don’t give up here, so I took her home, set up the quail brooder with a heat plate especially made for raising chicks, put her in and gave her a little fluffy toy duck to snuggle up to, (she still has it!). 

As she dried off and warmed up, she started to peck at some chick crumb and move around a bit and after a couple of days, against all the odds, she was leaping about like nothing had ever happened.

She now lives a very non-conventional pheasant lifestyle, spending her days outdoors in one of our pens and the nights making a nuisance of herself in the craft room until she settles down to sleep on one of the shelves!

Pip kindly donates naturally moulted feathers to some of my craft work as a token of her appreciation. 

If you would like to know more about how it all began, the sheep and life on the farm and Pip, the book telling the story - To Some They’re Just Sheep - is available in the shop.