Pheasant Fact Friday!💡
When cleaning the pheasant you just shot, you may notice a few ectoparasites (external parasites). Four species of mites and six lice species like pheasants. Mites can average over 100 per bird, with numbers decreasing from June to September. They are not really harmful to the bird as they feed only on the feathers. Where bare soil can be found, pheasants often dust themselves to keep lice and mites at bay. Three kinds of endoparasites (internal parasites) frequent most pheasants. These helminths (wormlike) are cecal worms, tapeworms, and intestinal nematodes (long, thin worms).Over one third of the birds will have a resident population of these worms. Such worms do not significantly contribute to losses of wild pheasants. With confined birds though, they can reach such numbers as to seriously affect the birds’ health. As with all harvested game animals, the rule is to clean, wash, and cook the bird well.
#pheasantsforever #pheasants #pheasanthunting #pheasantfactfriday.
