TRUMAN– The Martin County chapter of Pheasants Forever has partnered with Truman Public School’s FFA chapter and agriculture department to have students raise approximately 150 pheasants for the organization. Students will raise the pheasants from chicks to maturity at which point they will be given to Pheasants Forever, a nonprofit focused on habitat conservation, and area trap teams.

The initiative is spearheaded by Tiffany Gamache, Truman’s FFA advisor and high school agriculture teacher as well as Thea Nutt, a Truman paraprofessional and Martin County Pheasants Forever’s educational chairman.

This partnership will be something new for both Truman Schools and Pheasants Forever and will pose some unique challenges for teachers and students. For example, while these pheasants will be raised by humans, they are not domesticated and will require different accommodations compared to other animals. Both instructors will also need to quickly familiarize themselves with pheasants and their care requirements.

“At some point in there we’re going to put (blinders) on them because apparently pheasants are very cannibalistic, which I learned recently,” said Gamache.

However this partnership will also give Truman students free access to a large quantity of animals and allow students interested in animal husbandry a chance to experiment with the field while not requiring access to special facilities outside of school.

Before the pheasants arrive, Truman students in wildlife classes will learn the basics about caring for the animals and construct a specialized outdoor habitat to house the birds. All of the pheasants will be kept on school property from the time they are delivered through the end of the summer.

When the birds arrive they’ll be raised indoors until adolescence.

“It’s kind of like raising chicken chicks so when they’re little it’s making sure they’re getting the correct food, heat and letting them grow to a size (where) they’re okay to go on their own,” said Gamache.

Once the chicks are five weeks old they will be transferred to the student-built flight pen outside of school which provides the pheasants with enough space and resources to acclimate to life outdoors.

“As they grow they can learn how to fly. It’s going to have a lot more of the resources they need like tall grass,” said Gamache.

After the pheasants get moved outside they’ll need special care for an initial adjustment period.

“From five to eight weeks you let them out during the day and you have to coop them up at night so they’re getting that exposure but they’re also still protected,”said Gamache.

Once the pheasants have been accustomed to the outdoors they will need less care.

“After that it’s feeding, watering and making sure they’re okay,” said Gamache.

When the school year ends in May the birds will be managed by a group of FFA students as a supervised agricultural experience (SAE). SAE projects allow students to learn through participating in a real world agricultural process and are required for FFA members.

“The two that I’ve talked to are really into hunting and wildlife so this is really up their alley. … (The benefits will) be the responsibility, they get the hours, learn how to feed and raise them and (get) experience,” said Gamache.

Once the pheasants have reached maturity in the fall they will be delivered to Pheasants Forever and trap teams. Both organizations will use the pheasants for live hunting events while Pheasants Forever also use them for mock hunts, biology instruction and other education programs.

If this year’s partnership succeeds it could pave the way for future partnerships with other Pheasants Forever chapters and local organizations.

“If this all works in our favor (Pheasants Forever is) definitely planning on pushing it out towards other states and other chapters,” said Nutt.

The program has also attracted an interest from other school agriculture programs.

“I think after we try it, it’s one of those things where other schools, if they want to try it, can come and see what we’re doing and learn from it,” said Gamache.