What age for their first flight?

At what age can pheasant chicks fly?

Like most other gamebirds, pheasant chicks can make their first fluttering flight at anything from 10 to 12 days. As anyone who has reared gamebirds will know, the initial feathers to develop are those on the wings. The mortality rate for gamebird chicks is high, which is why these birds produce such large broods, and the chicks are especially vulnerable before they can fly. Of course they are still at risk from predators when able to fly, but being able to flutter, even a short distance, can be the difference between life and death.

Gamebirds chicks are what are called precocial and nidifugous. The former indicates that they can run and even feed themselves as soon as they have hatched, while the latter means that they leave the nest soon after they have hatched. Waders and wildfowl all come into the same category, though there is less urgency for ducklings to be able to fly as living on water gives them some protection. Woodcock chicks, like pheasants, can fly at around 12 days. The only birds that can fly on the day they hatch are certain species of megapodes, birds from tropical Asia and Australasia that lay their eggs in mounds.

The chick never has any contact with their parents.

Pheasant chicks can make their first flight at around 10 to 12 days old