Buffalo, NY – Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard announces his plans for an Inmate Pheasant Brooding program and housing facilities have been approved by the New York State Commission of Corrections.

The sheriff’s plan was hatched over the winter months and discussions with the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) began for implementation of the brooding program at the Erie County Correctional Facility by this spring.

The DEC will provide 1,000 day-old pheasant chicks and caretaker guidelines for the program.  Select inmates from the Service Action Corps will be responsible for all aspects of care of the pheasant for the day of delivery to the date of release.  Inmate participants will receive a certificate upon their release which will acknowledge their service to the program and assist them with their re-entry into the community.

Using revenue from the Inmate Commissary Fund, the county will build a brooding house and two large, covered flight pens within the secure perimeter of the correctional facility.

The brooding process is approximately 22-weeks long and the chicks will receive supervised care designed specifically for pheasants.  Once the pheasants are mature enough to fly, the sheriff’s office and the DEC will coordinate the timing and location of the pheasants’ release estimated in early October.

The Pheasant Brooding Program adds to the sheriff’s growing list of innovative inmate rehabilitative and vocational programs that include the Inmate Horticultural Program, wreath making, Urban Gardening, and the community-minded Service Action Corps.

The pheasant chicks are expected to be delivered the first week of May.