Since that time nearly all states have attempted to establish ringnecks. Pheasants were stocked in North Dakota in 1910. Private citizens, with help from the Game and Fish Department, continued stocking efforts until pheasants were well established in southeastern North Dakota. Wild pheasant populations are subject to extreme fluctuation due primarily to the fluctuating availability of suitable cover and the fluctuating severity of winter weather. North Dakota's first pheasant hunting season was in 1931.
Pheasants are seasonal breeders.
The roosters begin strutting and breeding displays when the days become longer, usually toward the end of March. Roosters will also fight one another to establish dominance. When raising them in confinement, it is a good idea to have no more than one rooster per eight hens, with ten hens per rooster optimum. Hens will begin laying eggs about the middle of April and continue into June. A single hen should provide about 15 fertile eggs if eggs are collected daily and the hens are not allowed to begin incubation of a nest.