Me and My Son
We are Roman O & Roman A Kmicikewycz, father and son, a tag team of sorts because when one of us is better at something we switch and the other one takes over. I guess it all started with the first time I saw an "ornamental" pheasant in person many years ago. I went to visit a friends house Richard Coffing (who was also my mentor) in search of Peafowl , saw his Goldens and became hooked immediately. From there, my love of the different pheasant species in general grew to the point that by the time my son was born two years later I had acquired 6 more species, one of which was on the endangered species list at that time.
We live just outside of Peru Indiana, where we raise all our birds. I am of course Roman senior, the clever one...lol. Our love of gamebirds has given us a very close and wonderful relationship. He started helping me feed, water and care for the birds when he was about 3 and went with me to every swap. He was and is always a joy to have around and very much the little helper. He saw his first eggs hatch at around this time, but didn't experience the actual joy of knowing what was happening until he was 5. When he was around 7 he was helping feed and got attacked by a Reeves male and wouldn't go into their pen for another year or so. The attack did no harm, but I laughed till I cried! By the time he was 10, he was helping me make decisions and kept track of what kind of birds to acquire and the bloodlines. We had by then acquired the more exotic and more of the endangered species.
Now he is a grown man and is instrumental in helping me to put this web page together. Although if we had known all the man hours it would take to get it up and running I'm not sure we would have tackled it in the beginning. My son Roman will graduate from Purdue University in May 2003 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. I'm immensely proud of him and all he has achieved, as any father would be. At this time we are two bachelors sharing a pad and a hobby we both love. It is and has worked out well. We are very proud of our farm and what we have achieved, it has taken a lot of work and many years to get it to where it is today, but we are still learning. Putting this web page together has brought us into contact with some wonderful people, both in and out of the bird industry. In conclusion I would like to thank everyone who has visited our web page, our aviary, and for every friend we have made. We remain yours truly.
Updated 12/3/2004
A lot has transpired over the last few years since this page has been added to both the birds and our lives. My eldest daughter is getting married in less than a month and who knows; maybe I will be teaching and preparing another aviculturist sometime soon. My son has graduated from Purdue with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and has decided to get an Associate degree in Electronics. Seems to me that he has become a professional student, but I know this will make him better eligible for a job in his chosen field. Though I must say his interest in birds has not changed at all, I have slowed up some due to health reasons while on the other hand he has once again picked up my slack and taken over care and maintenance duties. As to the birds, this year went well except for both the Ijima and the Scintillating Copper pheasants that had no fertility whatsoever. I attribute that to the weather early in the season as we did well with them the precious seasons. We are adding another pair of Ijima's and hope the weather will be more agreeable for this coming breeding season.... These birds truly need help and both my son and I agree that conservation of this species is very important. We have eliminated some pairs of breeders and no longer will keep three of each species, but will stick with two pairs of each to be able to sell unrelated breeders. We like having empty pens all winter, letting them grow wild in the summer with weeds, brush and wheat and oats we plant... This reconstitutes the soil and the birds can forage on the vast choices of greens and seeds. This is the second season of this policy and eight breeder pairs were introduced into new quarters this fall while their old pens lay dormant in winter and refresh themselves this next summer. Not to make this update seem drawn out I close once again.
Update Dec 2006
A few years have passed since I added anything to this page so I just wanted to bring all my friends up to date. My son has gotten a wonderful job and travels throughout the US visiting many states and cities. He has visited aviaries at various locations and met face to face with internet associates and friends. I also became a grandfather this year for the first time and found out that next year there will be another grandchild. Now I will have a chance to teach Vaughn and his sibling the wonders of keeping pheasants and the beauty of nature that surround us. This is something I have missed doing since my own children have grown into adults... I have also retired this year, but plan on raising pheasants as long as possible. Though the amount of pheasants will be considerably fewer than in past years. I would much rather raise a quality parent raised pheasant and stay away from becoming a pheasant mill turning them out in large amounts with very substandard care. The care is the secret to raising these exotic birds, but anyone can accomplish this by way of love, good feed, and housing...
Respectfully,
Roman O & Roman A Kmicikewycz
