THE INCUBATOR-BROODER METHOD OF RAISING GROUSE 473 



Then it is usually safe to shift to the winter maintenance ration previously detailed. Green 

 food is still relished. It is regularly supplied at the Center through the medium of small apple 

 limbs with leaves attached. Bunches of red or of alsike clover may also be made available, 

 although they wilt quickly. Water is, of course, necessary though the daily consumption of 

 it does not seem to vary much during hot weather. 



During this period the males lose their pugnaciousness and may be grouped together in 

 wintering units if desired. At the Center, both sexes are left in their breeding pens through- 

 out the summer and early fall as a precaution against the spread of disease, particularly 

 blackhead and ulcerative enteritis. The females, at low ebb in early summer seem to be 

 especially susceptible to the former and the loss of an occasional bird from this cause, even 

 on wire, is to be expected. Although the adults of both sexes are equally resistant to ulcera- 

 tive enteritis, chronic infections may cause the death of a few birds, especially during August 

 and September. Infected pens should be fly-proofed with cheesecloth as soon as the presence 

 of the disease is recognized. It is not necessary to remove the pen from close proximity to 

 others, though the birds therein should be fed and cared for. if possible, by an attendant who 

 does not have contact with the rest of the grouse. With the advent of cold weather, usually 

 by October 15, the danger of disease is largely passed. 



Grouse in captivity are apt to moult more irregularly than do wild birds. Smoother feather 

 development will result if a dusting box containing clean sand is included in the pqnipmcnl 

 of the pen. This is advisable only if the groups maintained together are small. Removal 

 of the sand, of course, is in order at the first sign of disease. 



Throughout the warm weather some shade is a desirable feature over part of every pen. 



Care should be used that moldy feed and debris, including droppings, are frequently 

 removed. A good coating of slaked lime on the ground beneath the pens will assist in dis- 

 couraging a concentration of disease-carrying flies. 



There is no set dale at which the birds should be transferred to their wintering pens. In 

 fact, most would remain quite happy in their breeding pens throughout the winter. It is 

 the increased labor involved and the difficulty of keeping all avenues of escape closed that dic- 

 tate the change. 



One must remember to transfer all the birds at once. To drop in one bird after the rest 

 have iiecome settled is to make of it a bird without a territory and thus a likely misfit in the 

 community of the pen. 



It is well to weigh the birds while tlif\ are being transferred and to set aside for observa- 

 tion any that seem to be abnormally light when compared with weights given in talile 69. 

 As the weather becomes colder and activity among penned birds becomes progressively less 

 it is then often possible to return any recovered suspect to the main flock without causing 

 serious complications. 



The Incubation of Grouse Eggs 



To one who is familiar with their rather uniform texture and moderately thin shells, there 

 would seem to be but little difficulty in successfully incubating grouse eggs artificially. Such 

 in fact is the case, though considerably more care and attention is required than with the eggs 

 of quail and chukars if they are set in an incubator. Some still utilize the time-honored 

 method of using a captive grouse or a bantam hen to hatch a clutch of grouse eggs. Where 

 small numbers of eggs are involved and under pro])er conditions it may prove fairly satis- 

 factory. 



