496 



ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF GROUSE 



Very occasionally when accessible moldy feed has been allowed to accumulate, a fungus 

 disease, Aspergillosis, may be the cause of death. 



Properly guarded against, one seldom has much to fear from any of these diseases at this 

 period. Yet more of the early attempts to raise grouse artificially ended in failure through 

 these causes than from all other difficulties combined — and just when favorable results seemed 

 assured. 



Care during Rearing 



Constant attention to small items is the price of success during this comparatively unevent- 

 ful period. It is wise to check conditions in the rearing fields several times daily. Rats are 

 apt to congregate here because of the presence of waste feed beneath the pens. Tunnel traps 

 properly screened are usually effective. Occasionally cyanide gas may have to be introduced 

 into holes and closed runways to secure effective control. 



There have been several instances at the Center of raccoons amputating the legs of young 

 birds. The feet were caught and pulled through the wire floor of the pen. By placing a 

 single-strand electric fence outside of and close to the top of the rearing field fence these 

 animals usually can be excluded. 



Dogs, cats and visitors, if allowed about the rearing field, may frighten the birds, causing 

 head injuries. Though such scalping may be severe, the wounds usually heal. More important 

 is the likelihood that the balanced social relationship so important in a pen may be upset by 

 the scarred birds becoming increasingly nervous until a permanent inferiority complex even- 

 tually is acquired. Such birds should be liberated for they seldom make good breeders. 



Birds quickly learn to know their attendants and to be reassured by familiar sounds when 

 frightened. The practice of occasionally whistling or talking while working in the vicinity 

 may also be used to quiet them during the periods of fright. 



Tame birds make the best breeders and reduce maintenance difficulties to a ininiinum at 

 other seasons of the year. Considerable fear of man may be induced in young birds selected 

 for liberation by frequent catching and handling or by placing a wild bird in the pen just 

 previous to release. 



The Period of Social Adjustment 



The first cool days of early fall may bring into sharp relief the ever-present problem of 

 social adjustment. Wild broods are then starting their fall shuffle or "crazy flight." The 

 young males, previously seldom more aggressive than their sisters, now begin to display and 

 to attempt to dominate their fellow penmates. Although fighting for supremacy may begin as 

 early as the tenth week, the chasing and bullying of less aggressive birds is now apt to reach 





•S\'^ 



