FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS 



should be hard boiled before being given to the chicks. 

 That this is fallacious is proved by the successful rearing 

 of Pheasants on eggs that are without any cooking whatso- 

 ever, being merely mixed with the other food. 



Strictly speaking it is a matter of very little indifference 

 in what form eggs be given, provided that they are fresh, 

 there being a chemical change in decomposing eggs that 

 renders them pernicious when given to Pheasant chicks. 

 The only effect that heat has upon eggs is that of coagulating 

 the albuminous material and solidifying the yolk. 



If the rearer prefers to boil the eggs, they should not, as 

 previously stated, be over-boiled. Sour food, or food that 

 is too wet, is very liable to produce scouring, and once this 

 is established, it is troublesome to check. Some rearers 

 prefer to solidify the eggs with milk into custard form, and 

 mix this along with the other food when it is cold. Again, 

 another class of Pheasant-rearers are strongly in favour 

 of curd made from milk, the latter being curdled with alum, 

 which is a most objectionable drug to use, as it completely 

 destroys the intestinal secretion and hinders digestion, as well 

 as destroys the nutritive value of the milk. 



Although not a natural diet for the Pheasant chicks, there 

 is no doubt that milk is a valuable addition to their food, as 

 it contains such a large proportion essential to the life of 

 mammals, and is in a modified sense, a food for birds. 

 Custard is easily made by adding six eggs to every pint 

 of milk. The eggs should be beaten up, and cold milk 

 then added, and gently heated until it is quite thick, and 

 it will solidify into a solid mass when cold. When cold the 

 custard should be broken up and mixed with some meal, 

 preferably with fine biscuit-meal, which has been previously 

 scalded in order to swell it. If biscuit-meal is not used, very 

 fine barley-meal, oat-meal, wheat- meal, or maize-meal can 



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