52 GAME BIEDS OF CALIFOENIA 



111 addition, green feed is important, and a certain amount of animal 

 matter, such as meat-scrap preparations, is essential. Newly hatched 

 chicks should be fed four times a day on hard-boiled eggs mixed with 

 finely powdered cracker-crumbs. A constant supply of grit is essential. 

 Water should also be furnished. After the fifth day, flies or fly larvae 

 should be added to the diet. A mash of prepared "pheasant meal," 

 middlings, etc., may take the place of the insect food. After the 

 sixteenth day some "chick-feed" may be added to the diet. 



Rearing. — Neither quail nor pheasants readily incubate their own 

 eggs ; hence it is advisable to use incubators and brooders, or else 

 bantam hens. The latter are now considered preferable. About 

 twenty quail's eggs can be covered by one hen. The nest should be 

 made from a square of sod, grass-side down, hollowed out, and lined 

 with soft hay. During the period of incubation the hens should be 

 removed regularly each morning for food, drink and exercise. When 

 the chicks are from 24 to 36 hours old they should be removed to a 

 fresh coop and pen. Later, the brood together with their foster parent 

 should be given a larger range. 



Disease. — According to Job (1915, p. 37), the principal disease 

 of captive quail is an acute enteritis, which, once introduced, becomes 

 epidemic and will spread through an entire flock. Formerly this 

 disease was supposed to be due to a micro-organism found only in 

 certain regions, but it or a closely similar malady is now known to 

 occur in quail and other gallinaceous birds in widely separated locali- 

 ties. Errors in the feeding or housing of captive birds, such as that 

 of overfeeding them, or of confining them in dirty coops or in yards 

 fouled by poultry, usually result in an outbreak of this distemper. 

 Moderation in feeding and cleanliness about the yards and houses 

 are the best ways of preventing the disease from getting a start. 



Waterfow^l. — Prerequisites. — A permit or license from the State 

 Fish and Game Commission. A small freshwater pond, or section of 

 a stream, well fenced to exclude "vermin" (weasels, skunks, rats, 

 etc.), and capable of being drained and cleaned at intervals. At least 

 two square yards of water should be allowed for each duck. The pro- 

 portion of land to water should be at least two to one. Both meadow 

 and brushy or grass-covered land should be included. 



Breeding Stock. — Procure the progeny of pure wild birds from 

 dealers during late fall or early winter. Mallard ducks cost about 

 $5.00 to $6.00 a pair; Pintails, $7.00 to $20.00. On receipt, the birds 

 should be given a rest in a dry enclosure for several days before being 

 allowed on water. They should all be pinioned, unless the breeding 

 season is near, in which event they should be merely wing-clipped. 



Food. — Grain either once or twice daily, preferably a mixture, in 

 equal parts, of wheat, barley, buckwheat, and Kaffir corn or cracked 



