60 OSTRICH-FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



to^vn, where a man tried to remove 18 birds that had 

 been reared and kept in a small yard. I had been 

 consulted b}^ one of the parties about it^ and had told 

 them that the thing was impossible without first getting 

 them into a strong paddock and letting them for a 

 month or two get thoroughly accustomed to strange 

 sights ; it was, however, attempted without, when what 

 I predicted happened : the birds at once bolted in every 

 direction, and only six were ever recovered that lived 

 afterwards ; some ran till they dropped dead, otliers 

 killed themselves against fences, and others dropped 

 down, and although they lived for days never stood 

 up again. 



Breeding birds are the worst to remove, from having 

 been in their small camps ; they are always rather 

 timid, and, where more than one pair has to be removed 

 at a time the difficulty is increased by their fighting. 

 If there is a camp round the homestead, or even a 

 good kraal, they should be brought there in pairs, and 

 then, all being more or less timid at the strange place, 

 they will not be nearly so likely to fight seriously. By 

 keeping them there for twenty-four hours and working 

 with them, much time is often saved, and the birds 

 do not throw themselves back in breeding, as they 

 invariably do if they get raced about much in moving. 

 To move a pair of breeding birds that have been long 



