CHAPTER XI 

 SWANS 



Swans are bred and handled much like geese. Food is 

 equally simple, consisting only of grain and what they pick 

 up in grazing. As with geese, under similar conditions, the 

 young do not need to be fed. There is even more trouble 

 about fighting than with geese. The males are murderous 

 fellows. Even a man is in danger from them, and a blow 

 from a swan's wing can even break one's leg. Some might 

 consider this a joke, but I advise them to take no chances. 

 Once when I was talking with the owner of an estate where 

 waterfowl were kept, a swan sidled up to me, and I took no 

 notice. Suddenly the creature raised its wing and hit me a 

 rap across the shin that made the bone ache for a week after. 

 I have an idea that the bone may have been sHghtly cracked. 



Hard to Mate. At best they are troublesome birds to 

 mate. With some species the sexes cannot surely be dis- 

 tinguished, and, if two males happen to be secured, there is 

 apt to be murder. Sometimes swans will not mate at all. 

 When they do mate, each pair must be confined in a separate 

 enclosure, unless the area of pond and shore is considerable. 

 They are fond of nesting on small islands. 



Treatment Simple. Mr. Whealton breeds the trumpeter 

 mute and black swans, and is reported by Mr. Walcott to 

 have bred the whooping swan once. They are simply 

 turned out in pairs, separated from each other. Each en- 

 closure has plenty of forage, but the birds are fed daily on 



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