MI. PHEASANT REARING (PART VI} 105 



It is better to feed young birds as late as 7.30 A.M., 

 when the herbage is fairly dry, rather than to let 

 them out at 5.30 to 6 A.M. on grass saturated with 

 moisture. If a coop is properly ventilated, small 

 chicks will be safer closed up inside it under the hen 

 during heavy rain than they ever will be draggling 

 about in the open. Should there be no dew, or very 

 little, always give the first feed before 6 A.M. 



In the evening, shut the birds safely into the coops 

 before the dew rises ; 5.30 is quite late enough to 

 allow them out for the first three weeks of their 

 existence. 



In a few days the chicks should welcome the sight 

 of the keeper with his feeding tin, and run at once to 

 pick up their food, whether thrown near the coops, or 

 at a short distance ; they will also soon learn td scatter 

 about the field between meal times to search for seeds 

 and insects, and need not, after the first week, be fed 

 more than four times a day. If fed too often, they 

 will not be inclined to look for insect food, but will 

 hang about the coops instead. The earlier the birds 

 take to foraging for themselves the quicker will they 

 become strong and active, and the more likely are they 

 to remain healthy. 



In three weeks to a month from hatching the birds 

 attain their head feathers. It is very necessary at 

 this period of their lives they should be abundantly 



