112 PRACTICAL PHEASANT REARING. 



out until the young birds will eat with avidity the 

 whole round uncrushed small Indian corn or maize, 

 upon which diet the rest of their short existence will 

 be passed. The birds should be caught up at five or 

 six weeks old. The hens then begin to lay again, and 

 will not have the chicks inside the coops ; they will 

 begin to roost in the open all round the coop, and it 

 is high time to transport them to the coverts. The 

 process of catching has been already described ; but 

 it may be as well here to allude to the best method of 

 securing a lot of young birds who still pass their 

 nights inside the coop. This is done by slipping a 

 board underneath the coop from behind. First get 

 your board fixed in front to secure the prisoners from 

 egress ; then lay your other board down flat on the 

 grass behind the coop, and let two men push the coop 

 very gently on to it, taking care to use their fingers and 

 intelligence all the while to see that there are no little 

 heads in dangerous proximity to the sides. 



Another plan is to place a bottom board under the 

 coops during the day prior to the night on which you 

 intend to move the birds ; you have then, if you can 

 be certain that all have entered the coop, only to cover 

 up the front of the coop with a well-fitting board and 

 secure the same tightly, and the birds are ready, and 

 removal will be easy and safe. 



When the birds are secured, if they have far to go, 

 it is best to affix the coops on to a wooden frame, 

 made to fit on to the top of a spring lorry or cart. 



