FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



the last of March till August and dur- 

 ing this time no visitors or strangers 

 should be allowed near the hens, for if 

 disturbed they will lay few eggs. Pheas- 

 ants endure the cold weather without 

 trouble, but must be protected from cold 

 rains. Pheasants may be fed cracked 

 corn, wheat, buckwheat, millet, hemp, a 

 mash of bran, corn meal and middlings, 

 and plenty of green food, together with 

 pure water. As a rule, pheasant eggs 

 hatch better under hens than in incuba- 





Pig. 448 — WHITE SWAN 



tors. The eggs of all species hatch in 

 24 days except those of the Golden 

 pheasant which sometimes hatch in 21 

 days. The Cochin Bantam is perhaps 

 the best fowl for hatching the eggs. 

 Prom the day of hatching till they are 

 four months old young pheasants may 

 be fed maggots, ant eggs, a little wheat 

 once a day and green food such as on- 

 ions, lettuce, etc. After this age, more 

 grain may be fed and a greater variety 

 introduced into the ration. At the age 

 of six weeks they may be turned into a 

 good grass run. According to Darling- 

 ton the cost of raising 500 pheasants to 

 the age of one month is about $5. Be- 

 tween the ages of one and six months 

 the cost of each bird is about 6 cents. 



PEAFOWLS 



The peafowl is native to eastern Asia 

 being found throughout China, India 

 and the adjacent islands. The male of 

 the common peafowl (Pavo cristatus) 

 has a purple head, neck, and breast with 

 blue reflections. The true tail feathers 

 are of a chestnut color, while the tail 

 coverts are green with brilliant eye spots 

 at the tips. The peahen is of a much 

 more modest color but with the head 

 crest as in the male. The Japanese pea- 

 fowl (P. muticus) has a much longer 

 head crest, glossy green neck, and cop- 

 per bronze back. The tail coverts are 

 green with gold reflections. This spe- 

 cies occurs in Siam, Java, Burmah, etc. 



The black-winged peafowl (P. nigripen- 

 nis) is really nothing but a sport of the 

 common species and is occasionally seen 

 in flocks of the common peafowl. 



The peafowl, especially the young 

 birds, are fine eating, but there are few 

 farms where they are raised except for 

 ornament. Little attention is commonly 

 given to their management, in fact they 

 are usually left to manage themselves. 

 Four hens may be allowed with each 

 cock. The hens secrete their nests and 

 the period of incubation is 28 days. 

 The chicks may be fed like turkeys but 

 are not so delicate. A little more ani- 

 mal food may be given at first but they 

 need little attention after two weeks. 

 The peahen keeps with her chicks for 

 about six months and they seem to need 

 this guidance, so that it is useless to 

 hatch the eggs under common hens. 

 Quite commonly white and pied varie- 

 ties of peafowl are seen but they are not 

 so beautiful as the ordinary form. 



SWANS 



Swans are familiar birds on ponds in 

 zoological gardens and occasionally on 

 farms. Wild species occur throughout 

 the world except in the hottest part of 

 the tropics. They are easily domesti- 

 cated and have undergone little change 

 in domestication. Swans are strictly 

 monogamous, each pair remaining to- 

 gether for life. The mute swan (Cyg- 



Pig. 449 — WILD GEESE FORAGING 



nus olor) is the one most frequently 

 seen on ponds and lakes. It is the larg- 

 est species, pure white in color, with 

 long neck and red bill. The color of 

 the cygnets when hatched is gray. The 

 meat of the swan is excellent eating 

 but the birds are usually too rare for 

 this purpose. The whistling swan (C. 

 musicus) is also white but the bill is 

 yellow and the neck is much snorter. 



