104 Rearing the Young Birds. 



by the incautious use of gentles freshly taken from the 

 carcase of some dead animal ; but if well cleansed by keeping 

 ten or twelve days after being removed from the flesh, a few — 

 a very few — may be given in case no better kind of insect 

 food is at hand. The treatment of the young birds, such 

 as change of food, &c., must greatly depend upon the judg- 

 ment and skill of the person who has charge of them. 

 Much also depends upon the locality, the state of the atmo- 

 sphere, the temperature, the dryness or wetness of the season, 

 the abundance or scarcity of insect food, and other con- 

 siderations which must serve to guide those in whose care the 

 chicks are placed." 



The mode of management pursued by the late Mr. Douglas 

 is somewhat different. He truly remarks : " Although food 

 has a great deal to do in the rearing of pheasants, attention 

 has almost an equal share ; and without the attention required 

 being given, food would be of little avail. I will commence 

 with the hatching. Never remove your hens until the 

 chicks are well nested, guarding the nest to keep any that 

 may be hatched before the last chick is strong enough to 

 leave the nest. Never take the first hatched from the hen — 

 it is wrong : nothing is so beneficial in strengthening a chick 

 as the heat of the hen's bod3^ Let feeding alone for the 

 first twenty-four hours after the first chick is hatched ; the 

 large quantity of yolk that is drawn into the chick within 

 the last twenty-four hours of its confinement in the shell is 

 sufficient for its wants during the time specified. Next, have 

 your coops set on dry turf two or three days previous to 

 your pheasants being hatched ; it will save a httle hurry 

 when wanted ; also it will keep the spot dry, that being so 

 necessary on the first shift from the nest. If your turf is not 

 of a sandy nature, sprinkle a handful of sand where you 

 intend to shift your coops. The coops being shifted daily is 

 very beneficial to the chicks. Take care they are not let out 

 in the morning until such time as the sun is well up, if there 

 is a heavy dew on the grass, and the grass has got a little dry. 



