2 W. COOK S TURKEY, GOOSE, AND PHEASANT BOOK. 



I lately called upon a pheasant breeder, who kept some 

 hundreds of stock birds, and they were in pens about 

 three yards by six, with one cock and six hens in each 

 pen. To my idea, it is unnatural to keep pheasants in 

 this way for breeding purposes. When these birds are 

 shut up in confined runs it is unnatural to them, though 

 they may be kept in that way and bred from successfully, 

 only under these circumstances they require a great deal 

 more care. 



Pheasants to a certain extent are more of a wild 

 nature than poultry, as the latter have been domesticated 

 for many years, and consequently are more tame and 

 docile. It is natural for pheasants to run and fly about 

 more than fowls, they ought therefore to be treated 

 accordingly. 



I do not mean to condemn keeping pheasants in 

 confined runs, as long as they have proper management. 



Pheasants, in their natural state, eat a great deal of 

 green-stuff and take a large amount of exercise. 

 The more of the latter we can allow them, and 

 the greater facility they have for getting herbage, the 

 stronger will the young ones be which are produced from 

 such stock birds. If we take any live stock from their 

 natural course of living and partly domesticate them, we 

 must copy nature as near as possible, both as regards 

 feeding and the arrangements of their dwelling places. 



It is an old saying, when pheasants are at large and 

 breed as they like, they are much stronger than those 

 which are kept shut up. Yet they interbreed without 

 fresh blood being introduced. 



