2o8 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



If the birds are going on a mere over-night journey no water is necessary, and they 

 are safer packed in a tight box, with a few holes bored near the top for ventilation. For 

 longer journeys it is customary to have one side slatted, the intervening apertures being 

 so narrow as to prevent the birds from getting their heads out, thus saving them from 

 possible injury. Some shippers leave spaces through which the pheasants may reach 

 the food and water placed in vessels fastened outside the cage. It is much better, 

 however, to so arrange the food dishes that everything is inside. A metal trough for 

 water and a wooden one for grain, which just fit into holes cut into the box, and 

 fastened with pins, are very satisfactory. It is thus possible to provide for the wants of 

 the inmates without opening the cage door, which is a great advantage. 



The front should always be provided with a curtain of burlap or other material, 

 which will serve to darken the cage during transit to railway stations, etc., and so keep 

 the birds more quiet and protect them from the prying eyes of the curious. Cock and 

 hen must be placed in separate compartments, for to confine both birds in a single small 

 shipping-box is to court almost certain disaster. Many a hen pheasant shipped with 

 her mate in the same compartment has reached her destination with her head scalped to 

 the bone and the feathers stripped from neck, shoulders and back. Ring-necks are not 

 so vicious in this respect as most others, but even they are always unsafe. The bottom 

 of the box should be covered with clean straw. 



Pheasants are rather difficult birds to handle, and care must be exercised not to 

 break the delicate bones of the legs and wings. Innately wild, the bird struggles 

 frantically when first taken in the hands, and will renew its efforts to escape at the least 

 indication of relaxation on the part of the holder. A pheasant must be taken in both 

 hands, one pressed firmly at each side of the body, holding wing and leg tightly. The 

 legs alone must never be seized, as broken bones are almost certain to result. If the 

 head of the bird be placed under the holder's coat, or covered with a cloth, its struggles 

 will be much less severe. 



FEEDING 



Once the birds have arrived and have been installed in their new home, the question 

 of food arises. Much has been written on this point, a great deal of disagreement 

 existing, and it probably will continue to vex the ranks of future aviculturists as long as 

 pheasants are kept. All sorts of rations and diets are advocated with great earnestness 

 by their adherents, many pursuing fads to extremes. The novice, however, will find 

 that pheasants thrive best on plain feeding and little of it, and he will do well to avoid 

 too much fussiness. 



The main food of adult pheasants of all species in captivity consists of grains of 

 various sorts, such as wheat, buckweat, dari or kafiir corn, small beans, peas and lentils. 

 Unfortunately, the standard food in America for all sorts of grain-eating birds is corn or 

 maize. The reason, no doubt, is that this grain is abundant and cheaper than most 

 others. It is a dangerous food and should be used only in small quantities and with 

 great caution. It induces extreme deposition of fat, and in a very short time will 

 change a fine, vigorous bird to a mere lump of feathered sluggishness. A fat hen 

 pheasant will not lay, nor will a cock in a similar condition fertilize the eggs laid by his 

 mates. The liver soon becomes enlarged, then diseased and the days of the bird are 



