212 A MONOGRAPH OF THE PHEASANTS 



square, is provided for each hen. The coop has a slanting roof, which is hinged, but no 

 bottom. To each is attached a covered wire run about three feet long, which com- 

 municates with the coop by means of a small door. Holes are bored around the box 

 below the overhang of the roof to provide ventilation. The nest is formed on the 

 ground, of straw. 



The hen should be tried on a few china or other eggs until she is thoroughly steady, 

 before she is trusted with the eggs she is expected to hatch. Whoever cares for the 

 foster-mothers must be a person without nerves and with infinite patience, for nothing 

 is more provoking than a broody hen. Any quick movement will excite her still further 

 if she is at all uneasy, and may lead to all sorts of trouble. After the hen is properly 

 settled on her nest, she should be let out in her run to feed, and if she does not return in 

 a few moments should be induced to do so. This must be repeated daily, and the hen 

 re-fastened in the coop, so that she will not remain off too long. 



While this system causes some initial expense, this item is not so great as might be 

 imagined, and the amount of time and labour required is much less, while fighting and 

 broken eggs are entirely avoided. When hens in adjoining nests in a building are being 

 fed, those not taken out are apt to become impatient before their turn comes, and trample 

 about on the eggs, often breaking many in their efforts to secure their meal. Individual 

 coops avoid all such troubles, allow the hen to have a free, though limited, run for at 

 least a few moments daily, and moisture for the eggs is provided through the ground, 

 thus saving the necessity for dampening them directly. 



In setting the eggs, it is well to wait until a large number have accumulated, so that 

 they may be started at the same time. This will prove a great convenience when the 

 chicks are removed to the rearing ground. Where young pheasants on the same grounds 

 are of varying ages and sizes, the smaller birds are more or less jostled by the larger 

 ones, and chicks are constantly being killed by hens owning broods of different age. 

 Also, infertile eggs may be tested out after a week's incubation, and the good ones put 

 together, thus reducing the number of hens. The same principle may be applied when 

 the chicks hatch, again making a reduction of the foster-mothers. 



A good-sized hen will cover from fifteen to twenty pheasant eggs. In arranging the 

 clutches it must be remembered that periods of incubation differ with each species, or at 

 least with each genus, none hatching under twenty-one days and some taking up to 

 twenty-eight. 



CHICKS 



W^hile the chicks are hatching the hens should be disturbed as little as possible. 

 After twenty-four hours, a little food may be placed in the coop, when the hen will 

 generally leave her nest to eat. If the chicks do not follow, they may be lifted out 

 gently. Pheasant chicks are usually very wild and must be handled carefully. The 

 first food usually consists of hard-boiled egg, mixed with bread or cracker crumbs. 

 After the first day or two the feeding systems diverge into many channels. Each must 

 have its own merits, for they all have many supporters. The one most usually followed, 

 however, is the mash feeding. These mixtures are to be obtained from dealers in grains, 

 or may be mixed by the breeder. It is best, however, to use prepared meals for a base, 

 at least, as few amateurs have the facilities for mixing and baking complicated foods. 



