THE GAME BREEDER 



li 



PHEASANT RAISING IN EASTERN OREGON. 



By Louis Kroessin. 



To acquaint the readers with the rais- 

 ing of Chinese pheasants, it is necessary 

 to explain a few fundamental facts. First 

 •of all, you should be a lover of nature 

 in all its beauty, an admirer of wild 

 ^ame and game birds. You should have 

 the heart of a sportsman, then you can't 

 help being interested in the king of 

 all game birds — the Chinese pheasant. 



The beauty of this bird made me ex- 

 periment with its propagation some 

 eighteen years ago. Although I made 

 many mistakes and met with much dis- 

 couragement in the raising of these birds, 

 I kept at it until I had solved the prob- 

 lem to my entire satisfaction. I have 

 found that it is no more difficult than 

 raising turkeys, and the profits are bet- 

 ter than anything in the poultry line. 



There is many a small rancher with 

 an orchard, whose wife and children 

 could make a pretty penny on the side by 

 raising China pheasants, as there is an 

 ever-growing demand for them in the 

 U. S. A. Many a good check I have 

 returned to the sender because I didn't 

 have the birds to sell. I have made as 

 much as $600 during a season raising 

 pheasants besides my regular occupation, 

 merely for the fun and recreation after 

 business hours. 



No extra expense is necessary except 

 a few dollars worth of poultry netting 

 to fence in the grown birds after ween- 

 ing from their foster-mother — the com- 

 mon chicken. No housing or shed is 

 necessary. All you need is a pen with 

 some brush or weeds to shelter them 

 from the blazing sun. They will thrive 

 in all climates, in all kinds of weather, 

 under any kind of conditions, after they 

 are two-thirds grown. That is when they 

 are from ten to twelve weeks old. 



They are a hardy bird, and are not 

 afflicted with disease or vermin like 

 chicken. They eat very little and take 

 care of themselves. Any household can 



feed a dozen or two birds from the 

 scraps and waste from the kitchen and 

 table, with a handful of grain at in- 

 tervals. 



I will state briefly how the birds are 

 hatched and fed. First I give thirteen 

 eggs to a setting hen. These will hatch 

 in 24 days. Then I take a box 30x30 

 inches, screen it in front with wire net- 

 ting, place it on a grassy spot, put in the 

 hen and little birds, and let them alone 

 for 24 to 48 hours. It is a good idea 

 to place a board in front of the coop, 

 so the little chicks can't run away until 

 they know the cluck's call. After three 

 or four days remove the board, and let 

 the little ones run. They will not leave 

 her then. Under no circumstances let 

 the old hen run with them at large, 

 for she will surely lose them.* 



When the birds are 24 to 48 hours 

 old, feed them one part hard boiled egg 

 to two parts wheat bread crumbs. Af- 

 ter they are two or three weeks old give 

 them a little oatmeal or chick feed an 

 gradually feed them grain or anything a 

 chicken eats. 



Always have water near the coop for 

 them to drink. It is very important to 

 keep the old hen clean from lice as she 

 will surely transfer them to the young. 



When the birds get the size of a quail, 

 they must be put in a pen, otherwise they 

 will stray away. 



In 1915 I raised eighty-five birds on 

 a back lot 60x63. Besides the great 

 pleasure I had in Ontario in raising 

 them, they netted me $232 clear profit. 

 — The Oregon Sportsman. 



[*It is very common to breed pheasants by 

 the range system in the Eastern States. Dr. 

 Wheeler, when Game Commissioner of Illi- 

 nois, successfully reared many pheasants in 

 this manner and wrote his experiences for The 

 Game Breeder. Recently we published the 

 story of Mr. Bigelow who estimated the cost 

 of rearing pheasants, running with the hen, 

 at 35 cents each.] 



