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THE GAME BREEDER 



Black Mallard at such a late date. There 

 were more Black Mallards raised in this 

 section last summer than I have ever 

 known before, and when I was on the 

 Game Preserve a week ago these birds 

 were as plentiful as Greenheads are in 

 the mid-winter. 



Pheasant Pens. 



Editor Game Breeder : 



I write to ask if you can put a large 

 number of ring-necked breeders in a big 

 pen without the cocks fighting. In other 

 words this is just what I would like to 

 do, rather than have the trouble with 

 individual pens, but my information thus 

 far has been that you have to make 

 small pens in order to put a limited 

 number of hens with one cock. 



I would much rather build a big pen 

 and have them all in there together be- 

 cause it would be simpler, easier and 

 more attractive to handle; but I have 

 always understood that ring-necked 

 cocks fight so badly that this is impos- 

 sible. 



Stuart Olivier. 



[The modern way to handle pheasants is in 

 large enclosures. We had several hundred 

 pheasants in one pen at the Game Breeders' 

 Association on Long Island and we had very- 

 good results. I prefer a pen made of board 

 sides so that the pheasants cannot see out and 

 they are not disturbed by passing dogs or 

 other animals. The board door of the pen 

 can be locked with a padlock, and the birds 

 are safer in such a pen. The roof can be made 

 of chicken wire but it should be laid on some- 

 what loosely so it will give when the birds 

 fly up against it. I am sending you a sketch 

 which will give you an idea of the pen. The 

 brush indicated is made of cedar boughs or 

 other brush. The entrances to the brush heaps 

 lead to an avenue down through the center. A 

 little fighting among the cocks, I believe, is 

 good for them, and there will be better results 

 when the defeated birds can escape through 

 the brush heaps and join the hens which may 

 be on the other side. You will find such a 

 pen very interesting. 



I am sending you the address of a large 

 breeder in your neighborhood who no doubt 

 has a large breeding pen. I would advise you 

 to write to the game keeper and make an ap- 

 pointment to see the pen. — Editor.] 



Wild Duck Breeding and Incubators. 



We have fitted up a place for raising 

 wild ducks on a large scale, our experi- 

 ence of last season having convinced us 



that we have a location with great ad- 

 vantages for this work — mild, even, cli- 

 matic conditions; abundance of fresh 

 water, good land and close proximity to 

 the marshes used by the wild ducks. 



We will take pleasure in furnishing 

 you full information as to our work. 

 One point which may prove of interest is 

 that we intend to use incubators and out- 

 door brooders almost exclusively, as we 

 had better results by this methojd last 

 season than with hens. 



We used Spratt's Duck meal exclus- 

 ively for the first three or four weeks, 

 and kept the birds away from water 

 until they were well feathered. . We 

 would be glad if you could tell us wheth- 

 er any of the Eastern men in this work- 

 have devised drinking dishes which the 

 young birds cannot empty almost im- 

 mediately and if so what. the design is. 

 Arden Game Farm. 



[Some use poultry fountains, but on large 

 places the water is piped to the rearing fields 

 and the keepers easily can keep wStet^ in the 

 pans for the ducks. Some use a large, shallow 

 trough containing water about an inch in 

 depth, and the young ducks enjoy wading in 

 this and have plenty to drink.] 



Homing Ducks. 



Dear Mr. Huntington: 



On February 22, 1916, I shipped to 

 Mr. W. S. McCrea. Lake Geneva, Wis., 

 a number of Wild Mallard Drakes trap- 

 ped at Avery Island. All of these birds 

 were marked by me for identification 

 with the web cut next to the outside toe 

 on the right foot. On receiving these 

 birds Mr. McCrea tagged them with 

 his personal tag, clipped their wings and 

 turned them loose with his flock of tame 

 Mallards. On November 2, 1916, while 

 trapping Mallards at Avery Island, I 

 caught a Mallard Drake- bearing identi- 

 fication mark of the previous spring and 

 Mr. McCrea's tag. On writing Mr. Mc- 

 Crea, he stated that these ducks with 

 others that he had had after growing 

 their flight feathers spread over the ad- 

 joining country. The interesting fact is 

 that this Mallard trapped at Avery Isl- 

 and in the spring and sent by train to 

 Wisconsin returned to Avery Island in 

 the fall and was again trapped. 



E. A. McIlhenny, 



Avery Island, La. 



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