THE GAME BREEDER 



53 



winged they are apparently not troubled. 

 It may be that much flying exercise is 

 needed by the birds when their new 

 feathers start growing. All other spe- 

 cies of upland birds, including the ruffed 

 and sharp-tailed grouse that we have 

 had experience with, can balance them- 

 selves fairly well when slightly wing- 

 clipped, but this is not the case with the 

 pinnated grouse, as they become help- 

 less when clipped, the same as pheas- 

 ants. They are also the most nervous 

 of any of the birds we have had expe- 

 rience with in captivity, and yet the 

 young chickens that were reared last 

 year were the tamest. They were full 

 winged and almost matured and yet one 

 could pick them up at any time. This 

 was done with one bird just after it 

 had made about a half-mile flight to and 

 from the field where it was reared. We 

 have not as yet had an even break with 

 the prairie chicken in that we have never 

 had enough females to give them a fair 

 tryout. It has always been a case of 

 not taking any chances, for fear of los- 

 ing the small number on hand. It is 

 hoped that at least thirty pair can be had 

 for a real tryout next year. With this 

 number chances can be taken in experi- 

 menting with them in various ways. 



The work with the pheasants and quail 

 during the past season was entirely sat- 

 isfactory: On account of not having 

 enough of setting hens for pheasant 

 eggs incubators were used to take care 

 of the surplus eggs not distributed. The 

 records following give full information 

 as to number hatched, percentages, etc., 

 but at the same time it is necessary to 

 state that, although the hatch from incu- 

 bators was fairly good, the birds so 

 hatched were not as strong as those 

 hatched under hens ; they are, therefore, 

 more subject to contagious diseases and 

 the elements. However, the incubators 

 come in very handy on the game farm to 

 take care of eggs left by bad hens and in 

 various other ways. It is not, however, 

 advisable for the average individual to 

 use incubators except in a tight place 

 when a hen wants to leave her eggs. 

 The period of incubation of various birds 



(Continued on page 57.) 



Mallard Pin Tail Hybrid. 

 Reared by Geo. J. Klein, Ellinwood, Kansas. 



A Late Season. 



The breeding season everywhere 

 seems to be very late. There is a big 

 demand for game eggs and now is the 

 time to send advertisements to The 

 Game Breeder. 



Now is the time to advertise young 

 birds for summer and fall delivery. 



We would urge those who have pheas- 

 ants to sell to offer one day old pheas- 

 ants. 



♦ 



An experiment made by the Game 

 Conservation Society last year proved 

 that young pheasants can be shipped 

 safely. Eighteen out of twenty birds 

 which were three days in transit arrived 



safely. 



• 



In offering one day old pheasants it 

 is wise to sell broods with the hen, which 

 hatched them. The young birds bring 

 excellent prices and when a hen is 

 shipped with the brood the result should 



be satisfactory. 



• 



Those who have had no experience 

 with pheasants should learn how to feed 

 the young pheasants upon arrival. Ex- 

 cellent results have been obtained by 

 those who let the hen and young pheas- 

 ants range in protected fields and gar- 

 dens feeding the young birds very spar- 

 ingly and, of course, shutting them up 

 at night. 



— ♦ 



Look out for stray cats — a shot gun 

 should be kept at hand with a few shells 

 ready for instant use. 



