THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



or scalding). These rich foods must be fed sparingly — a difficult 

 thing to do — and the one rule to insure health is, keep appetite 

 keen, and vary and alternate sharply different kinds of food. 

 Bear in mind the great variety in the bird's natural food; here 

 a few insects, there some berries, next weed seeds or tender 

 leaves. 



If too much or too rich food is given, it can not be quickly 

 digested and absorbed, and the surplus only serves to grow bac- 

 teria in the bird's stomach and intestines. Bacteria grow best 

 in neutral or alkali foods. If a meal of neutral custard is fol- 

 lowed by something sour and coarse, strawberries, sorrel blos- 

 soms or chickweed, the pestiferous bacteria will be killed or swept 

 out. The appetite will remain keen and the birds healthy. 



The incubation period of the bob white is twenty-four days. 

 The eggs can be hatched in an incubator, if it is supplied with 

 abundance of moisture ; but the difficulty of doing this makes it 

 much easier and safer to hatch under hens. 



The chicks can be reared in a clean incubator quite as easily 

 as bantam chickens. They are sociable and intelligent little birds 

 and easily tamed. If a whistle somewhat like their feeding note 

 is used consistently in tending them, they soon learn to come at 

 call and follow a person as they would a parent bird. It is not 

 advisable to pinion the young birds as they will use their wings 

 to good advantage in flying to the whistle ; and they need their 

 wings to escape cats and other natural enemies on the ground. 



As to handling of breeding stock, size and arrangement of 

 yard and cages, the first point to note is that the birds fly like 

 bullets. Hence cages must be small to prevent developing speed 

 in flight, which is likely to cripple or kill the birds if they strike 

 the wire. Six by twelve feet is a good size for a breeding cage 

 for two or three pairs. Single pairs have bred well in cages three 

 by six feet, and since, if not well paired, the males are likely to 

 fight viciously, it is generally best to keep a single pair in a cage. 



The next point is, the bobwhite is strictly monogamous. We 

 may have one cock and two hens in a cage ; both hens will lay, 



Pag*e twelve 



