<MllllllltllllllllMlMIIIIltiniMtlllllllllllll(IIIMIIMIM>riMIM1MIIIIIIII1llll>IIIM(IMCI>1<l>llUIIIIUI Illllltlt <lll>l>llll tM 1 1 III! II r>< lllll I II I II ■■ i > ■•!■ I II ■>■■< Ml lllll til I ■ I •! II 1 141 Kll 1 1 1 1 >■ til 1 1 1 <i 1 1 1 >■■>. 



THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



AHIIINIIHIHNnillllllllllHMIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II ■IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIHIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIHI Illiuiliuiiuillluillliuillr 



striped hackles. The largest of these females were selected and mated with 

 a short chunky Rhode Island red male, producing a hen considerably 

 larger than the cochin bantam, one that could cover more eggs, but re- 

 taining the broody qualities of the bantam. 



Incubators are found most valuable when used in connection with hens. 

 When a number of large hens are set at one time all of the pheasant eggs 

 may be removed when just beginning to pip from those of the hens not 

 needed to take care of the young pheasants and placed in an incubator 

 that has previous been heated to about 130°. The hens from which the 

 eggs have been removed may be reset immediately. The smaller and more 

 quiet motherly hens should be left on their nests and not disturbed. The re- 

 moval of all of the eggs but one or two from a hen is a mistake, since in 

 the absence of the usual number of eggs in the nest the hen is most likely 

 to sit so heavily on the remaining one or two as to smash them at hatch- 

 ing time. 



After these hens have been removed to the brood coop with their in- 

 dividual hatch and given feed and water, and allowed ample time to hover 

 their chicks, other young pheasants may be added from the incubator, pro- 

 viding they are of the same age and variety as those she has hatched. A 

 hen will invariably kill instantly any young pheasant given her of a variety 

 other than that which she has hatched. For instance, a hen that has hatched 

 silver pheasants will not claim goldens, or ring-necks, and vice versa. A 

 hen can properly hover and care for more young pheasants than she can 

 hatch out without entailing considerable loss before they leave the nest; 

 hence the use of the incubator. 



FOSTERING PHEASANT CHICKS. 



For some time I experienced difficulty in getting the hen to hover the 

 pheasants when they were first taken from the nest. The pheasants being 

 foster children of the hen, do not understand her call or manner. They do 

 not seem to understand that she will hover them. They do not recognize 

 that she is "home and mother." The hen is perfectly willing to receive the 

 pheasants, but her call to them is not the natural call of the pheasant and 

 hence it means nothing to them. Some plan must be adopted to bring 

 the pheasants under the hen. Eecently I have adopted this plan with good 

 success. A basket is prepared with a hot water bag filled with tepid water 

 and placed in the bottom of the basket, over which is placed a cloth. When 

 the pheasants are first taken from the nest, they are placed in this basket 

 and a cloth thrown over the top. Enough air will pass through the sides 

 of the basket so they will not smother. The brood coop is then prepared 

 by placing sufficient sand to cover the bottom of the coop. Feed and 

 water is placed in the coop and the hen is left in here for about twenty 

 minutes. During this twenty minutes, the hen has had an opportunity to 



Faff* ten 



