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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



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feed and get acquainted with her new quarters and is ready to settle down 

 and receive the young pheasants. The pheasants are then placed in the 

 coop with her and having nothing else to attract their attention, the hen 

 •will see to it that the pheasants are hovered. It is advisable to take the 

 hen off in the forenoon so that one may give the chicks more or less at- 

 tention and see that they are properly hovered. If the day is warm, the 

 plan of using the hot water bag need not be followed. If the day is cloudy 

 or cold, of course, one will necessarily have to give the pheasants more 

 attention than on a bright warm day. 



The number of young pheasants that may safely be given to one hen 

 varies from about twelve to sixteen, according to the weather and the size 



Male Beeves Pheasant at State Game Farm. 



of the hen. A common mistake is to set too many eggs under one hen, or 

 to give one hen too many young pheasants. Late one summer I gave a large 

 Plymouth Eock hen twenty-five little pheasants of which she raised to 

 maturity twenty-four. This, however, was an exceptional case. 



Pheasant eggs will, beyond doubt, hatch as well in an incubator as 

 chicken eggs, but I have to admit that so far I have been unable to suc- 

 cessfully brood young pheasants artificially, though the incubator has 

 proven a great help, when used as described above. 



Pheasants will hatch about the twenty-third day and their natural dis- 

 position is to leave the nest immediately, hence the added advantage of 

 having the hen locked up. When the young pheasants are about twenty- 

 four hours old, remove with the mother hen to a coop where they should be 

 kept until three days old. The trap door at the bottom may then be raised, 

 giving the little birds their freedom, restraining the hen. Unless the vard is 

 covered over with wire netting, the young birds should be pinioned to prevent 

 their flying over the fence and straying away. This is done when the pheasant 

 chick is about three days' old by clipping the last joint of one wing with 

 sharp scissors. 



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