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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



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pheasants you have and the state of the weather. The warmer the weather, 

 the more rapid the development of the larvae. If you contemplate using 

 larvae, you should start with the bone mixture a week prior to the date 

 of first hatching. 



THE VALUE OF FLY LARVAE 

 The advantage of this food is that you need not hesitate to feed young 

 birds all they will eat. They are eager for it and will frequently crowd 

 their crops and throats to overflowing with no apparent bad results. They 



thrive better on this food than on any- 

 thing else. Other methods may be em- 

 ployed to produce the larvae, but it should 

 be remembered that but fifteen days' time 

 elapses from the laying of the fly egg un- 

 til it has become larvae, entered the pupa 

 stage and turned into a fly again. The 

 larvae are clean feeders and they must 

 have a medium in which to bury them- 

 selves. In ten days they pass into the 

 pupa state, in which form they may be 



kept if stored at a low temperature, (40 

 Beeves Pheasant Chick degree F); ^ 1qw temperature stops the 



development. 



Should the pan of shorts, bran or dirt become heated, it means that 

 the larvae are too crowded and will leave if possible. A part should be 

 removed to another pan or given a larger proportion of shorts, bran or dirt. 



With the facts above, your own ingenuity and some experience will 

 suggest convenient methods for producing larvae, but remember that the 

 pheasant is primarily an insect-eating bird and the larvae is a natural 

 food. As stated, custard, eggs, etc., may be used successfully, but they 

 are substitutes. When the birds are two weeks old, chopped meat may 

 be gradually substituted for the larvae until, when a month old, the larvae 

 may be discontinued altogether. A good way to prepare the meat is to 

 chop it fine with a sharp chopper and then mix shorts with it, rolling it 

 between the hands until it crumbles. After the birds are a month old, 

 they may be fed cracked wheat (soft wheat is best) with a little charcoal 

 or grit alternating with the meat diet. The meat may be discontinued 

 after two months, except that it is not a bad plan to give them a little 

 of it once or twice a week for another month. From this time on, they 

 may be fed the same as chickens, except that their nature demands more 

 insects, and if these are not supplied naturally they will do better if given 

 feed of the chopped meat and shorts every week or ten days until they 

 are grown. 



AVOID STALE MEAT 



For the purpose of furnishing a cheap supply of fresh meat to be 

 fed to the young birds direct, and for material for the propagation of fly 



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