RAISING CHINESE PHEASANTS. 



25 



When the chicks are a week old I let 

 them into long runs, which are made of 

 wire netting, one-inch mesh, 3 feet high, 6 

 feet wide and 50 feet long. These runs are 

 covered with wire netting of the same size, 

 which is carefully tied every 6 inches 

 around the edge and pegged down around 

 the bottom. I put a large pile of brush in 

 the farther end for them to sit on, hide 

 in, etc. One-half of this run should lie in 

 the' shade or should be shaded with brush 

 or burlap. The birds like both sun and 

 shade, and need both. These runs should 

 be on grassy ground and can be moved to 

 fresh ground as necessary. 



The food I give at first is unseasoned 

 custard, fresh water, crisp lettuce and mag- 

 gots. The custard is made of 8 eggs to 

 one quart of milk. The dish the custard is 

 in is set into a pan of water and baked 

 until it is firm and dry. It must not be 

 wet or sloppy. At first I put this custard 

 on a flat stone. The chicks will begin to 

 eat it as soon as they are put into the 

 brooder. I have fresh water in an earthen 

 drinking fountain. They must have the 

 water in something they can not get into 

 and get wet. A clean saucer full of stones 

 as large as walnuts will do. They must 

 have all the tender lettuce they will eat. 

 If it is weighted down with a stone, they 

 can pick it themselves. If not, I have to 

 cut it up fine for them at first. I keep these 

 3 things by them all the time. It is their 

 nature to eat only a little at a time and 

 often. My birds have done better when 

 so fed than in any other way. The sun 

 must not shine on the drinking water or on 

 any of their food, and everything must be 

 kept perfectly sweet and clean. 



When the birds are 3 or 4 weeks old I 

 begin giving them a scalded mash made 

 of equal weights of Indian meal, mixed 

 feed and best beef scraps. When they eat 

 this well, I gradually leave off the custard. 

 Whole wheat, buckwheat, cracked corn and 

 rice, which is a native food, are then kept 

 by them'all the time, as well as the mash. 

 Fresh water and green food must not be 

 forgotten at <any time. At this age they like 

 chickweed, grass sods, and they will pick 

 out the seeds in grass heads. Bugs, worms 

 and insects of all kinds are their most nat- 

 ural food, and when the birds are raised in 

 confinement something must be supplied to 

 take the place of such insects. 



Judge Denny, of Oregon, who introduced 

 Chinese pheasants into this country, bred 

 them while Consul to Shanghai, feeding 

 them on ants' eggs, which are a native food. 

 Here we must have something else, and 

 maggots seem to take the place the best 

 of anything tried. If maggots are used, 

 they should be kept in constant supply, and 

 to do this is a business by itself. I have 

 2 sources of meat supply for this purpose, 



in sheep plucks and calves' heads, from the 

 butcher's. I also utilize any cheap meat, 

 like vvoodchucks, stray cats, which have 

 been known to catch pheasants, etc. The 

 maggot house should be situated at least 

 one-quarter of a mile from a dwelling. 

 When the weather is suitable for blowflies 

 to be out, the meat should be exposed in 

 racks, where they can get at it. As soon 

 as it is well blown it should be put in boxes 

 and covered with an old bran sack until the 

 eggs hatch and the heat begins to develop. 

 If more maggots hatch than the meat will 

 mature, more meat should be added. In 

 4 or 5 days after hatching the maggots 

 should be full grown. They should then 

 be turned into hopperlike boxes, with slat 

 or one-inch mesh wire bottoms, placed on a 

 rack, with tight bottom boxes or sheet 

 metal pans underneath, to catch the mag- 

 gots. Wheat shorts or middlings should be 

 strewn over the bottom of these pans to 

 dry the maggots and prevent their crawl- 

 ing out. It also helps to clean and scour 

 the maggots. For very young pheasants, 

 the maggots must be free from the bran. 

 To effect this, pour the maggots into a bran 

 sack, hang it over the pan or box, and let 

 them crawl through, leaving the bran in- 

 side. 



The young pheasants should also have a 

 lot of bright live oats. I begin feeding a 

 few of these twice a day when the birds 

 are 2 or 3 days old. After they are a week 

 old, feed 3 times a day, as long as they care 

 for the oats. 



These instructions have reference to the 

 absolutely pure Chinese pheasant. Breed- 

 ers of English ringnecks claim they are 

 easy to raise. One man who has raised 

 both and kept the Chinese pure, says you 

 can't raise them alike. The Chinese are 

 hard to raise. He says he can tell whether 

 one has the pure Chinese or not by know- 

 ing how he feeds the young. 



I have been raising Chinese pheasants 5 

 years. Have had them die from not know- 

 ing how to care for them, from no apparent 

 cause, from disease, from eating green ap- 

 ples that fell from the tree just after the 

 blossom had set, the stem being an inch 

 long; sand, small tacks, bits of wood, 

 gravel stones, grass roots and stolen food 

 that didn't .agree with them. Have had 

 trouble with hawks, cats, dogs, skunks, and 

 weasels. A good many chicks have liber- 

 ated themselves. Many others have com- 

 mitted suicide in a variety of ways. The 2 

 most unexpected things were a frog that 

 made a breakfast on one young pheasant, 

 •and had killed another for supper before we 

 found out what he was about, and a butch- 

 er bird that killed some of my full grown 

 birds last winter and dined on their brains, 

 leaving the rest. Now my question is, 

 What next? I can not imagine. 



