43 



Pheasants. 



about their use as far as hatching-out the eggs is concerned, 

 but there the matter ends, as young pheasants will not 

 take to the artificial mother : they stray away, become lost, 

 hungry, and die. At the same time, a small incubator 

 kept on hand will prove useful at times to complete the 

 incubation of a forward clutch of eggs, or to hatch off a 

 reserve for making-up broods to a level complement. 

 Outside of these merits the incubator is of no great 

 assistance to the pheasant-rearer. 



Two methods of dealing with the sitting hens are 

 open to the preserver. They may be either set in separate 

 hatching-boxes in the open, or a suitably constructed or 

 arranged hatching-house can be provided. Decision in 

 this direction must be taken according to the conditions 

 prevailing. The nearer Nature can be followed in regard 

 to the incubation of the eggs, the better; but if it be the 

 case that the surroundings do not permit of the foster- 

 hens being set out of doors under circumstances which will 

 ensure their health and the necessary freedom from disturb- 

 ance, as well as afford the conveniences for feeding and 

 airing the hens when they come off their nests, then the 

 provision of a suitable hatching- shed becomes necessary. 

 Before dealing with this part of the subject, however, the 

 question of hatching-boxes must receive attention, for, in 

 any case, the same class of article is employed. 



At the outset it is necessary to point out that, however 

 wholesale the hatching of pheasant eggs may be effected, 

 a series or long rows of hatching-boxes are quite opposed 

 to the necessities of the case. Each box must be separate. 

 The type does not signify so much, so long as the boxes 

 are roomy and separate. True, the cost is greater, but 

 the better hatching results will easily recompense any extra 

 outlay. The main features are that they should be not 

 less than i6in. square and 2oin. high, inside measurement. 



