October, 1912 
At any rate, it is a precaution too important to neglect. 
If hens must be relied upon, it is advisable to place chicken 
wire with a half-inch mesh around the nest; otherwise some 
of the poults are pretty sure to stray away. The newly- 
hatched birds are very active and start out to see the world 
as soon as fairly dry; and they can crawl through an as- 
tonishingly small hole. Often some of the eggs are tardy 
in hatching, so that the birds which first break out of their 
prisons are running about long before the hen is able to 
leave the nest in order to look after them. Brooder poults, 
too, must be confined with a closely woven wire netting 
as soon as they begin to wander from under the hover. A 
little wire yard made in the shape of a half circle will pre- 
vent their straying away from the heat too far, and as 
they work their way along the wire, they will soon find 
themselves back in the hover. 
A custard made of eggs and milk together may be given 
after the poults are 36 hours old, and this ration continued 
three or four days, when a change to very small grains 
and seeds with a little Hamburger steak three times a week 
may be made. The little birds will eat only a small amount 
at first. In raising pheasants abroad, ant “eggs,” which 
are the pupae of ants taken from ant hills for insect food, 
are considered very valuable in raising young birds. In this 
country maggots have been cultivated for the same purpose. 
There are concerns in England now which market ant 
‘‘eggs’’ in boxes for the purpose of feeding young pheasants. 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 365 
By the time the poults are four days old they will begin 
to forage a bit and should be given in an open-air run on 
sod. A few piles of brush scattered about make good shel- 
ters and the young birds will seek them at the slightest 
alarm. 
When the poults are nine or ten weeks old they are well 
feathered out and ready to dispense with the ministrations 
of the mother hen, if hen-reared. After that age is reached, 
they also become hardier and if permitted to follow their 
natural bent, will take to roosting in the trees. When four 
months old they are nearly full grown. 
Mature pheasants may be fed like common poultry twice 
a day, over-feeding be guarded against. 
Mating pens should be made in February. When pheas- 
ants for breeding purposes are purchased, it is well to have 
them delivered in the Fall or early Winter, so that they will 
become accustomed to their new surroundings before the 
breeding season arrives. 
The eggs are not laid in nests, but on the floor, often in 
the most secluded spot available, but in no regular place. 
Sometimes they are dropped from the perches, in which 
case the latter may be removed during the laying season, 
but as a rule, the eggs are laid in the early evening, and of 
course, must be gathered at once, so that they will not be 
broken and the egg-eating habit formed. 
There are many handsome varieties of pheasants, but 
(Continued on page 372) 
ae . 
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A. typical wheasaut nest containing eggs awhich are so snail He twenty may Ee eee rE a eins Bantuan 
