332 a hand-book of the management of animals 



Length of life in captivity. 



Some of these have been living since 1885. 



Treatment in health. 



Housing. — In zoological collections pheasants, like most other birds, 

 are exhibited in fixed and permanent aviaries. Once placed in such a 

 habitation they are condemned to live in that limited space till death ; 

 they tread the same hard brick floor day after day and year after year, 

 if they live so long ; they have no change, cannot forage for themselves, 

 and do not thrive. 



A proper pheasantry should consist of a shed or house for shelter and 

 retirement and an open-air flight or enclosure as a grazing ground; to 

 be healthy and comfortable, it should be so constructed as to admit, if 

 possible, of being shifted from one place to another as occasion arises. 

 No bird dislikes more than a pheasant a state of confinement for a 

 lengthened period, within a limited space, as nothing injures its health 

 more than the forced deprivation of all opportunity of grazing for itself. 

 The site selected should be dry and its drainage good, so that even 

 during the rains it ought to be altogether free from subsoil moisture ; to 

 ensure this it may be necessary to prepare the ground by raising it with 

 sandy soil. The system of giving the birds an occasional change of 

 ground may be much simplified by building a permanent shed of any 

 desired style and dimensions, and having the runs made of moveable 

 wire hurdles fixed on one side, so that they may be, when required, 

 shifted to the other side of the shed. Small plants and shrubs should be 

 planted in the runs ; these afford cover to timid birds which otherwise dash 

 against the wire netting at the slightest alarm. The runs may be netted 

 over at the top with stout fishermen's netting, but to prevent inroads of 

 smaller predatory animals which prowl about everywhere during the night, 

 and even during the day, it is much better to use wire netting ; as, however, 

 the pheasants are much given to flying against the top and injuring 

 themselves, a piece of string netting should be stretched across about 

 a foot below the wire. At night the pheasants should be shut in the 

 shed, which ought to be airy and well ventilated during the summer, 

 with contrivances to exclude draughts and cold during the winter. 

 Civets and mungooses appear to have a greater penchant for pheasants 

 than for other birds, and are ever on the look-out for the weak points of 

 a pheasantry to effect an entrance; all possible precautions should there- 

 fore be taken to keep them out, and the keeper should be instructed 

 and warned to make a close examination of the house every morning, 

 and to have the slightest breach, if any, repaired. During the rains 

 it may be necessary to keep the birds indoors continually for several 

 days, as prolonged exposure to wet in a state of captivity is injurious 

 to their health ; the brick floor of the shed should be thickly sprinkled 

 over with coarse sand, which should be occasionally renewed. An aviary 

 for pheasants is wanting in its most essential requisite if it has no grass 

 run. With regard to the change of ground, in permanent aviaries it may 

 be managed by occasionally spreading a layer of fresh earth, about four 

 inches deep, over a portion of the floor of the outer cage. Many valuable 

 suggestions for the formation of aviaries for pheasants may be found in 

 Mr. Tegetmeier's excellent book on pheasants. 



