24 
PHEASANT RAISING IN THE UNITED STATES. 
their approach by whistling as they near the birds, whether these 
are in pens or in the open. A former pheasant raiser states that 
she always tapped with a fork on the china feeding dish to call the 
young pheasants together at feeding time. If the pheasants are not 
intended for game covers, it will be found advantageous to tame 
them somewhat by gentle treatment. When care and consideration 
are shown and occasional delicacies are fed, they will respond and 
will readily learn to eat from the hand. Besides the pleasure this 
brings to the attendant, this course diminishes danger of losses 
through the birds dashing themselves in fright against the netting. 
EGG EATING AND FEATHER PLUCKING. 
The need of plenty of room for penned pheasants can not be too 
strongly emphasized. Overcrowding, besides being conducive to 
disease, leads to the practices of egg eating and feather plucking. 
Egg eating is usually begun by cocks, though hens readily acquire 
the habit. Broken eggs left in the pens will almost certainly start it. 
The practice is more common in certain species, among them the 
Reeves and melanotte pheasants, than in others, while the versicolor 
seems to be free from it. If the pens are of ample size and the eggs 
are promptly and regularly removed, egg eating usually need not be 
feared. If begun, it should be checked at once. Various devices 
have been used to break up the practice, such as placing in the pen 
eggs of glass or wood, or eggshells filled with red pepper, soft soap, 
or other disagreeable substance. It is better, however, to remove 
the offender immediately to another pen, before the habit spreads. 
Feather plucking also requires immediate removal of the offender and 
of any badly plucked birds, which are likely to be objects of general 
attack, as otherwise serious damage to the other occupants of the 
pen may result. An abundance of room is preventive of both these 
faults. Cover should be provided for the hens in case the cocks are 
disposed to attack them. It may be necessary even to clip the wings 
of the cocks and furnish high perches for the hens to fly to for safety, 
or, better still, place in the pen a partition too high for the clipped 
cock to fly over. 
FOOD. 
Pheasants are small feeders, and there is greater danger of over¬ 
feeding than underfeeding. Overfeeding is productive of disease. 
In order to guard against it, the attendant should at first sprinkle 
a little food on the ground, wait for that to be eaten, and then repeat 
until the birds lose their eagerness, when feeding should be discon¬ 
tinued. The proper quantity of food for each pen may thus soon be 
ascertained. Pheasants are omnivorous, and as varietv is advanta- 
geous, almost any edible substance may be fed—grain of all kinds, 
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