APPENDIX. 
121 
clippings, clover or alfalfa. They like lettuce best. Pheasants get 
unthrifty at once if deprived of the green stuff they need. Fresh water 
in abundance must always be handy. Scald all watering dishes every 
day, and keep drinking water in the shade or change it often; warm 
water favors the development of bacteria that cause disease. 
MATING SEASON. 
The mating season will, of course, vary with the locality, but, gener¬ 
ally speaking, it begins in April and extends into August. In captivity 
the pheasant hen lays from forty to seventy-five eggs. Nests are useless, 
as the hens will seldom use them, but drop their eggs on the ground 
anywhere in the pen. 
The eggs should be gathered as soon as laid, or at least twice a day; 
otherwise the birds (particularly the males) will eat them. A sure cure 
for the egg-eating habit is to blow some eggs and fill them with melted 
soap and place in the pens. Eggs should be set as soon as possible; after 
they are fourteen days old they are unfit for hatching. 
After hens have stopped laying for the season they can often be 
encouraged to resume by moving them and the male to a new, clean pen. 
The “lay” in the new pen sometimes exceeds that in the old one, and, of 
course, more than pays for the expense of extra pens. 
HATCHING. 
The pheasant hen in captivity is a poor mother; besides, it is more 
profitable to keep her laying. Wyandottes and Rhode Island reds make 
the best ‘ ‘ mothers ’ ’ for pheasant eggs and chicks, although any domestic 
hen will do, so long as she is a good “setter.” Turkey hens are splendid 
mothers, as they are very quiet on the nest and careful with young birds. 
They seldom step on the chicks and are not so given to roaming as hen 
chickens are. The eggs must be set so that they will receive the benefit 
of ground moisture in a nest made after this plan: 
Dig a hole in the ground in a shady place and shape a nest in it with 
excelsior; a handful of onion skins is a valuable addition, as they help 
to keep lice away. The nest should be enclosed with a box without a 
top and about twelve inches high to prevent the young birds from escap¬ 
ing as soon as they hatch. Before placing the hen on the eggs be sure 
that she is free from lice and disease, as lice are certain death to young 
birds and are the cause of most failures in raising pheasants. One 
insect feeding on top of a chick’s head will kill the bird if not destroyed 
or removed. Dust the setting hen with some good lice powder, at least 
three times during the hatching period (but not within three days of 
hatching), and if at any time the young birds show evidence of being 
infested with lice, such as drooping and refusing to eat, dust them with 
