Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1915-09-23

The pheasant naturally is very
strong in flight. Confining pheasants
was first accomplished by covering
the pens or yards with wire netting,
but the expense of the method was so
great, that pheasant raisers have
abandoned it and instead of doing
that many simply clipped one wing
of its feathers to prevent flying, but
the best and most successful raisers
of these birds take a very sharp
shears when the bird is about four
days old, prepare a good sized saucer
filled with boracic acid or powdered
calomel or even wood ashes, and take
each chick when between four days
and week old and clip off one wing
at the first joint, Immediately dipping
the raw end of the wing into the
powder and turning the bird loose.
This is called pinioning. 1t has no
injurious effect on the birds, they re-
cover at once and it prevents their
flying thereafter more than three or
four feet in height and permits them
to be confined in a garden or yard
surrounded by wire netting fence.
Birds raised to be turned loose for
stocking purposes should not be
pinioned for it prevents them escap-
ing from their natural enemies.
During the breeding season the
male pheasants are very jealous and
inclined to fight. With them fight
ing is no unimportant matter. They
frequently fight until one or the other
is killed and occasionally until both
are so injured that they are there
after of no value. On that account
as the breeding season approaches,
the hens should be separated and
placed in the pens where they are to
lay and the males that are to be
kept with any hens should also be
separated, not more than one male
being permitted in one pen. Those
males that are not permitted to run
with hens, may be allowed to be
together.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing
to the person previously unacquainted
with pheasants and their habits is
the fact that they will not live indoors
as do chickens and other domestic
fowl. Therefore their houses should
be made with walls on the East,
West and North sides and with roof,
but the South side should be un-
covered and open except that if one
sees fit, the South side may be covered
half way down with old window sash
with the glass in them and plenty of
perches should be placed in the house.
To avoid rains and disagreeable
winds, the birds will seek the house
in daylight, but it is indeed very
rarely that they will be found in the
house at night In the most inclem-
ent weather mine have slept out on
the tops of snow banks. In the
winter season of the year a feeding
patch for them, if possible, should be
made beneath underground, or should
be kept swept clean where they can
come for feed. Corn shocks should be
provided for them as additional shell
ter in their yards and it would be we'll
if few pine trees or spruce trees
grew in their yards with dirt we'll
banked up around the bottom of the
| trees SO the pheasants could rest
there on the dirt out of the wet.
Great care should be taken to avoid
mites and lice with pheasants,
whether young or old, and particu-
larly with the young, and where it
! is deemed necessary they should be
creased. The pheasant seems to be
fairly free from disease, but occasion
ally 4 hard, scaly substance like a
wart or corn grows on the legs,
making the bird lame. Where that
is found little olive oil rubbed on
them will cause them to fall off in a
short time. If a pheasant should
develop a cold, be very careful not to
give it water, except at long intervals.
These birds are insect extermina-
tors. That constitutes a very large
part of their food and as a conse-