human
gpt
About the fourth season a hen's oviparous powers begin to decline, although her maternal qualifications, in other respects, do not deteriorate until a much later period. It is, therefore, of consequence to enlist, occasionally, a few recruits, to supply the place of those females who have completed their third year, and who then may be set at large in the preserves.
human
in rearing pheasant chicks--it is the first food to be given to them--Mr. Knox says,
gpt
Some persons find it difficult to separate the eggs from the materials of the nest. The simplest mode is, to place as much as may be required--ants, eggs, and all--in a bag or light sack, the mouth of which should be tied up. On reaching home, a large white sheet should be spread on the grass, and a few green boughs placed round it on the inside, over which the outer edge of the sheet should be lightly turned; this should be done during sunshine. The contents of the bag should then be emptied into the middle, and shaken out so as to expose the eggs to the light. In a moment, forgetting all considerations of personal safety, these interesting little insects set about removing their precious charge--the cocoons--from the injurious rays of the sun, and rapidly convey them under the shady cover afforded by the foliage of the boughs near the margin of the sheet. In less than ten minutes the work will be completed. It is only necessary then to remove the branches; and the eggs, or cocoons, may be collected by handfuls, unencumbered with sticks, leaves, or any sort of rubbish.
human
are excellent diet for the chicks, but that this kind of food is
gpt
human
Now, as it is not in our power to procure the quantity and variety of small insects and larvæ which the mother-bird so perseveringly and patiently finds for them, we are obliged to have recourse to ants' eggs, as easily accessible, and furnishing a considerable supply of the necessary sort of aliment in a small compass.
gpt
When the chicks are about a week or ten days old, Emden groats and coarse Scotch oatmeal may be mixed with the ants' eggs; and curds, made from fresh milk, with alum, are an excellent addition. If ants' nests cannot be procured in sufficient quantities, gentles should occasionally be given.
human
Young pheasants are subject to a kind of diarrhoea, which often proves fatal. If the disease be taken in time, boiled milk and rice, in lieu of any other diet, will generally effect a cure. To these chalk may be added, to counteract the acidity which attends this complaint; and should the symptoms be very violent, a small quantity of alum, as an astringent.