There’s a Big Demand for Ornamental Birds

 There’s a Big Demand for Ornamental Birds

   

   “ I TURNED sixty acres, not suitable for farming, into pens for raising ornamental birds,” said John Keller, of Kenosha, Wisconsin. “This land has a pond at one end and a shallow creek runs through it, but the rocks and marshy spots make it bad pasture. It was the pond that made me think of trying my luck with swans. These sixty acres, being handy to the house, would be ideal for swan raising I figured, because I could easily watch the birds. I paid sixty-five dollars for a pair of white swans, fenced off pen space for them at the edge of the pond. I read a good deal about the swan’s habits and found it is an affectionate bird which, once mated, will never leave its mate. They lay in March, April and May, prefer to live by themselves, and must be kept away from animals. My first brood was seven young swans and by the end of the summer, I had eighteen swans. The swan, being very hardy, is not difficult to raise. It requires less care than a turkey or a chicken, and brings higher prices. My original investment was sixty-five dollars for the first pair and thirty dollars for fencing. By Christmas, I had sold eight pair of young swans, at seventy dollars a pair. I kept the others for breeding. In two and a half years, I’ve raised and sold a hundred-and-fifty pair of swans at an average price of sixty dollars. “Shortly after I started the swans, I decided to experiment a little with peacocks as I had plenty of room. The peacock, I soon discovered, needed a high fence around the entire area used for raising him, since these birds have the habit of roosting on housetops, trees, and other high places, and refuse to sleep in a coop. They are quite hardy birds, almost as easy to handle as swans and are not bothered much by the cold. They are more prolific than the swan, and because of the beauty of their plumage sell for big prices. I get up to ninety-five dollars for a pair of well-matched green peacocks, and last year sold seventy-six pair at this price. About the only thing I have to watch closely is that no dogs or other small animals get into the big pens. While the swan and peacock are large birds, well able to take care of themselves in any battle with a dog, the presence of a dog or the threat of one visiting them is sufficient to keep the birds from laying. Frighten a peacock or swan and it seems to lose all desire to lay. The swan is not subject to disease such as attack chickens, hence loss through disease and sickness is practically nil. The peacock and the swan mate for life and care should be taken to discover how they mate up, and not to break up mated birds. I figure the cost for raising a swan to be about three dollars, and three twenty-five for a peacock. This includes the cost of making the pens, feeding, incidental expenses, except labor. The work of looking after the birds, which is done by my wife and myself, takes only an hour or two each day.” The raising of ornamental birds takes more space than would be required for other fowl, inasmuch as these birds like to strut and preen themselves a good deal. There are many farms having marginal land that might profitably be devoted to raising these birds. A ready market is always at hand, as the demand for peacocks and swans by public parks, zoos, private estates, playgrounds, public and private institutions, and universities is greater than the existing supply. Other ornamental birds may be raised along with swans and peacocks with little added cost. For example, the Chinese Mandarin duck, wood duck and Red Billed Tree duck will get along well with the swans, while Golden and Silver pheasants and Pearl Guinea fowl will thrive with the peacocks.