Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Swans
Swans have long been associated with royalty, elegance, and sophistication. They don't
lay many eggs in a season, however — usually a half-a-dozen or so. Because they're
not prolific egg producers and bring in very little in terms of egg sales, their cost-effect-
iveness is questionable. Prices per pair can range anywhere between $300 to more than
$3,000 for some of the rare types. Feed and caretaking are similar to domestic water-
fowl; however, I recommend that you pinion them at an early age to prevent your in-
vestment from flying away.
Although it's not a requirement, swans never look content without a decent-sized
supply of water to swim in; a child's wading pool is just not enough.
The biggest precaution to take when purchasing swans is to make sure they are a
proven breeding pair. Some matches made by man do not correspond with the choices
of the bird and they will not breed. And keep in mind that there is no guarantee you'll
get a breeding pair out of batch of cygnets you raise.
The Resources section in the appendix contains Internet and paper sources for inter-
ested readers to locate more detailed discussions regarding raising methods for each of
the bird species featured in this chapter.
ONE LOVE, TWO SCORNED
My first peafowl came as a breeding pair of Indian Blues. They got along beautifully
and she laid a few eggs that I did not successfully hatch; I was still learning to reg-
ulate incubator humidity at the time. Unfortunately, she lost her mate to a fox that
winter.
Before the next breeding season, I found a beautiful three-year-old male for my
peahen. He displayed and strutted and was impressive and fabulous for all of us to
watch. The only problem was the hen wanted nothing to do with him. He tried and
tried, but she snubbed him as if he wasn't there. This went on for two years and even-
tually he died. I purchased her yet another mate and the same thing happened. It is
very true that the hen controls the breeding process and decides when, and if, she will
breed.
