The Protein Requirement of Ring-necked Pheasant Chicks

A KNOWLEDGE of the minimum protein requirement of any animal is necessary in order to supply satisfactory rations for it. Therefore in undertaking an investigation of the nutrition of Ringnecked pheasants, it was decided to study first the protein requirement. The studies were limited to the first eight weeks of life, since the nutrition of pheasant chicks during this period of growth was of more immediate interest. Five experiments were conducted, two in the summer of 1932, one in 1933, and two in 1934. At the time these experiments were begun, the only work reported on the protein requirement of Ringnecked pheasant chicks was that of Callenback, Murphy, and Hiller (1932). These investigators concluded that Ringnecked pheasant chicks made better growth on a higher level of protein than the protein level suitable for chicks of the domestic fowl. The ration used contained 24 percent protein for the first four weeks . . .