Pheasants Fact Friday!
The average hen incubates 10 to 12 eggs. At first, she supplies all the heat to maintain eggs at 107 degrees. This gradually diminishes as the embryo develops and increases its own heat production. Eventually, the hen’s function is to insulate the eggs, protect them from predators and rewarm them after and absence. Incubation requires 22 percent of the hen’s heat production.
The longer the hen sits on her eggs, the less likely she is to abandon or be forced off the nest. Because of this devotion, mowing or swathing farm fields during later stages of incubation can destroy many hens.
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