The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is looking for people to raise pheasant chicks.

Applications are now available for the cooperative Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program; they are due by March 25. “The program provides pheasant hunting opportunities through a partnership among DEC, hunters, 4-H youth groups, and landowners interested in rearing and releasing pheasants,” according to a release from the DEC.

The Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program began in the early 1900s and is funded through the State Conservation Fund, which is supported by license fees paid by hunters, trappers, and anglers.

Pheasant eggs and chicks were distributed to farmers and rural youth in the program’s early days. Today, day-old chicks are available at no cost to participants that are able to provide a brooding facility, a covered outdoor rearing pen, and an adequate release site.

Approved applicants will receive the day-old chicks in April, May, or June. No chicks obtained through the Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program can be released on private shooting preserves, and all release sites must be approved in advance by DEC and must be open for public pheasant hunting.

Daily care is necessary to monitor the health of the birds and to ensure there is adequate feed and water for the rapidly growing chicks. The pheasants may be released beginning when they are eight weeks old and no later than Dec. 1.

Residents of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Schoharie counties may apply by calling the Stamford office at (607) 652-7367 or writing 65561 State Hwy 10, Suite 1, Stamford, NY 12167.