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PROFITABLE
SQUAB BREEDING

HOW TO MAKE MONEY

EASILY AND RAPIDLY WITH A SMALL
CAPITAL BREEDING SQUABS

With Full Directions How to Build Lofts, Mate Pigeons for the -
Largest and Best Squabs, Feed and Keep in Health and Secure
the Largest Profits from the Business, with Many Illustrations.

WERE Hw lacy.
~ LIBRARY
AT
SORNELL UNIVERS
By FRANK FOY
DES MOINES, IOWA
1909

COPYRIGHT 1908
BY FRANK FOY, DES MOINES, IOWA

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.

Best Breed for Squab Raising—The Kind

to Buy—About Mated Pairs.
CHAPTER II.

The Construction of Houses—Pigeon House
Plans—Nests—Water Fountains — Bathing
Dishes—Keeping House in Sanitary Condition.

CHAPTER III,
Feeds and Feeding—Breeding Habits.

CHAPTER IV.

Increasing the Flock—Selecting Future
Breeders—Branding—Mating.

CHAPTER V.

Making a Market—Preparing Squabs for
Market.

CHAPTER VI.
Profits of Squab Raising.

CHAPTER VII.

Diseases of Pigeons.

INTRODUCTORY.

No business has had such a surprising growth within the
last few years as the raising of squabs for market. Only
a few years ago the use of squabs for food was confined to a ,
few of the most wealthy families. Game was plentiful and
cheap and those who were not very well off preferred to buy
quail and other game birds to paying the high prices asked
for the few squabs which were sent to market.

Gradually the demand for squabs grew larger, as more
people became acquainted with their delicacy and good quali-
ties as food, and this led to larger numbers being produced.
Soon all the larger markets furnished squabs and then the
smaller ones began to supply them and now many a compara-
tively small market is not complete without squabs as a
part of the supplies of food kept on hand or provided on
order.

Game birds have become scarce and high-priced, and
squabs have taken their place in such a manner that the de-
mand for game is not so large as it was, while the demand
for squabs continually increases.

The rearing of squabs for market is immensely profitable
as well as easy. Squab-raising can be conducted on a scale
large enough to make it worth while in the back yard of a
town lot, or it can be conducted on a scale large enough to
require several acres with equal profit on every dollar in-
vested in the business.

Squab-breeding is a business which is profitable when con-

ducted as a side line on a small space and all the work may

8

be done by women, children, or those who are not strong
enough for the more laborious occupations of life. At the
same time it is a business which men of affairs need not
hesitate to undertake as there are squab farms on which
pigeons are kept by tens of thousands with great profit.
The squab business may be commenced with small capital
and rapidly increased from the increase of the flock, as each
pair of breeding birds will produce at least twelve in a year

so the increase is very rapid.

So great has the demand for a book which would give all
the details of the business of squab-raising become, that we
have felt compelled to publish this book. In it we have tried
to answer all the questions which a beginner would ask and
give all the details so plainly that any one can begin breeding
pigeons and raising squabs with success. ‘The instructions
given are based on actual experience in raising squabs and
we have tried to write so plainly that any one can understand
just how to begin and continue in the business.

Those who follow the instructions here given, may look
forward with confidence to a successful career as pigeon-
breeders provided they begin with the right kind of breeding ©
stock—the Frank Foy kind, the kind which produces heavy-

weight, plump, white-fleshed squabs.
FRANK FOY.

Des Moines, Iowa.

CHAPTER I.

THE BEST BREED FOR SQUAB RAISING—THE KIND TO BUY
—ABOUT MATED PAIRS.

The very best breed of pigeons to use for squab-raising is
American Homers. These produce heavy squabs, full
breasted, plump and meaty. The American-bred Homer is
a hardy and prolific bird and will produce more heavy-weight
squabs in a year than any other breed which has ever been
tried. They are good “workers”, that is they breed regularly,
feed their young carefully and are less liable to disease than
almost any other breed.

‘The American-bred Homer is not so pretty as some other
varieties, or as imported Homers, but it is a practical utility
bird which makes more money for its owner than can be made
out of any other breed.

The beginner should never buy imported. Homers. They
are bought in Belgium from farmers, without regard to their
quality, at about 25 cents a pair. They are boxed up and
shipped to this country and sold as imported birds which are
highly praised by the sellers as being just the thing.

Let these birds alone. They must become acclimated
after they get to this country before they begin to work.
Often they will not breed for six months or more after being
landed, and very frequently they sicken and die when going
through the process of acclimation.

Besides this, imported Homers do not produce as heavy
or as light-colored flesh in their squabs as do the American-
bred birds. If imported Homers are sold at $1.50 a pair,
good straight, mated pairs of American-bred birds are well
worth $3 a pair.

10

In buying, always buy of a reputable breeder whose word
may be taken for the quality of his birds. The reputable
breeder sells in the hope of selling again and sells only such
birds as he can recommend and knows will give satisfaction.

If the reputable breeder says the pairs he sells are mated,
it may be depended upon that there are an equal number of
each sex in a purchase and that these pairs are already mated
and ready to go to work almost as soon as they are in their
new homes.

Some very reputable breeders sell young birds with the un-
derstanding that they are sold just as they come from the
nests, the buyer knowing when he buys the birds that they.
are not mated and that he must wait until the birds have
arrived at mating age and get ready to mate themselves.

When birds are bought just as they come from the nests,
there are almost always more cocks than hens among them,
as about nine times in ten when only one bird is reared in a
nest that bird is a cock; but there is nothing unfair in this
sort of a sale, as the buyer gets his birds at a lower price
than he would have to pay for mated pairs ready to go to

work.

WHAT IS MEANT BY MATED PAIRS?

When we say mated pairs, we do not mean simply an
equal number of birds of each sex. We mean pairs which
have mated and married and are ready to go to work and
rear squabs without further waiting after they have been
received.

Pigeons mate in pairs and remain constant to each other
for life, as a rule. When a pair have gone through the court-

ll

ing stage and have mated ready to build a nest and hatch
young, they remain true to each other as long as they live or
as long as they are allowed to remain together. If a mating
is broken by death or separation, the birds will mate again
with other birds. This rule of constancy is rarely broken
and may be depended upon.

Some big dealers are rather cautious about talking about
mated pairs but speak about selling pairs of pigeons wtihout
saying anything about matings. Insist upon getting mated
and married pairs when you buy squab-raisers.

Birds which have mated and married may be shipped long
distances without breaking the matings, although occasionally
a pair breaks their mating from this cause.

Some pigeon books say that the beginner can do as well
with the common pigeons that fly about the streets as with
straight Homers. This statement is absurd on the face of it.
The common pigeon has bred miscellaneously and inbred un-
til the squab produced by it is thin, light in weight, skinny
and dark-fleshed to such a degree that they sell for about
$1.50 a dozen in the markets. Most people would willingly
pay three times that for the plump, meaty squabs from
straight American-bred Homers.

The beginner who secures the right kind of stock has made
the first long step toward success as a squab-breeder and he
should not hesitate to pay the price which good breeding stock
is worth, for poor breeding stock means failure and loss in
the end.

12

REMEMBER THIS.

Your success depends upon the kind of stock you buy. It
is much better to buy good stock at a fair price than it is to
get poor stock for nothing. No man can tell by looking at a
lot of breeding pigeons whether they are good breeders or
not. No man can tell whether they will produce squabs with
white flesh or dark, squabs that will weigh ten pounds to the
dozen or six pounds. No one can even guess at the age of a
pair of pigeons and those which are old and worn out look
just as well as those which are only a year old.

The whole future of the beginner depends upon getting
stock which is right in every way. Imported birds are of all
ages and qualities. American-bred birds, if bought of a re-
putable breeder, may be depended upon to produce a large
proportion of heavy, light-fleshed squabs and properly se-
lected and mated pairs will go to work and breed regularly

as soon as they have become accustomed to their new home.

13

CHAPTER II.
THE CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES.
Pigeon House Plans—Nests—W ater Fountains—Bathing

Dishes—Keeping the House in Sanitary Condition.

No doubt many a one has been deterred from making a
start in the business of raising squabs on account of the
fancied expense of building suitable houses. No one should
make the mistake of thinking that a costly house is necessary.
To be sure a well built, nicely painted house is ornamental
and adds to the appearance of a squab-breeding plant; but
this will come before long if the beginner has the proper
qualifications and the ability to increase the size of his flock
as rapidly as he may with good care and attention to his busi-
ness.

The writer has traveled all over the great squab-breeding
sections of the east and has seen about every kind of a pigeon
house that the ingenuity of man has ever been able to build.
We have seen houses which cost thousands of dollars and
those which were built of the odd boards that were picked up
about a farm. We have seen as fine birds and as large squabs
in a house improvised from piano boxes as we ever saw in
any of the great squab-breeding plants.

It is not so much a question of looks in a house as it is of
comfort and good care. One of the finest squab-breeding
plants in this country has grown up from a few birds which
were housed at first in a corner of the barn. The owner
persevered and kept adding to his flock as he made money
from it, and now he has fine buildings and thousands of
birds, all earned from an initial investment of something like
$25. Not a cent was ever added to the original investment,

14

all the increase and improvement in buildings having been
paid for out of the earnings of the birds themselves.

Before we go further, let us say that pigeon-breeders do
not talk about pigeon houses. A house or room in which
pigeons are kept is called a “loft”, whether it is on the ground
floor or in the peak of a barn. The pigeon house is a loft
and the flock of pigeon kept in a loft is called a loft of
pigeons. It is just as well to get the proper terms used in
the business at first, as pigeon-breeders always use them.
To return to our pigeon loft. A loft may be made in the
corner of a stable or other outhouse, with a fly outside. We
might explain for the benefit of the beginner that a pigeon
“fly” is a wired-inyard, a sort of big cage in which the
pigeons can get out in the sun and still be kept within limits.
The flies are made by setting up posts about eight feet high
and stretching two-inch mesh poultry netting on them. A
fly is usually about ten feet wide and from twelve to thirty
feet long. This is covered over the top with the same kind
of poultry netting that is used on the sides.

We have seen as good pigeon loft as any one would need
made in the loft of a stable, the fly being on the roof. Posts
were so set up on the roof that their tops were even with
the peak of the roof. This enclosure was then shut in, sides
and top, with poultry netting and the birds had a roomy and
dry fly which was always clean, as the rains washed the drip-
pings off the roof at frequent intervals.

In Chicago, we saw an extensive pigeon loft on the top
of a flat-topped building high above the street; and a very
well-known squab breeding establishment in a southern
state is on top of a big hotel, the owner breeding the squabs.
he needs for his hotel in this high-placed situation. ;

15

a

A Pigeon Fly—Showing How One is Built.

TONNON OSS”:

16

From the foregoing it will be seen that the question of

housing the breeding pigeons is not a very complicated one,

as there is a wide latitude for action.

Some breeders even allow their birds to fly at large, not
using flies at all; but this practice is not recommended. In
the first place, the birds do not produce so many squabs as
they do under confinement and they are liable to accidents,
such as being caught by hawks, shot by boys, or some other
mishap which causes the owner to lose them and often to
lose squabs which such birds have in their nests.

It has been found best to keep the birds strictly confined.
One well-known squab-raiser has a pen of fifty pairs of
birds in his lofts which have been confined in the same place
for seevn years and are still working well. The writer
visited this loft at the end of the seventh year of their con-
finement and noticed that they were producing squabs at a
good rate.

For the convenience of beginners, we give ground plan
and elevation of two styles of pigeon lofts, pp.17, 19,21 and 24.
The loft designated as No. 1, may be built at a cost as low

as $15 for one room, or it may be made to cost $50 or even

more. It will be seen that the plan is for two rooms, but |: —

this is not the limit of size that is possible. We have seen
lofts with a dozen rooms in them, but would recommend -
about four rooms as the most convenient limit where pigeons
are kept extensively. Where a four-room house is built for
lofting purposes, the plan should include a storeroom unless
the owner has a room which conveniently can be used for a
storeroom for feed and as a place for dressing and packing
the squabs.

17

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18

In House No. 2, it will be seen that an alleyway is built
in the house back of the lofts. The partition between this
alleyway and the lofts is made of two-inch poultry netting,
but the partitions between the rooms are solid and as air-
tight as the outside walls.

A good many breeders are now using stout muslin in-
stead of glass in the windows, as this gives light, lets the
warmth of the sun enter the rooms and provides a good
system of ventilation. Houses in which cloth windows are
used are found to be fully as warm .as those having glass
windows. :

On the side of the house next the fly, a series of openings
is made near the roof, but low enough to open under the top
of the fly. These openings may be about eight inches square
with a six-inch wide shelf even with the bottom inside and
outside. These are the doors through which the pigeons
go back and forth to and from the fly, and the shelves be-
neath them are the lighting boards. These openings should
be provided with a sliding door so that they can be closed
when it is desirable to shut out the cold or to confine the
birds for any reason.

NESTS.

In providing nests for a loft, at least two nests for each
pair of birds should be provided. This gives the birds a
chance to find a nest to use while the squabs are maturing:
in another, as after the birds begin to breed they will have
eggs in one nest while they have a pair of squabs to feed:
in another. Some breeders provide 120 nests for fifty pairs
of birds, but this is rather more than is absolutely necessary:

The nest boxes’ are easily made. The illustration on

page 28 shows very clearly the manner of constructing

19

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20

them. In practice, boards one foot wide on which cleats
one inch square are nailed across one foot apart are set
against the wall and firmly secured, the edge being to the
wall, of course. This leaves the cleats opposite each other,
Then boards one foot square are cut and laid on these cleats,
When the work is done, we have a series of nests one foot
every way, each shelf forming the bottom of a nest and the
top of the one under it. If nappies are not used, a cleat
should be nailed on the front edge of the shelves in order
that the nesting material will not be worked out by the birds,
Nests made in this way are very easily: cleaned, as the shelves

may be drawn out and cleaned without trouble.

NAPPIES.

Nappies are earthen dishes of a peculiar shape which are
made for pigeon nests. “The shape of them is shown in the
illustration showing squabs at various ages. These nappies,
are used by a great many pigeon-breeders, but we have not
found them necessary as the birds are perfectly able to build
their own nests and will do so if the nest boxes are provided.

Where only a few pairs of birds are kept, we have seen
boxes used for nest boxes. Boxes about the size of orange
boxes are used, these being divided into two compartments
and fastened to the wall by nails driven through the bottom.
We recommend that regular nests be provided as they give

a neater appearance to the lofts and are more easily cleaned.
NESTING MATERIAL.

A good supply of nesting material should be provided for
the pigeons. ‘This may be short straw, or coarse hay in
short lengths, but the best material is tobacco stems which

21

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22

may be bought at about one cent a pound from stores that
keep pigeon and poultry supplies. These tobacco stems pre-
vent insects from being harbored in the nests and save a

great deal of trouble in this way.

WATER FOUNTAINS.

Pigeons are great water drinkers and should be watered at
least twice a day as they need a plentiful supply of pure
fresh water. The best way to supply this is by using the
regular water fountains which are made for this purpose.
These may be bought through almost any breeder who sells
pigeons. If the one of whom the pigeons are bought does
not keep them for sale, he will give the name of a firm which
handles them. ‘These fountains cost only a small sum and
they keep the water clean, whereas if open water vessels are
used, the water becomes foul with dirt and dust.

BATHING.

Pigeons must be provided with facilities for bathing, as
they will not keep in good health if they can not have a
bath very regularly. They delight in getting into the water
and bathing themselves all over. An ordinary big dishpan
makes a good bath-tub for pigeons, or a barrel so cut off as
to be three inches deep makes a good tub for bathing pur-
poses. Empty the bath-tub as soon as the pigeons have fin-
ished their baths to prevent them from drinking the foul
water.

SANITATION.

A pigeon loft must be kept free from insects and disease’
germs by carefully attending to sanitary conditions. The
free use of lice-killers, cleaning the nests out as soon as the

squabs are taken from them and whitewashing the whole,

23

interior of the loft at least twice a year will keep the enemies
of the birds from gaining a foot-hold, as well as destroy stray
disease germs which may be floating in the air.

DRYNESS.

Pigeons must have a dry loft or they will fall victims to
disease. ‘To keep the houses dry, they should have the floor
at least a foot from the ground and the location should be
such that water does not stand around the house or under it.
Make the floor double, so that it will be air-tight and let the
air circulate under the house freely. Two objects are ac-
complished by having the floor off the ground. The rooms
are kept dry and rats will not burrow under the house.

FLOOR COVERING.

The floor of the pigeon house should be kept covered with
about an inch of sand, if this can be procured handily. Oth-
erwise keep it covered with chaff, which should frequently
be renewed.

CLEANLINESS.

It is necessary to keep the pigeon lofts clean. Some breed-
ers advocate cleaning them every week, but we think a good
cleaning once a month will do. Every time the lofts are
cleaned, the birds must be disturbed more or less and this
results in some little loss, so the matter of cleanliness should
not be carried to the extreme. If the house is dry and light,
the droppings will quickly dry up and will not become of-
fensive for several weeks.

FLOOR COVERING FOR FLIES.

A good floor for the flies is well-packed earth covered with
gravel to the depth of two inches. This gravel will need
renewing spring and fall.

24

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CHAPTER III.
FEEDS AND FEEDING—BREEDING HABITS.

Pigeons are exclusively grain-eaters. They do not require
animal feed of any kind, nor is green feed necessary for them.
Occasionally a nice tender head of lettuce may be given to
each loft and they will eat it with relish, but such green
feeds as grass, lawn clippings, or cut clover should never
be given to them. The lettuce is not nécessary but may be
given by way of variety, but not more than one head to fifty
pairs of birds.

The principal feeds are red wheat, sifted cracked corn,
Canada peas, kaffir corn, hemp seed and German millet seed.
Besides these, buckwheat, barley and canary seed may some-
times be given; but the first-named constitute a good variety
and should be used as the main feeds. It will not do to feed
wheat, corn, or peas as a constant feed. All of them are
necessary and they should be properly rotated.

SOUND GRAIN NECESSARY.

We want to emphasize the fact that all grain used for
feeding pigeons must be sound and wholesome. It is the very
poorest kind of economy to feed shrunken, musty, or damaged,
grain of any kind.

WHEAT.

The wheat used should be sound red wheat which has
been thoroughly dried. New wheat should never be used.
Good No. 2 red wheat, at least six months out of the straw,

should be selected.

26

CRACKED CORN.

Sound, well dried, No. 2 sifted cracked corn should be
used for pigeons. By well dried, we mean that the corn
should be of the crop of the previous year. It should be
cracked so that the pieces will be about the size of wheat
grains. It should be sifted to separate the fine meal, as the
pigeons will not eat the meal and if it is left in the food
troughs it will sour and produce bowel troubles in the birds,
old and young.

CANADA PEAS.

Canada peas should be well dried out, selecting those of
the previous year as these are thoroughly dry and sound.
‘They are the costliest feed the pigeon-keeper will need to buy
but are not fed largely, being used on account of their great
nutritive qualities, which cause squabs to grow rapidly and
make heavy breast meat.

KAFFIR CORN.

Kafhr corn has become a regular article of sale and can be
bought almost anywhere. It is between wheat and corn in
value and makes a very good pigeon feed. Buy seed of the
previous year when buying for pigeons.

HEMP SEED.

But a small quantity of hemp seed is used. If too much
were given the birds, they would soon become very fat and
get lazy. A good plan is to throw a handful of hemp seed
on the floor once a week on a stated day, say Wednesday.
Never put hemp seed in a feed trough, as the first birds to
get to the trough would “hog” all the seed.

MILLET SEED.
The seed of the German millet makes an excellent pigeon

feed. It also is quite fattening and must be used snaringly.

27

It is usually quite cheap, compared with its feed value, and
should be kept on hand at all times.
BUCKWHEAT.

Buckwheat is very fattening and should be fed sparingly.
The pigeon-breeder need not take any special pains to get it
for his birds, but in some localities buckwheat is raised and
in these places this grain may be used sparingly.

CANARY SEED.

Canary seed is too costly to use as a regular feed, but birds
relish a small feed of it once in a while. In some parts of
this country canary seed might be grown very easily and it
would find a large sale if enough of it were produced to meet
the demand which would soon grow up.

OTHER FOOD REQUISITES.

Pigeons require, besides the grain they eat, salt, grit and
charcoal. These should be kept in the lofts constantly,
so that the birds can get at them at any time.

GRIT.

The birds require grit, and this should be kept in a
box where they can get it when they need it. The best
grit is the pigeon grit, sold by poultry-supply houses. This
costs very little and is exactly what the birds require. If
this is not handy, use very coarse sand or fine gravel, keep-
ing it in a box about like a cigar box and renewing it every
week.

SALT.

Salt is absolutely necessary to the health of pigeons. It
should never be given them in the form of table salt, be-
cause they will eat too much of it. If rock salt can be
secured, it is the best form in which to give salt to the

28

pigeons. If this is not procurable, buy a five-pound bag of
table salt and wet it. Then put it in the oven and dry it,
when it will become almost as hard as the original rock
salt. Put a bag in each loft and let the pigeons pick out
the salt through the bag.

A Series of Nest Boxes.

CHARCOAL.

Charcoal keeps the birds in good condition and a cigar
box full of charcoal, broken into bits about the size of
wheat grains, should constantly be kept before the birds.
This crushed charcoal is to be found in poultry-supply
stores. If none of these are within reach, the pigeon-
breeder may make his own charcoal by burning wood to

a coal and then extinguishing the fire with water. Corn

‘

29

cobs, charred in this way, make an excellent charcoal for

pigeons.
HOW TO FEED.

Pigeons should never be fed in hoppers. They should
be fed twice every day. In summer, feed at 7:30 a. m.
and at 4:30 p. m. In winter, feed an hour later in the
morning and an hour earlier in the evening. Of course,
these hours may be varied, but the feeding should be
done at the same hour every day, morning and evening,
as the birds soon become accustomed to the feeding hours
and if not fed on time become very restless.

FEED TROUGHS.

Feed troughs should be ten inches wide, six feet long
and three inches deep. ‘These are easily made and are
much better than any of the automatic hoppers on the
market. Where the feed is given in hoppers, the birds
will first eat the kind they like best and waste much of the
rest of the feed.

MIXTURES RECOMMENDED.

For the morning feed, mix equal parts of wheat, cracked
corn and Canada peas. Give three quarts of this mixture
to each fifty pairs of birds.

For the evening feed, kaffr corn, cracked corn, millet
and Canada peas, equal parts. Give three quarts to each
fifty pairs of birds.

Every third day, substitute hemp seed for the millet, or
feed a little less of the regular ration and throw a handful
or two of hemp seed on the floor as recommended above.
If broken rice can be bought cheaply, a small feed of this
mav be substituted for one of the feeds of hemp seed each

v

30

ALWAYS FEED INDOORS.

Never feed pigeons out of doors, as any feed left over
is likely to be damaged by the weather; and in bad weather
they must be fed indoors, so it is best to feed them there
always.

ECONOMICAL FEEDING.

The pigeon-breeder should always feed his birds, so he
will know that it is properly done. If at any time any of
the grain from a previous feed is left in the troughs, the
ration should be reduced a little. If the troughs are
emptied in a way that shows the birds have not plenty to
eat, add a little to the quantity given to them.

Pigeons which are feeding squabs require more feed than.
those not working, as they must eat enough for themselves
and for the squabs also. .

HOW SQUABS ARE FED.

Squabs are fed by the parents in a most peculiar way.
The old birds, male and female, eat the grain and drink
water freely. This is partially digested until it is formed
into a milky liquid mass. ‘Then the squab puts its beak
inside that of the parent bird and the parent by a peculiar
jerking motion of the head and neck “pumps” this liquid
food into the crop of the young bird. This feed is called
“pigeons’ milk” and is very nutritious, young squabs grow-
ing more rapidly than any other kind of young birds.

BREEDING HABITS.

The breeding habits of pigeons are peculiar. "When a
male has selected the female he desires for his mate, there
follows a course of true love-making in which the male
struts around his favorite, cooes to her and evidently tries

to show her what a grand bird he is. The female, if at-

31

tracted to her wooer, becomes friendly with him and the
two ‘‘bill” each other very much as if they were exchanging
kisses. *

The two then select a nesting-place and build a nest

therein and the cock bird becomes very anxious for the hen

HVE >
LN EM a ie
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Hi}
Hy
Wy Mice

eae
Squabs One Day Old.

to begin laying. If she does not promptly take to her
duties, he undertakes to drive her into the nest, talking
angrily to her and striking her with his wings.

Finally the hen takes to the nest and deposits an egg.
Then she misses a day and deposits a second egg, this being

all that are laid at one time.

32

As soon as the first egg is laid, brooding begins. The hen
occupies the nest from about 4 in the afternoon until 10 the
next forenoon. The cock then sits while his mate eats and
rests. In this order the brooding goes on and at the end
of about seventeen days the egg first laid hatches, and in
due course the last one also hatches, if no accidents have
happened to it.

In this way it happens that one of the young birds is two
days older than the other and almost invariably the one
first hatched is a male, the latter one being a female.

The old birds now begin to feed the young, and they grow
marvelously. They are kept stuffed full of “pigeons’ milk”
and on this they seem to grow while one watches them.

In a few days the hen is ready to lay again, and if there

is a spare nest box the pair make another nest and the hen

lays two eggs, after which the couple are kept very busy’

brooding one pair of eggs and at the same time feeding a
pair of rapidly growing squabs.

When the squabs are about four weeks old, they are
heavier than they ever will be again in their lives, as they
have reached full size and are very fat. It is at this time
that they are taken from the nest and sent to market.

If not taken from the nest about this time, the old birds,
desiring to start in with another pair of eggs, turn the squab
out and they fall on the floor of the loft so fat they can
hardly get about. Here they become lean while learning
to eat for themselves, and soon become sleek and trim, in-
stead of being unwieldy with fat.

This doubling up with families shows the necessity of

providing at least two nest boxes for each pair of pigeons

33

in a loft. It is even better to have more than two nests
for each pair, as this gives them some liberty of choice and
often saves quarreling between two couples.

As pigeons mate for life, it is very important that only
mated and married pairs are kept together. If an odd cock
or an odd hen is letf in a loft, there are family troubles
without end; and the quarrels which arise from this cause
result in broken eggs and squabs killed in the fights.

gv
i \ t

Saquabs One Week Old.

It sometimes happens that a pair will not produce young.
This is because the hen is barren. In such a case the hen
should be disposed of and a new mate for the cock furnished.
It is best to shut the two in a box with a wire partition
between them until they become acquainted with each other,
after which they will usually mate, although they do not

invariably do so.

34

Six Squabs Weighing Six Pounds.

35
CHAPTER IV.

INCREASING THE FLOCK—-SELECTING FUTURE BREEDERS.
BANDING—MATING.

Almost everyone who raises squabs finds that he must
constantly increase the number of breeding pigeons in his
lofts, in order to keep up with the increasing demand for
squabs.

The most economical way to increase a flock is to save
the best squabs from the first breeding stock bought; and
to do this it is necessary to select squabs for this purpose
as they are hatched, the object being to improve the quality
of the flock by keeping only the best of the squabs.

Where a flock is being increased, it is a good plan to buy
some new stock which has been banded and mate the cocks
which have been bought with home-raised hens and the hens
which have been bought with home-raised cocks, This saves
inbreeding.

Close inbreeding soon runs down the vitality of a flock
and should be avoided. This matter will be taken up fur-
ther on.

As we have said, the first pigeon to hatch in a nest is
almost invariably a cock and the last one a hen. This rule
is ‘so constant that it may be depended upon.

In selecting squabs for breeding stock, always select those
from the nests of pairs which produce squabs most regu-
larly. Such squabs are more likely to be good producers
themselves.

Select the squabs which grow most rapidly and weigh

the most at the time they are ready for market. Such squabs
are from pairs which are good feeders and will be most

likely to become good feeders themselves.

36

Be sure to select squabs which have light-colored flesh,
as these will produce squabs like themselves and light flesh
brings the highest price in the market, unless they are sent
in too soon.

When we say that light color in flesh of a squab denotes
that it will produce light-fleshed squabs, it is to be under-
stood that this will be the case if the parents are properly
fed according to the directions given in a previous chapter.
Pigeons which are kept confined and properly fed always
produce more and better squabs than those allowed to run
at large.

Having selected the squabs which are to be retained for
breeding purposes, band them at once. Open pigeon bands
can be bought at about a cent each. “The best plan is to
band cocks on the right leg and hens on the left, using con-
secutive numbers for each pair.

Thus 111 might be a cock and 112 a hen, In making
matings, the owner would know at once that these two
were not to be allowed to mate together, as they would be
brother and sister. If, in any case, nest mates show an
inclination to mate together,. they should be shut away from
each other and forced to mate with non-related birds.

A forced mating is made by using a mating pen. This
is a cage with two compartments in it, separated by a wire
screen, such as two-inch mesh poultry netting. Put the
cock in one side and the hen with which you want him to
mate in another, and leave them in the pen until they are
acquaintel with each other. Then shut them in the same
compartment and usually they will mate up with each other
all right.

37

Squabs which are to be kept for breeding should be taken
away from older birds as.soon as they have learned to eat
for themselves. Feed them well all the time, and at the
age of about six months they will begin to mate and then
require regular attention, as they should be kept under close
supervision at this time.

As soon as a male bird is seen “driving” a female, both
should be caught and their bands examined. If they are

z SS
Squabs at Four Weeks Old.

nest mates, they should be separated as recommended in
the beginning of this chapter and forced to mate with other
birds. It will only be necessary to remove the cock bird,
substituting another cock in his place.

If the cock and the hen he is driving are not nest mates,
their band number should be recorded in a book kept for
this purpose. Such a record gives the owner an opportunity

to keep account of the number of squabs a given pair pro-

38

duces and to pick squabs for breeding in the future, knowing
what the parents have done.

The record should give the number of the cock and hen
and a brief description of each. The following form is
recommended:

Cock 111—Red Check.

Hen 222—Blue Bar.

Each pair should have a space in which to keep account
with it. After the number and description may be a ruled
space in which to keep account of the number of squabs
the pair produces month after month. If they regularly
produce and raise two squabs of good size and light color,
they are valuable as the parents of breeding stock and should
be kept.

If a pair does not produce squabs, the chances are that
the hen is barren and she should be sold for what she will
bring in the market and the cock mated with another bird.
If the eggs are infertile, the trouble is likely with the cock
and the mating should be broken and the two birds tried
again. If the eggs still are infertile, the cock should be sold
in market.

Usually there are more cocks than hens in a given lot of
squabs and it is easier to give a hen which lays infertile
eggs a new mate and sell the cock without experimenting
further.

Barren hens and impotent cocks are not common in well-
bred birds, and very little trouble may be anticipated from

such causes.

When one pair of squabs dies, the chances are about nine
out of ten that the female of the pair dies. ‘This is because -

39

she is two days younger than her brother and has less chance
to get a start. Thus it happens that every loft produces
more cocks than hens, a circumstance which has led some
of the hucksters who sell pigeons as squab-raisers to send out
lots of birds in which there were many more cocks than
hens. This is why we have insisted that the buyer should
buy from a reliable breeder and buy mated pairs.

In a loft containing fifty young cocks and fifty young
hens, it almost always happens that the matings are not
all made up, as some birds refuse to mate with certain other
ones, and there may be a few birds which have not mated.
In this case the odd birds may be put among other young
birds and so find mates that suit them. ;

In catching pairs at the time they are being recorded, or
when they are to be sold as breeders, two people should
do the work. A catching net, which is a netted bag the
mouth of which is fastened to a hoop with a long handle,
is used. The pigeon breeder soon gets so expert that he
can trap a pigeon in such a net without fail and without
disturbing the other birds in the loft.

When a couple of pigeons is found driving, the one who
does the catching traps one of them with the net while
his helper keeps watch on the other one of the pair. The
captured pigeon is examined and its band number put on
record. ‘Then the helper takes the net and catches the one
he has been watching and the band number is taken, always
remembering that a bird with a band on the right leg is
a cock and one with a band on the left leg is a hen.

If the method here recommended is followed, the pigeon-
keeper will be able to know just what each pair of birds

40

is doing and keep a pedigree of every bird in his flock by
a simple method of bookkeeping, as follows:

When the squabs that are to be kept as breeders are being
banded the band numbers of the parent birds should be
taken and set down in this way:

Squab numbers. Parents’ numbers.
Cock 111. 84-67.
Hen 112. 84-67.

In making this record the number under the head “Par-
ents’ number” is always set down in the same way, the
name of the father first and the mother next.

It is but very little trouble to keep such records and the
value of them is very great, for the pigeon-keeper can refer
to his records at any time and find how any bird that was

‘hatched in his lofts has been bred.

This enables him constantly to select the best producers
and feeders and improve his stock all the time, selling off
the inferior ones and keeping up a high standard, which
will in time give him a reputation for squabs or breeding
stock that will be valuable to him, as he will get higher
prices than he could get for ordinary stock.

41

CHAPTER V.
MAKING A MARKET—PREPARING SQUABS FOR MARKET.

We make one of the sub-heads of this chapter, “Making
a Market,” although the market for squabs is already estab-
lished and the demand for them in all the large cities is
constantly increasing.

Notwithstanding this, the enterprising squab-breeder will
make his own market and get better prices than he can get
if he sends his squabs to the largest cities.

‘In the beginning he may be obliged to ship to the cities,
but he can build up a home trade among those who like
to have the best the market affords and by degrees this
home demand will grow until he will find a ready sale
nearby and will be saved freight and commission charges as
well as the cost and trouble of packing and icing for the
longer shipments.

We know of numerous cases where squab-breeders have
built up a home demand which takes all the squabs and
brings them high prices the year around.

Very often the enterprising beginner will turn his atten-
tion to raising squabs to sell to others for breeding purposes
and find this very profitable, although a good market for
squabs is about the same as a good demand for breeding
stock. Other squab-breeders arrange to sell their young
stock to those who do breed pigeons to sell as breeding stock
and thus have a regular and constant demand for their young
birds.

All these ways of disposing of the increase of the loft are
open to the beginner,. but the food market is the one that

should be cultivated. We know of a case where a beginner

42

WW i =e TR
YS I il ua
at i

i if h

A Well Arranged Squab Loft.

43

started in with a view to selling breeding stock only, as he
thought he was not so located that he would have any de-
mand for his squabs in the handiest market, a small interior
city, where squabs had never been put on sale.

After he got started he found that he could sell a few
pairs of squabs to one or two restaurants and the best hotel
in the town. He began supplying orders from these places
and others began to call on him for squabs for special occa-
sions, such as local banquets, receptions and other social
functions.

He started with fifty pairs of breeders. He selected his
best squabs to keep for the purpose of increasing his flock
and sold the others in his nearest market.

At the end of a year he had saved another fifty pairs for
breeding and found he had sold squabs enough to pay for
a new house and all the feed he had bought during the time.

‘Then he concluded to begin advertising squabs for sale
as breeders. He received quite a number of orders, but the
demand for squabs for the market became so strong that he
gave up the breeding part of the business and began to sell
in the market only. At last so many were sold in the town
that a prominent provision firm came to him and made him
a flat offer of $4 a dozen for all the squabs he would raise.
He refused this offer, as he was getting more than this for
a good many of his squabs and did not think he could afford
to make a binding contract on a market where the price
was increasing all the time. ‘This same breeder now has
a thousand pairs of breeding pigeons and hires a man to
take care of them, while he attends to his own business, and

makes about $500 clear money from his pigeons every year.

44

Another way to build up a private trade is to introduce
nicely dressed squabs among the wealthier families of a
town. ‘This can be done by presenting them with two or
three pairs, nicely put up in a box, and asking them to try
them. One breeder who started out in this way now sells
all his squabs at $1 a pair. He dresses them neatly, puts
a pair in a nice white box and ties the box with a colored
bit of “baby ribbon.” He has a demand for all he can get
at $1 a pair, although he lives near a large city where the
price is often much lower than this.

The enterprising squab-breeder will be able to find a
market for the product of his loft, no matter where he
lives. The express companies carry squabs at the regular
dressed-poultry rates, and in many places there are fast
freight lines which take butter and eggs to distant markets in
the shortest possible time.

Squabs properly packed may be sent 1,000 miles to market
and yet be profitable, but there is hardly a place in this
country where a good market can not be found within 200
or 300 miles, and even a thousand miles is not a long distance
for an express train.

The trouble will not be so much where to find a market
as to how to produce squabs enough, once the breeder has
been in the business long enough to make a name for himself.

If any breeder sends squabs of good size and color and
keeps up the quality regularly, it will not be long before
there will be a call for his particular brand of squabs, and
after that it will be a question of meeting the demand, for

this will grow all the time.

DRESSING AND PACKING SQUABS.

Squabs are usually ready to send to market when four
weeks old. Some well-fed ones, or those bred from the best
parents, will come to market condition a few days earlier
and some a few days later. As a rule, it will be about four
weeks from the time they are hatched until they are ready
to send to market.

They should be dressed just about the time they are ready

“to leave the nest, for they are heavier and fatter at that
time than they ever will be again.

They should be dressed just at the time all the pin feathers
are out. They then have a solid feeling about the abdomen
and the breast is plump and full. It is very easy to learn
the exact time that squabs should be sent to market, and
anyone can learn it at once.

Go over the nests in the evening and select the squabs
which are to be dressed the next day. These should be put in
a coop by themselves, where they can not get anything to eat,
so their crops will be empty when they are dressed. If they
are sent to market with full crops, the contents of the crop
will sour and ferment and spoil the squabs for food purposes
in a short time, while when dressed with the crops empty
and properly iced in warm weather, they will remain fresh
until they can be sold in the market.

A “killing rack” should be made before dressing begins.
This consists of a frame not quite shoulder high, a 2x4
scantling making a good cross-piece for the top. In the side
of this cross-piece drive ten-penny nails about six inches
apart, leaving half the length of the nail protruding.

Make loop of stout cord, looping it over both feet of the
squab, and by this string hang it on one of the nails. ‘Then

46

cross the wings over the back in such a way that they are
locked. This prevents fluttering and is painless. To lock
the wings, turn the pigeon with the back to you and cross
the hands. Then take a wing in each hand and pass one
under the other in such a position that the “elbows” lock

together.

A Typical Homer.

With the small blade of a pen-knife in the right hand,
take the head of the squab in the left hand in such a way
that the thumb and forefinger may be used to hold the mouth
open. If held in the right way, the shoulders of the bird
will be in the palm of the hand.

47

Run the blade of the knife up through the top of the mouth
into the brain and immediately pass to another squab, letting
the one just killed bleed, as it is necessary for the bird to be
free from blood to prevent red spots from appearing along
its back after it has been killed a few hours. These red
spots are called ‘“‘blisters’’ and injure the selling qualities
of a squab which shows them.

After the birds are thoroughly bled, carefully pick the
feathers from them, being careful not to tear the skin in any
place, as this also lowers the value in the market.

When a squab is plucked clean, throw it into a tub of
water from a spring or well of the normal temperature.
It may be left in this water from thirty minutes to an hour.
Then it should be thrown into a tub of ice-cold water to
further cool and solidify the flesh, for all the animal heat
must be chilled out before a squab is packed or it will not
keep well, arriving in the market soft and unattractive in
appearance.

Be very careful to have the second chilling water almost
cold enough to freeze the birds. In cold weather they soon
cool out in water which has been exposed to the air, but at
any time in the year put first in well or spring water of
normal temperature.

Picking a squab is a matter of sleight and experience. It
may go awkwardly at first, but one soon becomes expert,
and boys and girls soon learn to pick them rapidly without
tearing the skin.

After the squabs are picked and cooled, pack them in ice
in barrels or boxes. We prefer rather small boxes, say

‘about the size of soap boxes, but many thousand pairs are

48

sent to market in clean barrels. Empty apple barrels or
cracker barrels may be used.

In the bottom of the packet put a good- layer of cracked
ice. A good many times the ice is not cracked as small as
it should be. It should be broken into pieces about the size
of a hickory nut, so the pieces will work down through the
spaces between the birds. After the bottom is covered with
ice, put in a layer of squabs, pack down and closely packed
but not squeezed together. Over these put another layer
of ice and again a layer of birds until within two or three
inches of the top. Fill the remaining space with cracked ice
and fasten the package.

Be liberal about using ice, for it is necessary that the birds
should be kept cold and the express companies make allow-
ance for the weight of the ice in weighing squabs packed in
this way.

If any grain has been found in the crop of a squab as
it is being dressed, it should be removed. Cut a very small
slit in the breast over the crop and wash out the grain, If
a small hose can be used, it is a good plan to use this.

Before packing the birds, carefully wash all the blood
from them and wash the feet and legs until are bright
and red.

If there is a shade of difference in the quality, of the
squabs, select the best for the top of the package and take
pains that the top layer is very carefully laid in so that it
will look nice when the package is opened.

If there happens to be a number of dark-fleshed or rather
light-weight squabs in a killing, these should be packed by
themselves and sent on in anticipation of receiving a low

price for them. Nothing is gained by putting some poor

49

squabs among a number of good ones, for they will depre-
ciate the price of the whole package. If fine ones are put
by themselves and marked ‘‘Firsts” and the poorer ones sent
without any particular mark, the price obtained for the whole
shipment will be larger than it would have been if good and
poor had been packed together.

It is best to kill on a certain day in the week, the day
depending on the distance to market. In South Jersey they
kill on Monday or Tuesday, send the squabs to New York
and usually get a check for them by Saturday. Some kill
Thursday in order to catch the Saturday markets, but as
a rule it is best to reach the market Friday morning so as
to give the commission merchant two days in which to sell
the birds. Often an early shipment gets the best price.

At the same time the squabs are sent to market, mail a
letter to the commission man, advising him of the number
of birds you send to him and by what express company or
freight line. Give him any particulars which may help him
to make a good sale, if you think of anything that might
interest him.

In the Eastern market squabs are graded by weight and
quality. They are called 10-pound, 9-pound, 8-pound,
4-pound and 614-pound, and the prices range accordingly.
When 10-pound squabs are worth $6 a dozen, those weigh-
ing 614 pounds will sell for from $1.50 to $2.25 a dozen,
according to the state of the market, the high-priced ones
always selling first, unless a buyer has a special reason for
securing a lot of light-weight ones.

When breeding straight Homers, one can reasonably ex-
pect 80 or 85 per cent which will run 8 pounds or over to

4

50

the dozen. About two-thirds of the remainder will run
close to 7 pounds to the dozen and one-third will be classed
among the lowest quality.

When 10-pound squabs are selling for $6 a dozen, a lot
weighing more than 10 pounds to the dozen will bring a
premium of from 50 cents a dozen up; but as a rule the
best birds are classed as 8-pounders.

In picking squabs, some leave them hanging where they
are killed, while others take them in the hand. The weight ©.

a

of practice is in favor of holding them in the hand.

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51

CHAPTER VI.
THE PROFITS OF SQUAB-RAISING.

The one who is thinking of beginning squab-raising in-
variably asks how profitable the business is under average
conditions.

In another place in this book we have shown how easy
it is to arrange a place in which to keep squabs. Hundreds
of people are so situated that they could raise squabs who
could not possibly take care of a flock of chickens, because
they lack both time and space.

In raising squabs the cost of attendance is reduced to the
minimum. ‘There are no eggs to be gathered, no setting
hens or incubators to be looked after, no young birds to be
fed and. looked to.

The pigeon-breeder simply puts his birds in the loft, feeds
and waters them and they build their own nests and feed
their own young.

The space that would be needed by a dozen hens will
comfortably keep fifty or a hundred pairs of pigeons, and
the revenue from a pair of pigeons in a year is about the
same as from a good laying hen.

The squab-breeder gets his money in four weeks, while
the man who raises chickens must wait at least twelve weeks
_ before he can sell young chickens.

The manure from a loft of pigeons can be sold as a gar-
den fertilizer for enough to pay the cost of feeding the birds.
In many cities and towns florists consider pigeon manure
the very best fertilizer they can get for flowers and garden
crops and large tanneries use tons of it in tanning leather.
It usually sells for about 50 cents a bushel in town for fer-

tilizing lawns, flower and vegetable gardens.

52

It will cost just about $1 to keep a pair of pigeons one
year. When the writer visited the great squab farms of
South Jersey, he particularly inquired about the cost of feed-
ing a pair of pigeons one year. In that country most of
the grain used is shipped from the West and from Canada.
The wheat comes from New York, Ohio, or States farther
west, the kaffr corn mostly from Kansas and the hemp seed
from Kentucky. The peas come from Canada. All these

A Back Yard Loft.

grains are sold with the freight added to the initial price
and the feed dealer’s profit, of course. In the mid-west
the freight charges would be much smaller than they are
in the East, so the cost of keeping a pair of pigeons would
be considerably reduced.

In the South Jersey squab district we found that the cost

of keeping a pair of breeding Homers one year ranged from

53

$1.10 to $1.25 a year. If a certain loft contains pigeons
of extra breeding qualities, it will cost more for feed, as
the old birds have more squabs to feed than would be the
case where less productive birds were kept.

1t ‘should be understood that when we give the cost of
keeping a pair of breeding pigeons a year, the feed con-
sumed by all the squabs produced is included. ‘That is
when we say it costs $1.10 to $1.25 to keep a pair of pigeons
a year, we mean it will cost these sums to keep the pair and

all the squabs they produce in a year.
NUMBER OF SQUABS TO THE PAIR.

Some enthusiastic—or dishonest—sellers of breeding pig-
eons talk about their birds producing eight or nine pairs
of squabs a year. There are very select birds which will
do this, but they can not be bought at any reasonable price.
No pair of birds will raise two squabs every time they hatch,
for accidents will happen and one squab, or both, in some
brooding periods, will die. Occasionally an egg will be
broken, and once in a while an egg will prove infertile.
These accidents, which happen in the best cared-for lofts,
come to every pigeon-breeder.

If a loft of pigeons averages six pairs of pigeons a year,
it will do as much as can be expected of it. More will fall
below that than run above it, because there are more care-
less pigeon-breeders than careful ones.

Say, for the sake of a basis from which to argue, that a
loft of a good strain of Homers, properly housed and fed,
will produce an average of six pairs of squabs a year. As
pigeons breed ten months in the year, this average should
be easily made. This would be an even dozen squabs for

each pair of pigeons in the loft. These we will put at the

54

very low price of $3 a dozen, a price they will bring in a
country town of any size, and we have $3 as the gross
returns from a pair of sub-breeding Homers.

Deducting from this the highest estimated price for the
feed of a pair of pigeons, we have $1.75 left. This will
be the returns from which the pigeon-breeder must get his
profits. The manure will pay well for the labor of feeding
the birds, so this item is eliminated from the bill of cost.

It will not cost more than 25 cents to pay for the other
labor of caring for a loft of pigeons where any number
above 100 pairs are kept. “The owner of such a loft could
do all the work before working hours in the morning and
after hours in the evenin, so the birds would not interfere
with his regular work.

The cost of ice, the cost of killing and picking the birds
and the cost of packages may be put at 25 cents a dozen,
which is a very liberal estimate. This leaves $1.25 clear
profit, after paying all expenses and paying the owner for
the time he puts in feeding his birds, this work having been
done when he would otherwise have been idle or not earning
money.

Say it costs $1 for each pair of birds kept in a house and
the birds cost $2.50 a pair. The interest on this investment
at 6 per cent a year would be 21 cents, thus leaving $1.04
as absolutely net profit from a pair of pigeons in a year,
after paying all expenses at a liberal rate and paying good
interest on the investment.

There is no other business open to those who have a smalle
capital which will give such large returns. For every 100
pairs of pigeons kept, it is perfectly safe to say that a clean

55

and clear profit of $100 may be made. Where a large
number are kept, it is not uncommon for the owner to realize
$1.50 net profit from a pair of Homers.

The one who begins with ten, twenty-five, or fifty pairs
of birds will get proportionate returns from his investment
in the way of increased number in his flock and will soon be
in a position to consider himself an extensive pigeon-breeder,
because he may expect to have at least four pairs of first-class
breeders from each pair he started with at the beginning of
any year, having kept only the best and sold the poorer of
the squabs.

The business is only in its infancy and those who start
in now or any time soon may expect to reap a rich reward

in the way of profits.

A Prize Winner.

57

CHAPTER VII.
DISEASES OF PIGEONS.

The very best way to escape trouble from diseases among
pigeons is to prevent them by always keeping the lofts and
flies in first-class condition. Carelessness is the worst disease
that affects pigeons, and this is always manifest in the owner
before it has any effect on the birds.

If the lofts are kept clean, the feed: supplied is sound and
sweet, the water pure and the feeding regular, the birds
themselves will not often be troubled with disease of any
kind.

However, with all possible care, diseases will appear at
times, and it is well to know what to do to prevent them
from spreading and causing serious loss.

Epidemic diseases will never appear in a flock which has
been properly cared for, unless it is brought in through
putting newly purchased birds among healthy ones.

It is just as well to use caution when introducing new

birds, even if there is not the least suspicion that they are
not perfectly healthy.

When new stock is bought, it should be kept by itself for
a week to determine if it is free from any disease. Not once
in a hundred times will birds bought of a reliable breeder
be found unhealthy, but prevention is better than cure any
time, so precautions should be taken. In such cases it is

much better to be overcautions than to have accidents occur
through lack of precaution.
GOING LIGHT.

“Going light” is the common name for tuberculosis in

pigeons. It is brought on by drinking impure water, eating

58

unsound feed, lack of a good supply of grit, or from natural
lack of vitality. This disease never attacks healthy and
vigorous birds, but takes for its victims those which have
become weak from any reason. If it is not taken in hand
at once, the bird wastes away and becomes nothing but
“skin and bones” and dies. The first symptoms are usually
diarrhoea, the droppings being thin and watery. The birds
does not eat, but sits around with its head drawn down
and really starves to death because it has no appetite to eat.

If a bird which has started to go light is taken in hand
at once, it is very often possible to save it for future useful-
ness. Give it a dose of castor oil, giving about five or six
drops. Put it in a coop by itself and the next day give ten
drops of cod liver oil. Repeat the dose of cod liver oil every
day until the bird is cured. Give it hempseed every day
and be very certain the seed is sound and free from musti-
ness.

CANKER.

Canker is a disease of the same nature as diphtheria in
human beings. Jt appears occasionally in lofts where it
never before has been found, and seems to be contracted
from germs which float in the air. It often attacks the
birds in one nest and not in the one next to it, although
if it is not taken in hand it will soon spread to all the birds
in the loft.

It no doubt comes from a cold very often and birds which
show symptoms of having caught cold should be carefully
watched. The first appearance of the disease shows little
yellowish white blisters on the lining membrane (mucous

membrane) of the mouth and throat. These rapidly in-

59

crease in size and spread to other parts of the throat until
they show outside around the mouth, and the bird chokes
to death. .

When canker appears in a squab only and the parent
birds show no signs of it, the best thing to do is to kill the
' squab, disinfect the loft and stay the disease in this way.
It may be cured by using a little patience, unless it has
gone too far before it is discovered.

Remove the sick bird from the loft and keep it in some
place not adjacent to the pigeon house. “Take a small sharp
splinter of wood, such as a sharpened match, and scrape
-- the cankers off, doing this as gently as possible. ‘This will
leave a raw red spot, which should be gently swabbed with
a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and water, half and
half. The solution will foam as if it were boiling, but it
is entirely painless and does not hurt the bird in the least.
Repeat the swabbing, putting on plenty of the solution,
until it ceases to foam. It does not matter if a little of the
solution goes down the throat of the bird, as it is perfectly
harmless when swallowed by man, beast or bird, and is the
best germicide known, being non-poisonous and odorless.

, Some good authorities recommend painting the cankers
with lemon juice and water and putting a piece of alum
in the drinking water, but we prefer the peroxide of hydro-
gen treatment. Do not return a bird to the loft until it
is entirely well, and always disinfect the loft when a case
of canker is found in it. Directions for disinfecting are

given further on in this chapter.

60

ROUP.
Roup sometimes appears in a loft, especially during damp
weather, or when the birds have not had proper housing,

It is shown by the discharge from the nostrils, which has

a very offensive odor. It is highly contagious in its later

stages, and if not cured before it takes on the contagious
form is incurable. When a bird has reached the last stages
it should be killed and burned or buried far from the loft.

If a bird is noticed to have a discharge from the nostrils,
it should be attended to at once as the disease is very easy
to cure at that time. Put some coal oil in a sewing-machine
can and spurt some of the oil up each nostril and in the slit
in top of the mouth. This usually effects a cure, but if it
is not better in a few hours use camphorated oil in the same

way. Any druggist will supply the camphorated oil.

CHOLERA.

Cholera is a dreadful disease to contend with, but no
pigeon-breeder who keeps his birds properly need fear it,
as it is caused by cold, dampness and filth in nine cases
out of ten. It is very contagious and is very hard to cure.
Happily, the disease does not worry the careful breeder,
but once it gets started in a loft it may kill off every bird
in it unless vigorous measures are taken to stop its progress.

When a bird is attacked with cholera it presents a very
miserable appearance. Its plumage is ruffled up, its crop fills
with water, which has a very offensive odor, and diarrhoea
appears. The disease runs its course rapidly and soon the
victim is dead.

To stop the progress of cholera in a loft, put ten drops
of carbolic acid in the drinking water for two days. Feed

61

only the very best feed. Follow the carbolic acid by putting
a tablespoonful of tincture of gentian in each gallon of
drinking water for ten days. Disinfect the house thoroughly
twice a week until the disease disappears.

VERTIGO.

Vertigo is a brain affection which is incurable, although
it does not usually kill quickly. It is characterized by turn-
ing the head over the shoulder and convulsions. These
convulsions often occur when anyone enters the loft, while
at other times the bird is quiet.

The only cure is killing the bird to put it out of its mis-
ery, as it will never again be of any use as a breeder.

EGG-BOUND.

Young hens are often afflicted by becoming egg-bound;
that is, they are unable to force the passage of the egg from
the ovaries to the nest.

When a hen shows signs of distress, catch her and care-
fully feel of her abdomen. If she is egg-bound, the eggs
can be felt. Anoint the passage with vaseline and introduce
the finger as far as possible, being careful not to break the
egg. ‘Then hold the hen over steam as hot as can be borne
without scalding, until the parts are thoroughly steamed
and relaxed. After this, carefully put the hen on the nest
and usually she will be able to pass the egg.

PIGEON POX.

Sometimes a disease similar to smallpox in human beings
and chickennox in poultry appears in a loft. This is known
by small sores which appear about the head and face.

When this disease appears, wash the sores with a solution

of canner sulvhate or a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and

62

water, equal parts, Either of these solutions will cure the

disease in a short time.
SUDDEN COLDS.

Sometimes a pigeon will sit out in a cold rain or sleep
in a stray draught and catch cold. This makes it sick and
stupid, and it should be cared for at once.

To cure a cold of this kind, give five drops of castor oil
and the next day a one-grain capsule of quinine. Follow
this with ten-drop doses of cod liver oil for a few days,

and the bird will be as lively as ever.

LEG WEAKNESS,

Leg weakness is usually caused by inbreeding or an acci-
dental injury. There is no certain cure for it, because we
never know just what caused the trouble. If a bird seems
weak in the legs, rub some camphorated oil on the hock
joint and repeat the operation as long as necessary. The
short-legged varieties like the Homer very seldom have any

trouble with their legs.
WING DISEASE.

Wing disease is a trouble of the “elbow.” It is caused
by a hurt, and the injured bird becomes lame in the wing.
Presently a lump forms on the elbow and this increases in
size, filling with a yellowish cheesy matter, causing the
bird to drag the wing.

The only thing. to do is to run camphorated oil on the
injured spot, and when the swelling has reached full size
cut it open. Usually the bird is rot injured as a breeder,
but it must make its nest on the floor, as it can not fly.
If the disease is noticed at the very start, it sometimes may

63

be cured; but if the trouble is neglected, a crippled bird is
the result, and for the sake of appearance such birds should
not be allowed to remain in a loft.

WORMS.

Worms sometimes bother pigeons. If a bird has a varying
appetite and seems to be “running down,” watch its drop-
pings and it is likely that worms may be found in them.
If the worms are not found, it is not conclusive evidence
that they are not sapping the vitality of the bird, and it
should be treated.

A bit of garlic every morning will usually cure the dis-
ease. “Lhe piece of garlic should be about the size of a pea.
A pill of powdered areca nut mixed with butter is also an
effective remedy, or a pill as large as a small pea of gum
aloes will kill the worms. Give any one of these remedies
and expect a cure. Give the remedy before the bird has

eaten in the morning.
LICE.

Lice are not a disease, but they can do more damage
than any disease. If they once get a start in a pigeon loft,
it requires heroic treatment to get them subdued. If atten-
tion is paid to cleanliness, old nests taken out and burned
as soon as they are empty, insect powder sprinkled in the
nest boxes and tobacco stems are used for nesting material,
lice will never get a foothold in the loft. If it should
happen that lice get a start, take the birds out of the loft
and clean it thoroughly. Then paint walls and nest
boxes: with kerosene and afterward whitewash every part

of the inside with thick whitewash.

64

DISINFECTANTS.

Any druggist will supply a good disinfectant and give
directions how to mix it for use. This should be sprinkled
about the floor once in two or three weeks, and always
mixed with the whitewash which is used on the loft. A
mild disinfectant should be sprinkled on the floor at least
once a week, and twice a week is better. Go quietly into
the loft and gently sprinkle the solution on the floor, but
not on the nests, as this frightens the birds. Keep the air
of the lofts always smelling sweet and pure and there will
be no trouble with disease.

DOUGLAS MIXTURE.

Douglas Mixture is an old-fime tonic, much esteemed by
a good many breeders of pigeons and poultry. It is made
by dissolving eight ounces of iron sulphate (copperas) in
two gallons of water and then very slowly adding one
ounce of sulphuric acid. Put in jugs and it will keep indef-
initely. If a tablespoonful of this is put in the drinking
water occasionally, it will act as a tonic and make the blood
richer. It is especially recommended for use during the
molting season.

GENTIAN AS A TONIC.

Compound tincture of gentian is highly recommended as
a tonic for pigeons, If the birds seem out of condition, a
teaspoonful of this in the drinking water will tone them
up and give them good appetites again. When the birds
are molting during the months of September, October and
November, a tablespoonful of compound extract of gentian
in the drinking water every Sunday morning will keep the
birds in condition, but this should not be used if the Douglas
Mixture is used as a tonic.

65

SWEET FERN TEA.

For looseness of the bowels, sweet fern tea has been found
a very good remedy. Looseness of the bowels occurs from
feeding too much wheat that has not been well dried. It
also comes from impure water or unsound feed of any kind.
To cure it, a good handful of the leaves is put into three
gallons of water and boiled down to one-half. Put a tea-

cupful of this in two gallons of drinking water.
NUX VOMICA.

Some breeders recommend nux vomica very highly as a
tonic, and we mention it so those who follow the directions
in this book may have their choice. Sixty drops of the
tincture of nux vomica is given in two. gallons of the drink-
ing water twice a week, during the molting season. At
other times in the year it is given when the flock seems to
lack liveliness or to be droopy for any reason,

This tincture of nux vomica is about the easiest of all
the tonics to use, as enough for a year can be kept in a
small bottle and put into the water without trouble at any

“time it is needed.

THE MEDICINE CHEST.

Every pigeon-breeder should have a small box in which
to keep a supply of the medicines which may be needed.
This box should contain a pot of carbolated vaseline to use
on cuts or bruises, as in wing trouble. There should be a
four-ounce bottle of peroxide of hydrogen, a small bottle
of camphorated oil, an ounce or two of carbolic acid, a few
quinine capsules, a bottle of cod liver oil and a bottle filled
with kerosene. There should also be a medicine dropper,

5

66

such as is used to fill fountain pens, and a small sewing-
machine oil can to use in cases of roup. Such a medicine
chest will come handy many times in a year.

DON’T DOSE YOUR BIRDS.

Don’t get into the habit of dosing your birds for every
imaginary trouble. If pigeons are given a dry, light house,
good sound grain, plenty of grit, salt, charcoal and perfectly
pure water to drink, with good facilities for bathing, there
will be little call for the use of medicines. Only doctor
sick birds when necessary, and then take them out of the
loft and keep them out until they are well. The careful
pigeon-breeder will always learn to know his birds by sight
and will notice any symptoms of disease as soon as they
appear. Once any disease is noticed, apply the remedy at
once without giving it an opportunity to become chronic.

If the directions given in this book are followed, the
pigeon-breeder, although he may start without any practical
knowledge of the business, will be able to carry his birds
along in good health and promote productiveness in such
a manner that he may anticipate the best results from. his

work.

67
CHAPTER VIII.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION—CATCHING MATED PAIRS.

When it is desired to catch mated pairs, take the catching
net into the fly.with you. Drive all the pigeons out into
the fly and shut them out of the house. Then take another
person with you and go into the fly. Watch until a cock
begins to drive a hen and trap him in the net, while your
helper watches the hen. Take the cock out of the net and
hand it to your helper, who will catch the hen. Then band
the two, putting the band on the right leg of the cock and
on the left leg of the hen. If squabs are banded in the nest,
nearly all of them will be found banded correctly if the
band has been put on the right leg of the squab first hatched
and the left leg of the one hatched later.

STARTING A LOFT.

Buy from ten to fifty mated pairs, according to the
amount with which you decide to begin. Keep all the best
squabs hatched during the year, so cross-mating them as
not to have nest mates mated up for breeding. Dispose of
all under-sized squabs, and when the birds have grown up
sell all those which prove inferior. In this way you will
learn to manage your loft and get your breeding stock at
the lowest possible cost.

THE PRICE OF BREEDING STOCK.

It does not pay to start with poor breeding stock. Buy of
a reliable breeder and pay a fair price. No one can afford
to sell first-class breeding stock at less than $2 a pair in
large numbers or $2.50 a pair when from ten to twenty-
five pairs are sold in a lot. It is poor economy to buy

common pigeons as squab-breeders at any price and just

68

as bad management to buy’ cheap Homers and run the risk
of getting old and wornout birds. --
BEST WEIGHT FOR SQUABS,
Squabs that weigh less than eight pounds to the dozen
are not desirable, as they sell at a price which drops rapidly

A White Homer.

as they run below eight pounds to the dozen. It costs
just as much to raise a dark-fleshed and light-weight squab
as it does to raise a big plump bird with white flesh; and
a pair of pigeons which produces dark squabs of light
weight should be disposed of. Select all the time for heavy
weights in your squabs and get the top of the market.

69

LENGTH OF BREEDING PERIOD.

Pigeons will breed regularly for seven or eight years,
so it is to the interest of the breeder to keep only the best
in his lofts. The good breeder watches what kind of squabs
each pair produces and keeps selecting the best from time
to time until he has a loft full which may be depended upon.

DON’T OVERCROWD.

Don’t overcrowd your lofts. It is better to waste a little
room than to have too many birds together. Give each fifty
pairs a room eight by ten feet and a fly at least ten by
twenty-four feet.

SQUAB HOMERS.

Health and vigor are the foundations on which success
must be built. The well-bred squab Homer carries its head
erect, its plumage is smooth and sleek, and its neck carries
the colors of the rainbow. When it stands still, it seems
on wires and when you go into your loft in the morning and
look over the flock the bird which does not in turn give you
a looking over is not fit for a breeder. ‘The eye is the index
of health in pigeons. If the eye is dull or the bird sits
winking in a listless manner, there is something wrong about
it. Sickly birds shun society and mope in dark corners.
The droppings should be noticed. If the birds are healthy,
there should be a fair proportion of pure white in them,
and they should be rather firm. The squab Homer in health
is a beautiful bird, alive every moment and noticing keenly
everything that passes.

INCREASING PRICES.

Squabs have constantly increased in price in the larger

markets for several years, and hundreds of new towns have

70

come in with a call for good squabs. Everyone who begins
to raise squabs for the market makes the demand for them
larger. There is no danger of overdoing the business, and
it will continue to grow larger as game birds decrease in
numbers. Many restaurants now serve squab when there
is an order for quail on toast, and those who like good
things usually go back and want some more of that same
kind of “quail.” Good restaurants now keep squabs on
hand and put them on their tables under their proper name,
having learned ‘that it pays to do so.

THE SOUTH JERSEY SQUAB DISTRICT.

The great business of raising squabs which is carried on
in South Jersey started with one man and has spread out
until almost everyone in the country for miles around
Bridgeton keeps pigeons and sells squabs. About 7,000
squabs are sent out of this district every week, equal to
365,000 in a year, and there is never a time but these squabs
sell as soon as they reach the market at prices which makes
it very profitable to produce them. Men, women and chil-
dren raise squabs in this district, nearly every one of them
being sold in New York City.

THE PROFESSION OF SQUAB-BREEDING.

Only a few years ago the man who spent his time breeding
pigeons was thought to be engaged in a small business.
Now it has become a profession and is followed by all sorts
of men as a profitable way of putting in spare time. The
professional man raises squabs as a diversion, the clerk or
shop operative keeps a loft to help out on his income, young
men pay their way through college on the profits of the
squab business, old men who have got beyond the harder

71

work of life make a good living from squabs; and still the
insistent food markets call for more squabs at better prices.
There is no risk in going into the squab business, if the
birds are properly cared for.

REGULARITY.

Have a certain time to do all the work and work to the
schedule you have prepared. Clean the house on a certain
day in the week, kill the squabs on the day which best suits
your market. Feed as nearly at the same time every day
as possible, for the birds soon learn to know when feeding
time comes, and the squabs even learn to know when to
look for the parents to feed them. Keep everything going
like clockwork, and the work will be properly done and the
birds thrive the better for the regular habits they learn.

GO QUIETLY.

there will always be a number of birds sitting, others will
be feeding the young, and quick motions or loud noises
disturb them and cause them to stop feeding or to leave
their nests. Keep the birds tame by going among them,
but go quietly.

FOREIGN BIRDS.

Never buy imported stock for breeding unless you know
it has been at least a year in this country. Birds from across
the ocean are hard to acclimate and often die before they
get accustomed to the new conditions.

We have a friend who imports choice pigeons from Ger-
many, Belgium and France constantly and he says he can
not afford to pay the prices he is asked for good birds in
Europe and sell them on this side for less than about three

72

times that for which he sells American-bred birds. The talk
about imported birds being better than American stock has
no foundation, in fact.

THE BEST AGE.

A pair of pigeons begins to breed at about six months of
age, but young birds are not very profitable as breeders. :
After they are one year old they are in full working condi-
tion and for the next seven years may be depended on to
produce regularly, if they are the right kind of stock.

DON’T KILL TOO YOUNG.

Do not kill your squabs too young. They should be
killed just before they are ready to leave the nest, but not
before their flesh has become firm and solid. A squab which
is killed too young never brings a good price, as the buyers
in the cities know such a one immediately they have felt of
of it, and a few squabs which have been killed too soon
decrease the price of the whole package. Remember that
the price paid for the squabs in a given package is made on
the basis of all of them being as poor as the poorest in the
package.

MICE IN NESTS.

If you find some of your squabs smashed flat in the nests,
look out for mice. These little pests like to nest with a pair
of pigeons, and particularly in cold weather have a fashion
of crawling between the parent bird and the squab. This
causes the parent to move about and kill its young. To kill
the mice, take a large cigar box—or any box of about that
size—and cut a small hole in one end. Put under this box

a mouse-trap baited with bits of toasted cheese and on top

73

of the box put a heavy weight so the pigeons can not get
at the trap. Set a few traps around the feed bins also, and
it will not be long until the last mouse is caught, as they
like the cheese better than the grain which brought them
to the pigeon house at first. A good cat kept around the
feed room is often a good investment, but do not forget
that a cat likes squab very much and must be carefully kept
outside the breeding lofts.

FEED A VARIETY.

In the proper place we have given directions for mixing
feed. We refer to it again in this place to emphasize the
necessity of feeding a variety of grains and the mixtures we
recommend on previous pages will be found such as will pro-
duce the proper results. Never feed one grain for the reason
that it is cheaper than another. It does not pay to economize
in this way. ‘True economy in feeding is to feed the proper
kinds and just as much as the birds will eat without wasting.
They always pick out the kind they like best first, but they
should be compelled to eat the whole of the feed each time
and fed just as much as they will clean up from one feed to

another.
VENTILATION.

Most pigeon-breeders keep their houses closed too tight
during the winter. If cloth is used in the windows instead of
glass, there will be good ventilation all the time as the muslin
used for windows allows the air to get in and keeps it pure
inside; but where glass is used, the fly holes should be left
open nearly every night during the winter or the air will be-
come so impure that it will be likely to breed disease. Pigeons,

74

when they are not breeding, do not mind cold weather, but
breeding birds should have a tight house on account of the
squabs. See to it that the ventilation is attended to.

TESTING PIGEON EGGS.

If you want to know whether an egg is going to hatch after
the hen has been sitting for some time look through it. If
it is clear, it will not hatch and might as well be thrown
away. If it is partly clouded, the egg will hatch but not for
several days. If it is dark all over except at the large end,
the young bird will hatch in three or four days, or it has
died. To find if it is alive, put some water in a pan having
it as warm as the hand can be held in it without burning.
Set the pan down and let the water become still, then put
the doubtful egg in to the water, little end down and let
it float. If the bird is alive, it will struggle in the egg and
cause it to bob around in the water. Testing eggs is not
necessary unless it is noticed that a certain setting has been

set on for a suspiciously long time.

SELECTING A SITE,

In selecting a site for the home of pigeons, as much
care and judgment should be exercised as in choosing the
location of one’s own home. An unhealthy location for man
would most likely prove unhealthy for the birds. A damp
place, or one exposed to extremes of heat, sold, or wind, is
to be rejected. The spot selected should be well drained,
should be facing the south or east, should be free from:
obstructions which shut out the rays of the morning sun.
and be sheltered either by trees or buildings from the north

and west winds. Such a place, with a shallow stream of pure

75

running water for drinking and bathing—so essential to the
health of pigeons—will be an ideal site, and will require a
minimum of expense and daily work in caring for the stock.
Of course such sites can only be obtained in the country.

' In no case should a house be built for more than 250
pairs, nor more than 50 pairs be kept in each section. It
must be so designed as to be well ventilated and easily kept
‘clean, secure from attacks of mice, rats, and other animals,

and not subject to drafts of air.
FEEDS AND OTHER SUPPLIES.

In these receptacles should be kept a generous supply of
sifted cracked corn, Canada peas, wheat, German millet,
'Kafir corn, and hemp. These are the six principal feeds.
| On the floor of each pen keep about a peck of clean sand
evenly spread. Procure three boxes about the size of small
‘cigar boxes; fill one about one-third full of fine table salt,
the second with cracked oyster shells, pigeon size, and the
third with ground charcoal, about as fine as ground coffee.
These three substances are very essential to the health of
pigeons. Clean out and replenish each of these boxes weekly.
Do not fail to keep the salt box filled and before them all
the time, for the health of pigeons demands it.

A room 8 by 10 feet will accommodate 50 pairs very com-
fortably. The fly should be extended 32 feet if possible.

Pigeons should be fed twice a day—in the summer time
at 6:30 a. m. and 4:30 p. m., in the winter at 7:30 a. m.
and 3 p. m.
» The best kinds of feed to use are cracked corn, red wheat,

Kafir corn, millet, peas, hemp, and rice. In the morning

76

give wheat, cracked corn, and peas in equal parts; in the
afternoon give equal parts of cracked corn, peas, Kafir corn,
and millet. The birds should be fed in the pen rather than
in the fly.

Water the birds every morning before feeding, using
nothing except fresh pure water. Always clean out the
fountain before filling.

Bathing is very essential to the health of pigeons. In
summer they should have an opportunity to bathe at least
every other day. In winter the bath should be given only
on bright, sunny days. It is essential to clean house once
every week. After cleaning the nests, put powdered car-
bolated lime in all cracks, corners; and damp_ places.
Sprinkle the floor with lime and sprinkle a bucket of sand

evenly over the lime.

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Pigeons, best breed...........cceeeeeee saiaaty gegen itonanns
Homers; imported, oc. aces saan eaaleees sence acer Bs epee s
Homers, American-bred, best.................0. 0000 ee eee
Houses—Costly ones not necessary......... 0. cece eee eee
Youne birds, buying WHMIS sons coca se eoe eee ee OReRS eR ERS
Mated pairs, weaning...................00-00-e cece ee eee
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Houses; best for Profits vice ysacine sauinsiae eases aes paces
Squabs, most profitable kind.......... pissed Encodututestyuadeaspavd) datas
Houses need not be Costly... ... cece eee ee ee
Fly—Definition of word... se c0s26 eave eee cewee es cune see
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Floor; CoOVeriINge: s35.205% cates ease SENS A SE HS em ey
Cleanliness necessary ......... haha Bcciurs Gan AiR Ceatten areata
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Feeds, principal kinds.......................0..0.00200.-.
Feeds, sound grain necessary RRS Beth tits Saeed oeen Rha tate
Wheat oicoeadanausis ome vamiiss HaeRe Re EM EReE yx Ree
Peasy ©AN ada oes. cic Senge OE RERS SSE DOE Stee ae eS
Corn, cracked ......... TSE sehatitby Selasandesau Sra stadese ais narnapes adeeb iets
Corn: Kafr’ ex ages acahossnmaze nc hh as Saliba Sain atheist st
Seed, hemp :......... sch a ieahioe ge aaa os orale x lind esa a ate
Seed, millet .......... aoe a Sensestdidstiele aire DesenSc P RAE aM wats Des
Seed, canary .......... ci sberidguan rae owonpcuahi ley anbatspebtsein tit aainobenayant
BOCRWHEAL «on oo 8k yews 6S ERS ew Ee ERY RE eo we ES
Feeds, salt, grit and charcoal............-:eeeeeee eee

TEU cnncheastay ed tare Shee fe SeSe Soak sasoncer igs te eerlap'es Pera ASS RS ara aM. a ams ashen 27
GHATCOR] oi cura sasghining wis picgaee aes Grane evades Hs scccsleas sts ticey Bis-tGhdes 28
Feed, how supplied........... cece rere tenner enereeenen 29
Feed, mixtures recommended............ 0... 0. eee eeees 29
Feeding, always indoors........... 0.0.0 e eee ee eee es 30
Feeding economically ....... sete cece cece teen e een ens 30
Feeding, how squabs are fed......... ce cece cece ce eee eee 30
Breeding NabitS ........ cee ee ee ete eee eee erates 30
Driving’ cs crave saree ares eek warns years bietivtec diy So tena Uneee 31
Eggs laid every other day........... 2... cece e cece eee eee = Bl
Brooding, how done............. 20. ee eee eee eee eee eee 32
Breeding, Vie requlredcics cc oe swansea yy semensevadinre te 32
HMéedine YOUN sas nan sentences ae Gets new Sie bins Seemed wa lg 32
Soua0s, SPO, 24 kc cnds senna dene nena eeewados dbewemae 32
Squabs heaviest at four weeks..................0..0000, 32
Mated. pairs: Onlyesis.sces kis caaes ceed ets Oeaes add ase e'ed 33
BARRO: OMS: 5. a. assicacs Scene cere brusge Hacsiedtacan doe eeage: BS wien Ske 33
Inbreeding injurious .......,.. 0... cece eee cee 35
Breeding stock, selecting SqUt0ii 1 ses cea due sey Geax axe ee 35
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Squabs, separating from old birds....................0.. ew
Record, how kept...........-..00. eee Ahehasendtide's frapsey Ese hadeews 37
Record, GxaM ple ys evens neawa ow yaweasrere aie teens do 4 aateoe 38
Barren birds should be sold... ...... ccc ccc eee eet 38
Catchime birds, how G00k. . onc. caskssceedvisscure<sandet 39
Reeorls beeping pedierces. c.<<cuekns os CHG dae ioee anes 40
Markets, how to find buyers...........-..- eee eee eee eae 41
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Market, selling to families.......... 0. cc ccc ee ee ee eeees 44
Market, distance no’ Objectti..s:4s.44 a0 i eiwiae sun awe sain 44
SOUMEDS,. “HOW? £6 TESS titi. sghsiss gusta onda suas ausie: bretavenene: aca oe SnaA Ve 45
Squabs, how to select for market............--.e0 sees 45
Squaibs; Killing rocks sacs is cei ycaways ce ekee yaa awe ee a odes 45
Susans, NOW 16 TW. cca ks eww kao Oe Ra RK ERG EE SS 46
Squabs, cooling after dressing.............. ccc ee ee eee ee 47
Squabs, how to pack after dressing...............ce0000. 47
PAS, SSOP a hocks cui a w dace OA He RES Ue Rew ae 48
Squabs, how graded in market.......... 0.0... cece ee 49
Squabs, comparative priceS............ 0000 c ccc ae ce eee 50

Squabs, profit in raising......... cece ee eee 51

Manure, pigeon manure valuable...........cceecececauee 51

Pigeons, cost of keeping... .00 2. cscccs gneve dee weve dene’ 53
Squabs, number to the pair of birds... Sp) Syd oacbiclaniaea Deuces secs 53
Squabs, value from each breeding pair..............0005 54
Health, how to maintain............... 0... cece eee 57
Going: eht: ssascavacuvend seit: Gales ewes 2a bw cue ck canadian 57
OBER eo cuatiesed Saas csr pineal ageeraeassantnarenuene wm eloGaa scaraveen So ane Se de setae ioe 58
COHOTSTE ince sesceesiessss aawrdeticer Grecrdhans ns gareveendnd vate tanesicd devedeadings ec eae a tendehins eens 60
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WEE DOWIE | ick ocieage Sae cesarean Pe aigtr miners Se Giey H Melmatinnens 61
PIZCON POX ancien ce aarn de dunn ta dees Rosa ah Camis a enians ecw titans 61
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WES WSATMSSS — ors scien erie aitaNSOWa ierencaneuta atoms Aeudraiaudt risseindh Heaths 62
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MET CO: sates se daeeictiee Reale a ene eomhesty Weeden Haadhsdegraeti oqnpiane melds 63
Disinfectants ...... seavitions! 4 Walid a asda youd aaa a aielea ach euamae 64
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Mediciieé: chest; thee. seine scagii wre en 6 ge eemseraee ies we 65
Dosime? DINGS: ey eects ee haha catch EAMG BANG 6 OER Sieg eve wee v wyenese 66
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Breeding stock Pricess. susie echereie evade ieee edaeaes 67
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Breeding, length of period......... 0.0.00. e cece eee ee ee 69
Homers for squab breeding............. 0000000 cee eee eee 69
Sicle DINdS! WSClES Sic. 52 n a seas sreedse aes ecdnspane.iorsiiced Blbsauave’ a westoae averhdne 69
Squabs, increasing prices......... 00... 0c c eee cee eee 69
Squab district of South Jersey........ RRB Ses Oe WR acon 9 om 70
Squab-breeding profession ............. 2.2 c eee cece eee 70
ROSATI? 5 cessytivenie: evttrenies 4 esiawen ers: erisreatene uncer vareeeansvewsiane edeike oeyaiels 71
Quiet. NeCeSSaTY’ s2 26 2. cau pau eevee eeeng eee eeties se aie 71
Pigeons from Europe............. ccc c eee e eee eee sees as
BYOOMINE:. DOBLE: AOR secs sesame rteria wel kee aed Daud wpa 4 aapidere ee ds 72
Killing—Don’t kill too young................--0..2.020. 2
IMUIGE: TD HESS oak vecaearaved wade trace oy much dacone Ralende ae Sremina aac apnea 72
Peed; ‘variety DeSt: cues seieces da ays geen p< pee gee oe ae 73
VeNTIIBHOR: .6.c5.s00 sie ands eae YESS SSE Oe Petes eee Bees 73