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Show MAKING SUCCESS IN THE P1LE0N LOFT j Excellent Specimen of Homer Pigeon. (By E. VAN BENTHUYSEN.) A young pigeon, unlike a young chicken, cannot feed itself, but must be fed by the old bird. Very often squabs do not leave the nest until they are a month old and ready for the market. Sometimes the old birds will favor one of their offspring and feed it continually, con-tinually, allowing the others to go hungry much of the time. It is not unusual to see one large, plump bird and a half-starved, puny one in the same nest, both having been hatched at the same time. The male bird sits on the nest at night and the female In the daytime. Some dealers say that this is the only true test of mating. Vermin Is a constant menace to pigeons and must be always fought. Frequent whitewashing, absolute cleanliness, and tobacco-stems placed In the nests will generally keep the birds reasonably clean. Pigeons must have clean water for bathing, once every day. It should be given them early In the morning. The birds cannot live without it. The bathing dishes should be emptied emp-tied immediately after the birds have used It, as it quickly becomes foul and should not be allowed to stand. The pigeon that goes about with drooping wings is a sick bird. At the first sign of sickness, the bird should be taken out of the pens and placed by itself. Unless it is very valuable it should be killed at the end of three days if it is not entirely well. Squabs are pretty well covered with feathers when they are three weeks old. Before engaging in the pigeon business busi-ness go and spend a week or two with some successful pigeon breeder. One can learn more in this way than from three months of reading. Nobody except a simpleton will buy pigeons whose mating is not absolutely absolute-ly guaranteed. Even then one should not buy except from a dealer with a high reputation, because even if the birds are guaranteed and they prove to be unmated much time will be lost before they can be replaced. The aim of every pigeon dealer is to produce the largest amount of meat in his bird. For this reason scrub stock should never be used. No artificial heat is required in pigeon houses, but they must be absolutely ab-solutely tight as drafts are fatal. Pigeons begin to lay two weeks after aft-er mating. They lay two eggs which hatch in about eighteen days. The old birds stop feeding the young squabs when the next pair hatch. Each pair of birds should be provided provid-ed with two nests. Pigeons cannot thrive unless they have a place in which to fly. Confined Con-fined in houses they will quickly contract con-tract consumption and die. Even in the coldest weather they should be allowed to fly outdoors when they please. The breeding season is from March to September, but extra good breeders breed-ers will produce young ten months in the year. |