PROPER CARE OF SQUABS AND YOUNGSTERS 161 



About the best thing to do with runty squabs is to kill them 

 and try and change the conditions that caused them to get poor, 

 or that caused them to leave the nest too soon and then become 

 poor. An underfed squab becomes stunted and will never im- 

 prove very much. If allowed to grow up they are generally 

 under sized birds and inferior in many ways. 



WHEN TO REMOVE SQUABS FROM NEST ROOM 



Sciuabs that arc to be kept for breeders should be left in the 

 nest room until seven or eight weeks old. This is a much longer 

 period than is practiced by the average breeder. The parent 

 birds, especially the male bird, will feed squabs quite a while 

 longer after they leave the nest, and if there are several birds 

 in a nest room there will most likely be several pairs that are 

 feeding youngsters on the floor after they have left the nest. 

 In such cases squabs six, seven and often eight weeks old will 

 receive on the floor some feed from the parents of younger 

 squabs. In this way youngsters receive some help until they 

 get past the delicate age. 



Squabs that arc left in the nest room a few weeks after they 

 are weaned, seem to get a much better start and do much better 

 after they are taken out of the nest room and put to themselves. 

 One thing that benefits squabs by allowing them to remain 

 several weeks in the nest room after they are weaned, is that 

 they learn the location of the water fountain or trough and the 

 feed boxes during the time when they are receiving some feed 

 from the old birds. Youngsters often die for the want of water 

 if transferred when too young to a pen where the watering 

 arrangement is hard to get to, located in another portion of the 

 room or of different construction than was used in the room 

 they were transferred from. The best plan is to provide the 

 same watering and feeding systems for each pen. 



The best plan, especially with a large plant, is to catch and 

 remove squabs from the nest room to the rearing rooms once 

 a week, having a special time for same each week, taking out 

 only a few of the largest and most thrifty ones from seven tQ 

 eight weeks old, 



