268 AMERICAN SQUAB CULTURE 



ill favor of allowing the birds to fly at liberty. The question 

 of feed is the most important argument in favor of tno liberty 

 plan, as birds will pick up in the street, roads and a?ong rail- 

 road tracks and like places a large percentage of their feed. 

 This is not only true of common pigeons but of Homers and 

 most other breeds. Some of the larger breeds, however, like 

 Carneaux, White Kings, Runts, etc., will not fly very far away 

 from home. 



HOW TO KEEP PIGEONS THAT FLY OUT FROM 

 LEAVING HOME 



There are several precautions necessary to prevent birds that 

 fly at liberty from leaving. Ample and comfortable nesting 

 room for the old birds and roosting room for the young ones 

 must be provided and such accommodations must be arranged 

 so as to prevent much fighting and to make it easy for the 

 young or timid birds to protect themselves from the attacks 

 of quarrelsome cocks. 



Young birds from eight to twelve weeks old are more apt to 

 leave and not return than at any other age. When youngsters 

 are old enough to w^ell take care of themselves the parent birds 

 will fight them. If there is not a convenient place for them to 

 roost they are apt to seek a new home even though they find 

 poorer accommodations at their new home than at their old one. 



If there are other pigeons kept in the neighborhood they will 

 first start spending the day with your neighbors' birds returning 

 at night to roost, but finally staying away altogether unless you 

 take steps to induce them to stay with you. Keeping plenty of 

 water accessible for drinking and bathing purposes and feeding 

 your birds a little each day just before night will not only help 

 to keep birds from leaving home, but will attract stray birds 

 in the neighborhood and induce them to establish their perma- 

 nent home with you. 



Unless a young cock can secure a nesting place at mating age 

 he will leave home and seek a place where he can secure a 

 nesting place and a mate. 



Young females are more apt to leave than young males as 

 they are easily attracted by your neighbors old males who will 

 even visit your home and decoy your young females away. 



