06 PIGEON RAISING 



I have seen a hundred or more practicing these 

 exercises at the same time. 



Another beautiful sight is to see them in a 

 first shower. Five or six hundred of my birds 

 at a time would lie first on one side and then on 

 the other on the ground, or roof, with first one 

 wing and then the other raised high to catch the 

 first drops of a storm. It is indeed a sight 

 worth witnessing. 



As they are almost amphibious, storms do 

 not prevent them from taking their regular ex- 

 ercise. Many times I have marketed fine, 

 healthy squabs from wet, soggy nests because 

 of their parents' love of nesting on the floor 

 where storms from the south could reach them. 



The only other disease I have had experi- 

 ence with is "going light." The pigeon loses 

 all flesh and becomes as light in weight as his 

 own feathers. The preventive of this is simple. 

 Of course, a plentiful supply of good feed and 

 water is understood. Besides, keep grit, shells, 

 and salty water constantly before them. The 

 free pigeon searches until he finds them; the 

 imprisoned pigeon is dependent on his care- 

 taker for his supply of these chief essentials to 

 his diet. Without them, he loses all appetite 

 and goes into a decline. 



Fill a small dish half full with rock-salt and 



