42 PARADISE VALLEY POULTRY RANCH 



duce undesirable qualities in the squabs, which makes it necessary to 

 remate or cull out the flock. 



Continued close inbreeding is not desirable, and many pigeon raisers 

 try to avoid any inbreeding. The relationship of pigeons as shown by their 

 bands both in natural and forced matings should be considered. The danger 

 from close inbreeding appears to depend largely on how carefully the 

 breeders are selected, but it should be avoided by the average squab pro- 

 ducer. Careful records of all matings should be kept. The males are 

 usually banded on one foot and the females on the other to distinguish the 

 sex of the birds in the breeding pen. If a breeding pigeon dies its mate 

 should be removed from the pen and a new mating made. 



HATCHING AND REARING SQUABS 



The hen pigeon usually lays two eggs in three days, before she starts 

 to sit. If more than two eggs are laid it is advisable to remove the extra 

 ones, as a pair of pigeons can raise only two good squabs at one time. 

 The period of incubation of pigeon eggs is about seventeen days. Both the 

 male and the female pigeon sit on the eggs, the male usually relieving the 

 female during part or most of the day. Pigeon eggs are usually fertile if 

 the pigeons are healthy and properly fed, especially when they have free 

 range. One squab (usually the male) frequently hatches first, and where 

 there are several cases where one squab outgrows its nest mate, it may be 

 advisable to sort the squabs in the nests, making the pairs as uniform as 

 possible in size and age. They should usually be changed in the nest, how- 

 ever, before they are ten days old, at which time their parents stop feed- 

 ing them on pigeon milk. 



Squabs are reared and fed by both of the parent birds on a thick, 

 creamy mixture called pigeon milk, produced in the crop of the pigeons. 

 It is very essential that the pigeons have a plentiful supply of grain while 

 they are rearing squabs if rapid growth of the young is to be secured. 

 Pigeons usually feed the squabs shortly after they themselves are fed and 

 should not be disturbed at that time, thus making it advisable to water them 

 before they are fed. Care should always be taken not to frighten or dis- 

 turb pigeons or squabs any more than is absolutely necessary. If the 

 parent birds die the squabs may sometimes be removed to a nest where 

 there is only one squab, or they may be fed artificially, altho this process 

 takes considerable time. 



FEEDING 



Many varieties of grains are used in feeding pigeons. A good mixture 

 of staple grains may be made of equal parts by weight of cracked corn, 

 hard red wheat, kaffir corn, and Canada peas, with a small quantity (ten 

 per cent) of hemp and millet seed added during the molting period. Other 

 grains which may be substituted for or added to these are peanuts, oats or 

 hulled oats, buckwheat, Egyptian corn, barley, cowpeas, and milo maize, 

 while a small quantity of stale bread, rice, rape, millet, canary, vetch, and 

 sunflower seed may be fed for variety. Canada peas are expensive, but 

 seem to be essential to the best results,' especially during the breeding 

 season, and apparently take the place of green feed to some extent. Pea- 

 nuts are being used to some extent in place of Canada peas. Green feed 

 such as cut clover, alfalfa and grass, lettuce, and plantain leaves may be fed 

 to advantage, but is not absolutely essential. 



A variety of good, hard grains is essential to success, and grains which 

 are in poor condition should not be fed. Old grains which are hard are 

 better than new soft grains, especially for pigeons with squabs. Red 

 wheat is considered better than white wheat by many pigeon breeders. 

 Good wheat screenings are often fed with success, as they usuallv con- 

 tain a variety of seeds. Various stimulating seeds, such as lentils and 

 vetch, are sometimes 'fed as a tonic to breeding birds during the molting 

 period. 



