228 



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 



crop of a squab is full it is heavy and apt to be injured 

 if held tightly. It is not necessary to close the fingers 



about the squab un* 

 less it becomes rest- 

 less and tries to get 

 away. When a squab 

 tries to escape from 

 the hand, the fingers 

 should be closed 

 gently about the body 

 in such a way as to 

 -p IG 3 prevent the wings 



from being flapped 



about. The proper way in which a squab should be held 

 is shown in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4 is shown a squab being 

 held by the fingers. This is the improper way to hold 

 squabs under ordinary circumstances, because there is a 

 tendency to squeeze them too tightly, but it is sometimes 

 necessary to hold very lively squabs in this manner. 



Proper Way of Catching and Holding Pigeons. Catch- 

 ing and holding pigeons should be done with care, or 

 the birds may be 

 injured. Pigeons 

 should never be 

 roughly handled or , 

 held by the feet or 

 by the wings alone. 

 The proper method 

 of holding a pigeon 

 is shown in Fig. 5. 

 As shown, the hand 

 is placed around the 

 rear portion of the 



.p, . 



body, the wings and tail are held gently but firmly by the 

 hand, and the shanks are held between two fingers to 

 prevent them from moving. When pigeons are held in 

 this way they will be comfortable and will not struggle to 

 free themselves, hence the wing and tail feathers of tlie 

 birds will not become broken, and females will not be 



