102 NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 



as many nest boxes as you wish. Then count your nest 

 boxes and you will know how many birds you can accommo- 

 date. You must have two nest boxes for every pair of birds. 

 Always allow more nest boxes than there are pigeons, and do 

 not crowd the birds, as we have explained on page 29. 



Question. How does the male bird impregnate the female 

 bird? They do not seem to me to act as roosters and hens do. 

 Answer. The human eye is not sharp and quick enough to 

 follow the actions of the male bird. He mounts the female 

 in a manner which is called " treading." A female occasion- 

 ally will " tread " the male bird, exactly as a female animal 

 when in excessive heat sometimes will mount the male, or 

 another female. Customers who had what they thought was 

 a doubtful pair sometimes have written us saying that each 

 would tread the other, and that of course both were males. 

 After a while the same customer would write and say that the 

 pair fooled him and that he had two eggs from them. The 

 actions are in nine cases out of ten, of course, a positive guide, 

 but there are exceptions to every rule. 



Question. (1) The legs of the pigeon you sent me are 

 red; are they inflamed? (2) The droppings are soft and 

 mushy; I am afraid they have diarrhoea. What shall I do? 

 (3) Most of my pigeons have a warty-like substance on their 

 bills, varying in size with the pigeon; how shall I get rid of it? 

 Answer. (1) The red color which you see is perfectly natural. 

 The legs of all Homer pigeons are red. (2) The natural 

 droppings of the pigeon are soft and somewhat loose. When 

 they have diarrhoea the droppings, are extremely watery and 

 the tail feathers are soiled. Your pigeons are all right and 

 have no diarrhoea. (3) The growth of which you speak is 

 perfectly natural. It varies in size with the pigeon, sometimes 

 covering the base of the bill, in other cases clinging closely to it. 



Question. Can I figure with certainty that of each pair 

 of squabs which my birds hatch, one. is a male and the other 

 a female? Answer. Not with absolute certainty, but as a 

 rule. It is Nature's way to provide for an equal number of 

 males and females, for that is the way the species mates and 

 is reproduced. 



Question. Enclosed find ten dollars, for which please send 

 me settings of pigeon eggs to that value, and send me the 

 balance due, if any. Answer. We do not sell pigeon eggs. 



