THE BEST SQUAB RAISERS ly 



does begin laying again at the end of 14 days. There- 

 fore 34 days have elapsed since the first egg was laid. 

 Dividing 365 by 34 we get 10 and a fraction or the total 

 number of possible broods under such conditions for a 

 year. It is clear, therefore, that it is impossible to get 

 12 broods unless we shorten the time between hatching 

 and the next laying. 



In this calculation, no allowance has been made for 

 infertile eggs, or squabs dying in the nest, neither 

 have we considered any cessation of squab production 

 during the molting season. It is quite customary for 

 birds to rest during their molting period. A claim of 

 12 pairs of squabs from a single pair of pigeons in a 

 year is preposterous. We are willing to display our 

 doubt, publicly, that there is anywhere in the world a 

 flock of 25 pairs of pigeons having a record of 12 pairs 

 of squabs for each pair in a single consecutive 12 

 months. 



The highest average we have obtained with our 

 flock, and we do not claim perfection by any means, 

 is nine pairs of squabs to each pair. This record was 

 made with 25 pairs of young, selected Homers. The 

 results outlined in the .opening chapter were made with 

 an average of 5^^ pairs for the entire flock. Could we 

 maintain an average of nine pairs, our net increase 

 from squabs would be augmented at least $i,57S a 

 year from a flock of 750 pairs of breeders. 



Experiences with other breeds. — In our early 

 pigeon keeping, we made some experiments with 

 Runt, Duchesse and other breeds. The Runt is the 

 giant among pigeons, but is not prolific. It is a slow 

 breeder, yielding sometimes as low as three or four 

 squabs in a year. The experiments with the Duchesse 

 were, likewise, disappointing as to yield compared with 



