The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book , 



Many young birds are very "precocious" or forward ; 

 ;hat is, mature very early, and I have known them to 

 mate and breed at the age of six months. But the breed- 

 er for fancy does not want to permit this where possi- 

 ble, as it is better for his purposes that they be allowed 

 to become fully mature before entering upon the duties 

 of raising a family. Consequently he needs to keep 

 them apart, that is, the sexes, until time for spring mat- 

 ing. When the proper time arrives to mate birds for 

 the season's work, which in the latitude of New York 

 should be about the 14th of February, the fancier should 

 look his stock carefully over and endeavor, as far as pos- 

 sible, to put such birds together as combine the qualities 

 he is seeking for. 



If he still has the original stock birds he purchased 

 the preceding year, he knows what they have produced, 

 and if their young proved to be good specimens he can 

 mate them again. If their progeny proved unsatisfac- 

 tory, it will then be necessary to give them other mates. 

 Sometimes mating a son to his mother or a father to 

 his daughter will strengthen and help to improve qual- 

 ities peculiar to the variety. Brother and sister I would 

 never, unless unavoidable, put together. But a young 

 cock put to a young female of another pair, al- 

 though there may be close relation between them, is 

 preferable to mating brother and sister. What we want 

 to aim at in breeding is a proper balancing of all the 

 fancy points, so as to have them as near perfect as pos- 

 sible ; not' to mate so there shall be an excess of quality 

 in one particular point to the exclusion of some other 

 quality equally as necessary. 



For instance, take Turbits (a hard variety to breed 

 perfect, by the way) ; I would not want to mate two 

 birds fine every way in head and beak, but deficient in 



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