The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book 



placed in the market-show no trace of their bluer blood. 

 While full-grown pigeons find a ready market, especially 

 when game is scarce, it is the squab about four to five 

 weeks old that is most in demand and of which there is 

 rarely a glut. That these can be raised at a profit there 

 is no question, and how to do it is what we propose to 

 show. 



A k)ft or breeding-room, such as I have described for 

 fancy pigeons will answer for squab raising also. The 

 same care should be given in the matter of cleanliness, 

 feeding, watering, bathing, and exercising, as with 

 fancy pigeons, as the object is to induce the breeding 

 birds to produce as many pairs in a season as possible, 

 for herein lies all the profit of squSb raising. In carry- 

 ing out a systematic plan of breeding, the selection of 

 breeders is a very important item and one it takes a little 

 time to accomplish, for there are several points to con- 

 sider in their selection. Throwing a lot of common 

 birds promiscuously together into the breeding-room, 

 while they will no doubt mate, breed, and produce 

 squabs, is not the correct way to begin a successful car- 

 eer as a squab-raiser. 



The first step I would advise after preparing the 

 necessary accommodations, would be to select large, 

 light-colored birds for breeders, as the squabs they will 

 produce will be light-colored and bring at least 50 per 

 cent more in market than squabs from small, dark- 

 colored birds. Pure white birds for breeders would be 

 the best, but it is n»t always possible to get a number 

 of these together at first, but it should be the aim of the 

 squab-raiser to work towards this end, so that in time 

 his flock may be all white. 



I have said light-colored birds; by that I mean those 

 in which white as a color predominates. By large birds 



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