Diseases of Pigeons. 6i 



and difficult to kill when caught, for it is so tough that it can scarcely 

 be squeezed to death between the finger and thumb) ia not often seen. 

 Ticks are the largest of the insects that infest pigeon houses, and are 

 fortunately, at least in my experience, not very common. I have never 

 been much troubled with mites, but have known others who were, in such 

 countless thousands, that during a whole breeding season every successive 

 nest of young ones was covered with them, causing the death of many. I 

 suppose they are of the same sort of vermin that trouble canary breeders. 

 Fleas are the commonest kind of insects that infest pigeon houses, and 

 are always present when breeding is going on, at least in my place and in 

 many others I know of. They take up their abode under a pair as they 

 commence to sit, and by the time the young ones are well grown, unless 

 something has been done to destroy them, they have increased to a 

 great extent. The most efficacious remedy for all the vermin that infest 

 pigeon houses is bi-sulphide of carbon, a volatile stinking chemical, the 

 use of which is almost worse than the presence of the vermin. The 

 method of using it is to hang up a few open phials of it round the loft, 

 when the smeU it gives off is certain death to the vermin. It does not 

 seem to affect the health of the pigeons, but the smell of it is very un- 

 pleasant, and it is very inflammable and therefore dangerous. I have 

 tried it with success. Whitewashing the houses and flights once a year 

 with hot Ume does a great deal towards keeping down vermin ; the 

 strongest pine sawdust in my experience does very little towards that 

 end, and my method of fighting the fleas ia aa follows : when making 

 the pigeons' neats, I first lay down pine sawdust, and in the centre of it, 

 where the birds are to sit, I place about a handful of sawdust well 

 saturated with mineral oil (strong smelling paraffin, not the purified 

 burning oil), I cover this, after hollowing it out, with clean sawdust, and 

 then lay down the straw nest. This is about sufficient to keep the nest 

 clear of fleas ; but a little more of the saturated sawdust, when the 

 young ones are half grown, will do good, if the fleas have appeared. If 

 the young pigeons come in contact with the oily sawdust it will blister 

 them, and the skin will come off in large pieces as it dries up ; but I 

 never found it kill them or even stop their growth. I have seen it 

 noticed that heather cuttings make an insect proof nest, but have not 

 tried it. 



Leg vjea/cness generally attacks young pouter pigeons early or late in 



