24 THE PIGEON BOOK 



The less the young are disturbed when in the nest the 

 better they will thrive. 



But this does not mean that the nest-boxes should be 

 allowed to collect an accumulation of excretions. Cleanli- 

 ness is most essential. But the nest-boxes must be cleaned 

 as quietly and carefully as possible, using the scraper 

 round the sides of the nest-bowl but not lifting the 

 youngsters in and out of the bowl to do so. 



Good rearers will cover their young from fourteen days 

 to twenty-one days after they are hatched. As a rule, 

 the youngster will be by this time nicely feathered and 

 able to withstand the cold. 



In the case of robust young the feathers will grow 

 steadily ; they should not stand on end like so many 

 bristles, but the flights and tails should gradually grow 

 to their full length, until at twenty-eight days old you 

 have a fully-fledged well-grown young pigeon. 



Meanwhile if the weather is mild the parents have laid 

 again, and are busy incubating another pair of eggs, and 

 will hatch a second pair of young before the first pair are 

 six weeks old. 



When the youngsters are old enough to take care of 

 themselves it is far better to remove them to a separate 

 loft or a portion of the loft divided off for the purpose, 

 so that they can have a place by themselves, otherwise 

 they will be worried and disturbed by the old birds. 



At this period they are very apt to go wrong imless the 

 fancier gives them careful attention. Food and water 

 must be placed within easy reach in abundance, and in 

 galley-pots or vessels similar to those I recommend to be 

 kept in the nest-boxes during the time the old birds are 

 feeding and rearing. I use small rabbit-ix>ts about half 

 the size of ilb. jampots for this purpose. 



At nights after removal the crop should be felt, and if 



