42 THE PIGEON BOOK 



There is not as much wear on the secondaries as on the 

 flights and tail, and hence, I suppose, Nature has not 

 ordained the necessity for their annual moult. 



The moult is comparable with the fall and growth of 

 the leaves of a tree. The new feather is the leaf, the 

 blood that feeds it is the sap, and when the plant is 

 healthy so it grows a healthy leaf. A stoppage in the 

 moult of late-bred birds indicates that there is no sap left 

 to feed the growing leaf. 



A good moult depends upon the health of the subject. 

 An irregular moult indicates want of health. 



If a pigeon is not making a good moult nothing will 

 denote this more plainly than the colour of the plumage. 

 If there is a lack of lustre, you can depend upon it the 

 subject is wrong. If it is found on examination there is 

 a stoppage in the moult, or it is late or slow, means must 

 be taken to assist Nature. I have found that close con- 

 finement in a warm pen in the house, with some moist 

 hay to stand on, will often be the means of assisting a 

 sluggish moult. The bird should also be fed liberally on 

 hemp seed and small seeds, such as rape, canary, and a 

 little linseed, but all of good quality ; added to this in 

 some cases I have found a capsule of linseed oil, 5 minim, 

 very effective. 



The moult may be retarded by mating late in the 

 spring, and it should should be borne in mind that June 

 youngsters do not moult as a rule as early in after life as 

 those bred earlier in the year. Moreover, late-bred birds, 

 when in their third season, as they do not moult completely 

 until the end of the second, retain their flights much 

 longer than early-bred ones. This information is useful 

 in the case of racing pigeons, in connection with which a 

 full wing means so much if they are to accomplish long 

 journeys. 



