THE PIGEON BOOK 43 



During the general moult I find a mixed diet as good 

 as anything, but there must be no stint of good food. 

 Linseed, buckwheat, and hemp seed assist the moult. A 

 little new wheat is also good. In a state of nature birds 

 get an abundance of food in the fields during the moult, 

 assisting them to renew their plumage without difficulty 

 in the autumn, and yet the food is new and fresh, and 

 this acts as a purge and keeps the blood cool but rich. 

 A piece of rock salt in the loft at this period is a useful 

 adjunct, and a regular supply of green food, such as 

 lettuce and watercress — which, if sprinkled with a little 

 salt, the birds will eat with avidity — will all help to 

 bring about the renewal of the feathers. 



The most dangerous and trying period in the life of a 

 highly-bred bird is the first moult. After this has been 

 well and successfully accomplished it is seldom that 

 further trouble takes place, except where hens have been 

 allowed to lay too great an abundance of eggs or cocks 

 to feed too many young. The racer is also affected, and 

 may have a bad moult through a great strain in racing. 



After a good moult a pigeon is at its best. The colour- 

 ing should be light and clean, and the sheen on the neck 

 sparkle like diamonds in the sun. 



Any pigeon that suffers from a bad or faulty moult 

 will seldom breed sound young the following year, and 

 in the case of the racer, if given any difficult trials, 

 failure and loss will result. The only course open in the 

 case of a valuable bird that has a faulty moult is to lay 

 it aside until the next moult has been accomplished, 

 taking care meanwhile that nothing can drain its resources 

 or sap its strength, to interfere with a good and thorough 

 moult on this occasion. 



I do not know if others have noticed the same thing, 

 but I think I can safely say that a very warm, badly- 



