THE PIGEON BOOK 69 



subservient to the attacks of Protozoa, which invade 

 the lining membrane of the mouth, pharynx, and even 

 the crop and windpipe. 



From this it will be seen that I think roup due in a 

 measure to an animal microbe living on the birds. Once 

 get this microbe in your loft, and the difficulty is ever 

 to get rid of it. 



It is the hot weather that the trouble from roup and 

 kindred diseases is mostly to be feared. On one occa- 

 sion a young fancier friend begged me to go over 

 and see his birds; he could not make out what was the 

 matter with them. I had no difficulty in doing so. He 

 had a serious outbreak of roup in his loft. 



I recommended him to do exactly the same as I have 

 done in the case'of other fanciers — to give his birds more 

 air. I am a believer in fresh air for pigeons if you wish 

 to keep them hard and strong. 



With a loft with an open wirework front and a dry 

 roof, you can keep pigeons as sound and healthy as it 

 is possible to keep them; but once start boxing up and 

 shutting out the fresh air, you are inviting trouble. 



The greatest mistake that can be possibly made is to 

 keep pigeons in a hot loft. Disease microbes to which 

 pigeon flesh is heir thrive in heat — the roup microbe 

 thrives in it. As cold and frosty weather will kill fleas, 

 so will cool fresh air kill and conquer disease microbes 

 such as roup. 



Pigeons are birds of the air, no animals or birds more 

 so. You can keep twice the number healthy and well in 

 a loft with plenty of fresh air running through it as you 

 can in one that is closely confined, stuffy, and hot. 



Whilst I think roup contagious, still it will not make 

 the same ravages amongst a healthy loft of birds if intro- 

 duced as amongst those in such a state of health as to 



