AN EASY START 31 



they will. An extra number of nest boxes may be useful 

 to you to accommodate the young birds raised to breeding 

 age from the old birds which you buy of us, if you intend to 

 raise your squabs to breeding age. 



An expenditure of not over five dollars, and a couple of 

 days' time, will transform the average old building into a 

 habitation for squabs. Put on the finishing touches and add 

 to the expense to suit your fancy. You may cover the out- 

 side of the building with building paper, and shingle or clap- 

 board it. You may put a skyHght in the roof for ventilation, 

 Improve it all you wish. Use your own judgment. . 



To get at your pigeons in such a house, you walk in through 

 the door and find yourself directly among them, the nest 

 boxes all pointing at you. Go to the nest which you wish to 

 investigate or from which you wish to take out the squabs 

 and put your hand in the opening. The old birds will fly 

 by your head, perhaps, and may strike you with their wings, 

 but they will not fly into your face and eyes, — they are good 

 dodgers. Don't be afraid that if you enter the house when 

 the housekeeping is going on you will frighten the birds so 

 they never will come back to the eggs or the squabs. They 

 will seem timid at first, but they will get accustomed to you. 



In the course of a few weeks, only a few will make a great 

 hustle to get away from you. Many of them will continue 

 to sit contentedly on the eggs and if you put up your hand 

 to them they will not fly off in fear but will slap you with 

 their wings, telling you in their language not to bother them. 

 Carry some hempseed in with you and you will teach the 

 birds to come and eat it out of your hand. You can tame 

 them and teach them to love you as any animal is taught. 

 The pigeon, particularly the Homer, the king of them all, is 

 a knowing bird. 



Tack up a few perches where you have room on that wall 

 or those walls of the squab house which have no nest boxes. 

 You do not need a perch for every pigeon, because while some 

 are on perches, others are in the nests, or out in the flying pen, 

 or on the roof, or on the floor of the squab house. If you 

 have forty-eight pigeons, twenty perches will be enough, and 

 you can get along with a dozen. Make each perch of two 

 pieces of board, one six inches square, the other six inches 

 by five, and toe-nail the perch to the wall of the squab house 



