444 



POULTRY PRODUCriON 



Mating is accom])lislied Ijy allowiiifj; tlic unuiatcd Linls 

 to occupy a room coiitaiiiiniT some nest l)oxes. As soon as 

 a i)air is oliser\c(_i to start Ijuildins a nest togetlier tliey 

 sliould be canght, banded, and remox'ed to the breeding 

 loft. Usually about 90 per cent of the birds will mate 

 where upward of one hundred are placed in the mating- 

 room. After a pair is mated tlie cock drives tlie hen until 

 slie deposits her eggs in the nest. A good driver is likely 

 to be a good breeder. 



Fig. 2(19 



Squabs ("peepers"), t\vrlvi> liour.s nlil. 



Two eggs arc laid al:)Out thirty-six liours apart and usually 

 hatch betweeji sixteen and eighteen days after the last egg 

 is laid. When the eggs are first fiatcluMl sex cannot be 

 determined, but if both eggs are hatclied and pro\'e to l:)e 

 a pair the cock will usually liatcli about twehc hours earlier 

 than the lien. WJiere two squabs hatch in the same nests 

 of unecpial size they should l.)e chaugi'd from nest to nest 

 so that the pairs are evened up in size. If tliis is not done 

 the earliest hatch or largest Ijird will crowd the smaller one 

 so that it is likelv to die. 



