284 MAKING POULTRY PAY 



of grains, such as cracked corn, wheat, peas, millet, 

 hemp seed, etc. They need water for drinking and 

 bathing, also sharp sand or grit and occasionally some 

 salt. Besides Homers, which are the best and cheap- 

 est, Antwerps and Runts are also used for raising 

 squabs. The latter are the giants among pigeons, but 

 are shy breeders and not good feeders. White squabs 

 always sell better than do colored ones. A flock of old 

 birds will average in the hands of a skillful breeder 

 about six pairs of squabs a year. Much bigger claims 

 than this, however, are often made by persons who 

 have birds to sell. 



The beginner should start with a few mated pairs 

 and then raise his own flock of breeders. Great disap- 

 pointment and much loss comes from getting birds 

 which are not mates. An unmated cock or hen in a 

 loft will cause a lot of trouble — a few such will prevent 

 any profit. Many dealers who find it more profitable 

 to sell breeders than to raise squabs, send out anything 

 and everything to their customers as mated birds. 

 Some of them say mating commonly means in sales 

 half cocks and half hens. William E. Rice, an author- 

 ity on squab raising, thus defines mated pigeons : "A 

 mated pair of pigeons consists of a male and a female 

 which have built a nest, laid eggs and hatched a pair 

 of squabs which are fit for market in four weeks from 

 the time of hatching." The only safe way in buying 

 breeders is to get a written guarantee that they are 

 mated, and a list showing which the pairs were. If 

 any dealer will not furnish this better let him alone. 

 The purchaser who buys birds represented to be mated 

 has a right to expect that they have actually been 

 mated and will prove it by going to work and rearing 

 squabs, and he ought to be provided with a list for his 

 guidance showing which birds are mated. 



Pheasant Rearing — The critical time of the young 

 pheasant is the first two weeks, and' during this time 



