CHAPTER II. 



AN EASY START. 



No Special Form of Building Necessary — Points to Remember 

 — Shelter Adapted to the Climate — How to Use a Building 

 which you Now Have — Squab House and Flying Pen — 

 Lining the Squab House with Nests — Use of Egg Crates — 

 How to Put up the Perches — Difference between the Nest 

 Box, Nest Pan and Nest — How to Tell How Many Pigeons 

 can Occupy a Certain Building — A Large Flock of Pigeons 

 is Easily Cared for when Split up into Small Flocks — 

 How to Use Your Time to Best Advantage. 



Do not get the idea that any special form of building is 

 necessary to raise squabs. We will tell you how to put up a 

 structure that will make your work easier for you, and enable 

 you to handle a big flock fast and accurately, but pigeons 

 will work in almost any place, if it is free from rats, darkness 

 and the musty dampness which goes with darkness. Any 

 building, whether a woodshed, a com crib, a bam, an outhouse 

 of any description, or even a hog pen, can be made a successful 

 home for pigeons with a little work. 



The points to remember are these, first, that the building 

 be on fairly level, sunny ground; second, that it be raised 

 from the ground so that rats cannot breed under it out of sight 

 and reach; third, that it ought to be fairly tight, so as to keep 

 out rain and excessive cold. Pigeons ought to have sunlight 

 and fresh air, like any other animal, and need protection from 

 the elements. 



In practice, therefore, most squab houses are found raised 

 on posts a foot or two feet off the ground; they face the 

 south (here in New England) because most of our bitter 

 weather comes from the north and east. If you live in a 

 State, territory or foreign country where conditions are 

 different, adapt your squab houses to those conditions. In 

 some localities, the fierce weather comes from the south and 

 west, in which case your squab house should face the north 

 or east. 



Here in New England we build a tight house to withstand 



21 



