APPENDIX G 



317 



WHY I PREFER 

 SQUABS TO CHICKENS, 

 by Mrs. Lizzie A. Trout. I 



wish to keep on increasing 

 my flock of pigeons as I 

 like the work better than 

 raising chickens. I have 

 learned that if one would 

 succeed in squab raising he 

 must like it and by so do- 

 ing acquaint himself with 

 the little things that are of 

 great value to the success- 

 ful squab raiser. The 

 following are important 

 points: care oi the birds, 

 what to feed, how to feed 

 and when to feed. 



My squabhouse is built 

 on the slope of a hill facing 

 the south and as this is a 

 warm and pleasant loca- 

 tion I do not have frozen 

 squabs in the winter. I 

 give them tobacco stems to 

 build their nests and by 

 frequent cleaning give no 

 chance for the lice to live in 

 my squabhouse. I find that 

 to give a varietv of feed is 

 the best. A good mixture 

 is six quarts of sifted 

 cracked com (not too fine, 

 because if it is fine it takes 

 out much of the meal 

 from the com, which 

 otherwise would help to 

 fatten the squabs) , six 

 quarts whole wheat, two 

 quarts buckwheat , two 

 quarts Canada peas and two quarts kaffir 

 com. Every other morning I give them a 

 few handfuls of millet seed and twice a week 

 hempseed. I think this is a good mixture for 

 them. I also keep within their reach char- 

 coal, salt, fine oyster shells and a grit of which 

 the old birds are fond. Before I used this 

 coarse grit, I noticed that a few of my hsns 

 would prefer being out in my outside pen or 

 yard, and were in a constant hunt for some- 

 thing, and trying to pick up bits of gravel and 

 stone. It appeared to me that perhaps a 

 coarse grit might be a help to these birds and I 

 find it did the work well. 



I always try not to have left over any feed, 

 or very little, until the next feeding time so I 

 know that their grain will be sweet and clean. 

 They will be more eager for their feed. I do 

 not like the idea of throwing feed on the floor 

 and they will get the feed more or less dirty 

 even if you do clean the floor once a week. I 

 feed in a box six feet long, two feet wide and 

 three inches high. The birds cannot scatter 

 the feed in this way very much. This box is 

 large enough for a loft of fifty pairs as they 

 never all feed at the same time. Feeding 

 should if possible always be at the same hours, 

 seven o'clock in the moming and four o'clock 

 in the evening. This will give the birds plenty 



BLUE-BARRED RACING HOMER. 

 A beautiful flyer bred by Paul F. Miller which has covered five hundred 

 miles in one day. 



of time to feed their young before night. I 

 wash my fountain and give my birds fresh 

 water twice a day in winter and three times a 

 day in summer. They are as glad for the nice 

 fresh spring water in the hot summer day at 

 noon as you would be for a plate of ice-cream. 



As to my choice in chicken or squab raising, 

 I prefer by far squab raising. There is not 

 half the work, with much quicker results and 

 feed for the purse. No unruly hens to contend 

 with. No squabs to run after when a rain is 

 coming. They are already cared for. No 

 lamp to fill and trim, no thermometer to 

 watch, no eggs to turn, no trays to change. 

 The old birds do all this work themselves. No 

 wind to blow out the brooder lamp and chill 

 the squabs at night. All this you must con- 

 tend with if you want to raise chickens. 



Feed your pigeons the right kind of feed, 

 give them plenty of fresh water. Then they 

 will care for the squabs themselves and in 

 four weeks' time the squabs will be ready for 

 market. There is a field for prosperity in 

 squab raising. 



When President Taft started on his 1909 

 trip, he was given a banquet by the Boston 

 Chamber of Commerce. One line in the menu 

 was roast squabs, two thousand in number. 



