CHAPTER VI. 
LAYING AND HATCHING. 
Laying an Egg is under the Control of the Pigeon’s Mind— 
Fertile and Infertile Eggs— How the Cock Drives the Hen— 
One Day between Eggs— Hatch ajter Seventeen Days 
—How Squabs are Fed by the Paren’ Birds—Mating 
Males and Females— Use of the Mating Coop—Determina- 
tion of Sex—Color of Feathers Has No Effect on Color of 
Flesh— Pigeons Lejt to Themselves Will Not Inbreed— No 
Inbreeding Necessary even if you Start wi-h a Small Flock. 
The hen pigeon builds the nest. When the nest is built, 
the cock begins to ‘“‘ drive’’ the hen around the house and 
pen. In a flock of breeding pigeons you always will see one 
or two cocks “ driving ’’ their mates, pecking at them and 
nagging them with the purpose of forcing them onto the nest 
to lay the eggs. The cock seems to take more interest in the 
coming family than the hen. 
The hen lays one egg in the nest, then skips a day and lays 
the second egg.on the third day. Seventeen days after being 
laid the eggs hatch. The egg first laid hatches a day before 
the second, sometimes, but usually the parents do not sit 
close on the first egg, but stand over it, and do not incubate 
it. Sometimes one squab may. get more than its share of 
food, and the younger one will weaken and die. This seldom 
happens but if you see one squab considerably larger than the 
other, the thing to do is to exchange with a squab from 
another nest that is nearer the size of the remaining squab. 
The old birds will not notice the change but will continue 
feeding the foster squab. 
The process of laying an egg is a mental operation. We 
mean by this that it is not a process which goes on regularly 
in spite of all conditions. The hen forms the egg in her body 
and lays it when she is in condition to, and when she wants 
to, not when she is forced to. In other words, the hen lays 
when conditions are satisfactory to her. That she forms the 
egg at will is proven by many things, principally by the fact 
that she allows one day to come in between the first and 
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