LAYING AND HATCHING 69 
were put on arrival, then can be used for the rearing pen for 
youngsters raised in the breeding pen. 
In case a pigeon loses its mate by death or accident, the sex 
of the dead one must be ascertained. The live one should be 
removed from the pen and placed in the mating coop with a 
pigeon of the opposite sex. 
The mating coop should have a partition of lattice work or 
wire. Place the cock in one side, the hen in the other, and 
leave them thus for two or three days to flirt and tease each 
other, then remove the central lattice work or wire and they 
usually will pair, or mate. If they show no disposition to 
pair but on the contrary fight, replace the partition and try 
them for two or three days longer. If they refuse to pair 
after two or three thorough trials, do not experiment any 
more with them, but select other mates. 
The determination of the sex of pigeons is difficult. The 
bones at the vent of a female are as a rule wider apart 
than of a male. If you hold the beak of a pigeon in one 
hand and the feet in the other, stretching them out, the 
male bird usually will hug his tail close to its body —the 
female will throw her tail. The best way to determine the sex 
is to watch the birds. The male is more lively than the 
female, and does more cooing, and in flirting with her usually 
turns around several times, while the female seldom turns 
more than half way around. The male may be seen pecking 
at the female and-driving her to nest. When one pigeon is 
seen chasing another inside and outside the squab house, 
the driven one is the female and the driver her mate. 
Neither the squab breeder nor the flying-Homer breeder 
is much concerned about the color of feathers. There are 
blue checkers, red checkers, black checkers, silver, blue, 
brown, red, in fact about all the colors of the rainbow. Color 
has no relation to the ability of a pair to breed a large pair of 
squabs. We wish specially to emphasize the fact that the 
color of the feathers has no influence on the color of the skin 
of the squab. A white feathered bird does not mean a white- 
skinned squab. The feed affects the color of the meat a little. 
A corn-fed pigeon will be yellower than one fed on a mixture. 
Squabs with dark skins (almost black in some cases) are the 
product of blood matings. The trouble with a dark-colored 
squab is in the blood and the only remedy is to get rid of them 
