126 
house or wood-house lofts, or over hen houses, 
Other -houses have been constructed for 
poultry on the ground floor and the story 
above for pigeons. In this.case great care 
must be exercised to have the floor well laid 
with planed and grooved flooring, to keep 
vermin from passing up from the poultry. 
“Very large flocks should not be kept in one 
.room, From 50 to 100 pairs are enough to 
keep together for the best results, preferably 
the former. A room 10x 12 is ample for 50 
pairs. of working birds. A house may be 
built of any desired length, 12 feet wide and 
divided into apartments of the above size 
by wire partitions with doors hung on spring 
hinges, to facilitate passing through in 
feeding. 
“These houses should have windows on 
the south, of sufficient size to afford ample 
light in all parts of the house and no more, 
as too much glass makes the house too cold 
on the winter nights. 
“As each pair requires two nests, as they 
are generally sitting in one while raising 
young in the other, there should be twice as 
many nests as pairs of birds, with eighteen 
to twenty to spare, that they may take their 
choice. 
“The period of incubation is eighteen 
days, the hen bird sitting on the eggs, except- 
ing about four hours each day, when the male 
takes her place, while she is feeding and 
resting. 
“During incubation a substance forms in 
the crop of both birds, known as pigeon milk 
or curd, on which the young are fed for the 
first five or six days, until they are old enough 
to digest the grain, which is carried to them 
in the crop of the old birds, and ejected from 
their mouths to the mouth of the young bird 
by the same process as the pigeon milk is 
fed in the first place. Hence it is important 
that the pies feed be given, which should 
consist of a variety of grain and seeds, the 
larger the variety, the bettcr. These should 
consist of cracked corn, rather coarse (prefer- 
ably about three or four pieces, from a single 
kernel), with the fine sifted out. This should 
be kept before them in troughs or hoppers, 
so constructed that they cannot throw it 
out and waste it, which they will frequently 
do in search of other grains of which they are 
more fond. The other seeds should consist 
of whole corn, Canada peas, Kaffir corn, 
hulled oats, millet and hempseed. These 
should be fed on the floor twice daily, just 
what they will clean up quickly, feeding the 
hempseed but twice or three times per week, 
except in the moulting season, when a small 
quantity may be fed each day, as hempseed 
is very ieee and when fed in excess bad 
results may follow. Do not feed wheat too 
liberally; and always mixed with other 
seeds, using the hard, red wheat and never 
new wheat, as it has a tendency to loosen the 
bowels of the young birds with sometimes 
fatal results. In connection with the feeds, 
the birds should be furnished with ground 
NATIONAL STANDARD SQUAB BOOK 
oyster shell for grit, also a liberal supply of 
salt and small bits of charcoal and gravel. 
The salt is necessary to keep them in good 
health. These substances may be kept in 
small boxes around the house where the birds 
can have free access to them. 
“A generous supply of pure water should 
be kept before them at all times near the 
feeding trough, and should be supplied each 
morning before feeding, that the old birds may 
have access to it immediately after feeding, 
before taking the feed to their young. 
“In stocking the houses, always avoid 
using common breeders, as the results will be 
disappointing. They are not prolific and are 
more liable to produce dark squabs, which 
always bring the lowest price in market, and 
do not feed the young as well as the full 
bloods. The best all-round birds for squab 
Fa are hon seen omer: as they are 
e€ most active, good workers, quiet disposition 
and the best of feeders. ws upon 5 
“The Runt is the largest of pigeons, but a 
very slow worker, seldom producing more 
than four pairs of squabs per year. It 
makes a good cross with Homer and Dragoon, 
but even then will not produce as many birds 
as either of the others alone. 
“The squabs are dressed for market once 
a week, on regular shipping days. They are 
dressed just before they are large enough to 
leave the nests, and when they are full- 
feathered, and should weigh at this time 
eight pounds per dozen, this size commanding 
the highest price, the prices falling off very 
fast as the size drops from this weight. The 
squabs should be dressed with empty crops. 
They may be caught in the early morning 
before feeding, and dressed, or caught the 
evening before, after the old birds have fed 
them for the night, and kept in hampers until 
morning, when their crops will be just in the 
right condition. 
“After the young birds are two or three 
weeks old, the old birds build another nest 
and pee to sit again, the male bird taking 
most of the care of the young until they are 
ready to dress; hence the importance of 
supplying two nests for each pair. us a 
good pair of working birds have a pair of 
soup and a pair of eggs a large portion of the 
ime. 
“During the summer months the birds 
should be furnished with a shallow tub of 
water in which to take’a bath, two or three 
times per week, which will help them to keep 
free of vermin. These tubs should be 
emptied after they have bathed, as the - 
should not be allowed to drink the water in 
which they have bathed. . 
‘With good care, properly constructed 
houses, wholesome food, never sour or tainted, 
very little disease should be encountered. 
Prevention is better and more easily ad- 
ministered than cure. Some of these are dry 
houses, pure water, regularity in feeding and 
cleanliness. The water buckets should be 
washed out frequently with crevline water, 
