138 AMERICAN SQUAB CULTURES 



rigl\t, and proceeds to try and win him a mate by physical 

 power. If he can succeed in whipping some other male away 

 from his nest, breaking up the family, it is possible for him to 

 secure a mate in that way; but by his undertaking, he generally 

 only succeeds in breaking eggs, killing young squabs and wear- 

 ing out himself and his antagonist, without getting the female 

 to desert her former mate. 



The female will invariably contribute to the defense of her 

 home, and try to protect her young ones. It is not desirable, 

 therefore, to have either odd females or odd males in a loft of 

 working birds. It is better to have an even number of males 

 and females, for invariably they vvill find each other and mate 

 up. The best mating plan is to tak,e an equal number of odd 

 males, and females, and shut them up together until they mate, 

 and then turn them in with the regular mated birds. 



As stated previously, a male can be mated with almost any 

 female, regardless of color, size or kind; so if you desire to mate 

 any particular male with any particular female, all that is 

 necessary is to shut them up together for a few days. Of course, 

 they should be given food, water and grit during that time, and 

 should have a place whore it would be possible for them to 

 make a nest. Large space, however, is not necessary. A small 

 coop with two ot three square feel of floor space is all that is 

 needed. The mating coop should be sufficiently ventilated, yet 

 free from drafts, as birds will catch cold quicker shut up in a 

 small place llinn in an open joom. ' 



Nev.iy mated bi'i's must be left together long enough to be- 

 come well mated before putting them in with other birds lest 

 they sepiiiati\ ]i they are to be put back where their old mates 

 are, they must he kei:t away several weeks or they will likely 

 separate and go back to their old mates. 



The statement that any pigeon will mate with most any other 

 pigeon does not mean that I sanction or believe in the plan of 

 crossing breeds. On Ihe contrary, I am very much opposed to 

 (■rossing breeds, as it is not practical to create new breeds, and 

 mongrels generally inherit the inferior qualities of both parents. 

 Elsewhere in this book, will be found an article on this subject. 



