CHAPTER XII 

 PROPER CARE OF SQUABS AND YOUNGSTERS 



SOFT SHELLED EGGS 



A soft shelled egg is one that is covered only by a tough skin 

 and is without the hard shell covering. This is generally 

 caused by the old bird not having been provided with a suf- 

 ficient amount of oyster shell or other limey substance. Robbing 

 the old birds' nest a couple or three times in succession will 

 also cause soft shell eggs. Pigeons are not like chickens in 

 this respect. A hen will lay any number of eggs consecutively, 

 and invariably be able to manufacture a sufficient amount of 

 shell to cover her eggs, but a pigeon is only intended to lay 

 two eggs, and then set and raise their young to two or three 

 weeks of age before laying again. 



Once a pigeon lays soft shelled eggs, it is necessary to keep 

 her from laying again for a,t least a month; if not, she wijll 

 probably continue to lay soft shelled eggs. The best thing to 

 do when a soft shelled egg is found, is to put the pigeon that 

 laid it to setting by substituting an egg with a good shell in 

 her nest, even though it is an infertile or old egg. If it is an 

 infertile egg take it away from her after two weeks' setting, just 

 before she has accumulated pigeon milk in her crop. Then 

 after a week or ten days' rest, she will lay again, and the 

 chances are her eggs will be properly shelled. If the egg is 

 fertile, let her hatch it and take the squab away from her after 

 it is four or five days old, allowing the time for her to feed up 

 the accumulated pigeon milk in her crop. Or if you wish you 

 can allow her to raise the squab in the usual way. 



/BARREN FEMALES 



Some females, for unknown reasons, cease to be producers, 

 that is, they quit laying. If such birds mate up and build nests, 

 which they often do, they can be utilized as foster mothers, by 

 merely giving them a couple of eggs to set on in their nests. 

 Such birds are called "barren females." They will often hatch 

 §p4 raise squabs as well or better than some regular mother^, 



154 



