04 Pigeons and Ai,i, About Them. 



a common accident. 

 It sometimes happens that a j'oung squab gets 

 thrown out, or pulled out of the nest on to the floor 

 of the loft itself. If the latter, dhere will be little 

 chance of the owner doing anything for it, because 

 it is a thousand to one against its being alive when 

 found. It ds verj' strange, but nevertheless perfectly 

 true, that such quiet peaceful living animals as Pigeons 

 are .generallj', and such good parents too, are alt times 

 most cruel. The sight of a poor helpless squab on 

 the floor of the loft arouses in them some latent 

 feeling of cannibalism, antl they at once set to work 

 and commit cold blooded murder. The manner in 

 which they do so is awfulh- cruel, as they simply peck 

 and peck at the poor little squab until it is dead. 



Such a catastrophe will seldom happen if there 

 is a .good deep ledge of four or five inches in front of 

 each nest box. In such cases, although a youngster 

 may fall out, or be pulled out of the nest pan by- 

 becoming entangled in its parent's plumage, it will 

 get U'O' further than the floor of the nest box. When 

 found by the owner it may be to all appearance dead. 

 There is an old proverb which says: "Things are 

 not always what they seem," and over and over again 

 have I proved its truth in Pigeon culture. When a 

 youngster is thus found on the floor of the nest box, 

 even though to all out\\-ard appearance dead, stiff and 

 cold, it should be taken into the house, and standing 

 as near to the fire as possible, the owner should hold 

 it in his hands, standing away from the fire every- few 

 minutes to. breathe upon the bird whilst holding it 

 closely between the palms of his two hands. That 

 is, with both hands close together, and breathing 

 heavily upon the squall from the small aperture be- 

 tween the two thumbs. In holding the bird near the 

 fire care nuist be taken not to let the head be exposed 

 to the fierce glare of the heat ; let the bird lie in the 

 hand upon its back. Persevere in this manner for 

 some considerable time. I have known half an hour 

 to elapse before any signs of life were observed. 



