418 



APPENDIX G 



needed for outer runs or aviaries is about one- 

 quarter to one-tenth the amount in favor of 

 gigeons, depending on whether fowls have con- 

 nement or free range. 



Pigeons do their own hatching , breeding and 

 rearing, no incubators, brooders, or artificial 

 heat needed, as in case of chickens, because 

 the good-priced broiler or bird must be early 

 hatched. A broiler ready to market weighing 

 from one and one-half to two pounds is usually 

 killed at from nine to fifteen weeks old, de- 

 pending on care and attention while growing, 

 at a price of from twenty-five cents to thirty- 

 eights cents per pound, depending on the season. 

 The squabs, at a price of from twenty-five cents 

 to fifty cents each , are up in size at from twenty- 

 one to twenty-eight days old, depending on 

 feed and the quality of parent stock. 



Where broilers are required to be dry-picked, 

 one can clean up about six squabs to one of the 

 former. 



Another great advantage in favor of stjuabs 

 is that the only handling required is picking 

 them up and dressing ready fof market, while 

 the chicks require constant watching. They 

 are usually too hot or too cold, too wet or too 

 dry, too crowded or too something all the time. 



A fiock of squab breeders properly hoiised is 

 free from hawks, skunks, cats, dogs and thieves, 

 which are constantly to be fought while rear- 

 ing chicks. 



Squabs properly housed does not mean ex- 

 pensive buildings and elaborate fixtures. 

 Build your squab houses plain and cheap. 

 Put the extra money saved into the quality of 

 stock you start. Buy the best and save money 

 and time in the end. 



The trouble with .ninety per cent of the 

 people who have started and made a failure of 

 the squab business, if traced back, will be 

 found to be cheap foundation stock, which in 

 my opinion is the most expensive start that 

 can be made. Get the best or none at all. 



Don't turn to the advertisements looking for 

 something for nothing, then sit down and write 

 to several of those who are selling out cheap, 

 and then spend time looking over their answers 

 several times to be sure you are buymg from 

 the cheapest offer. Buy the best. Good 

 squab breeders are usually worth the price 

 asked. Cheap birds turn out to be much 

 like the man who brought home the hungry 

 dog, and while showing his wife his beautiful 

 present and telling her the beauty of it, and 

 that it was given to him, Mr. Dog, seeing Miss 

 Pussy under the -stove, made a sudden leap 

 through the bay window. Down went cur- 

 tains, plants, cat and dog down two blocks, 

 through the market window. Doggie not 

 being satisfied after killing poor pussy, on his 

 way out carried with him a quarter of veal. 

 Next day Mr. Butcher presented the man who 

 had the beautiful present a bill of only S56.31. 

 After paying the bill with a hearty laugh Mr. 

 Man said: "Well, I don't care. The dog 

 didn't cost me anything. He was given to 

 me." 



Bear well in mind that cheap things are 

 usually the most expensive in the end. 



The only person who really gives good things 

 away is Santa Glaus and he comes only once 

 each year. Also remember cheap birds eat 

 just as much as the up-to-standard birds. If 

 you are going to feed anything, feed the best, 

 for which your returns are sure. 



If you have once considered the squab busi- 

 ness and have been discouraged by some one 

 who has made a failure, I would ask you to 

 give it another thought, take your advice from 

 those who have made a success, and if you will 

 start right, and continue with proper care, you 

 have nothing to lose and no limit to what you 

 can make. It is worth your while. Try it. 



CHARD IS BEST GREEN FOOD FOR 

 PIGEONS, by Ocie Speer. Ordinary garden 

 chard is the best pigeon green food ever. 

 Everybody knows that in their state of liberty 

 pigeons are constantly picking at weeds and 

 grasses, and that in their confinement this part 

 of their diet must constantly be supplied if the 

 birds are to continue in a state of good health. 

 The avidity with which a flock \rill devour 

 even the commonest weeds when thrown 

 into their pen demonstrates the necessity for 

 supplying such food in an intelligent manner. 

 The change of diet thus afforded is a tonic 

 to their systems and is as important a part 

 of their ration as grit. We have all fed lettuce, 

 mustard, pepper grass, cabbage and pig pursley, 

 but I have never tried anything which my 

 birds enjoyed or ate with such relish as the 

 plant known as Swiss chard. 



Swiss chard, or the white beet, belongs to 

 the family of garden beets, but the root is 

 not edible, being grown only for the tops. 

 The seed may be had of any seed store. The 

 plant is hardy and very prolific. It stands 

 drouth well and flourishes with an abundance 

 of rain. It may be sown in the early spring 

 and will supply an abundance of green food 

 until severe cold and in this latitude survives 

 the ordinary winters. The habit of the plant 

 is erect, with large leaves having pulpy mid- 

 ribs. These leaves may be constantly " bladed " 

 off without injury to the plant and remain 

 succulent and tender throughout the season. 

 Unlike lettuce and most other garden plants 

 which furnish desirable feed for the birds, 

 chard is in season about nine months in the 

 year. In my opinion it solves the question 

 of green food for pigeons. 



In this connection a suggestion for planting 

 will not be amiss. The plant is an ornamental 

 one and lends itself easily to landscape garden- 

 ing. It makes a pretty bedding plant and by 

 a proper laying out of the yards about the 

 pens and flies, some very pleasing effects 

 could be obtained. Beds and hedges could 

 be set in such a way as to beautify the premises 

 and at the same time furnish a constant supply 

 of the much-needed salads for the feathered 

 pets. Try it next spring. 



I can sell all the squabs I can raise to the 

 hospitals for $3.60 per dozen, and at times 

 $4.50.— E. L. Schirm, Georgia. 



