Breeding or Nest-boxes. 
T 5 
young ones ; and these latter not being able to see the mother on account of the partition, will 
remain in their own nest-pan quite contented until they are able to get upon the division ; by which 
time, as it is eight inches high, they will be quite able to manage for themselves. But in a common 
nest-box, where there is nothing to hide the mother and other birds from view, it is constantly 
found, that no sooner has the cock gone away after feeding them than they try to get to the 
mother, and often get out of their own nest-pan before they are strong enough to get back again. 
It matters little whether they manage to get into the mother’s nest-pan or not ; for if they do they 
teaze and unsettle her so much that her own eggs are probably spoiled, and if not they probably 
die from being exposed. For although the cock will do his best, and will probably sit upon one 
and try to keep it warm, the other is almost sure, if both are out, to crawl into a corner out of his 
reach, and be found dead ; while, if one remain in the nest, it is quite impossible for him to cover 
both. Sometimes the hen will come off to assist by covering the other, but the result of this too 
A Fig. 2 . — Nests for Flying Pigeons. 
is that her own eggs are destroyed. All this is prevented by the arrangement we have figured 
and described. The lids of the boxes are hinged, to admit of lifting up either for cleaning, or to 
examine if the hen has laid, or for other purposes which do not need explanation. The lids should 
be of a good slant, to prevent the birds resting on them. 
For all highly-bred pigeons, these or any other kind of nest-boxes should, if possible, be upon 
the ground, as breeding upon shelves off the floor often causes much mischief. If her nest be 
placed high, a highly-bred hen, when on the point of laying, will often be unable to fly up to it ; 
and if the cock should see her in this predicament, instead of helping her, he will, in his anxiety to 
drive her to nest, peck at her until she lays upon the floor, unless the owner should happen to see 
and lift her up to her place. Again, the hen frequently becomes weak for some days before 
hatching, so that she cannot get up to her eggs in time ; and the young ones, from being chilled, 
either actually die in the eggs, or are too weak to break the shells. We have known multitudes of 
young pigeons die in the shells in this manner, and as there is nothing apparently to account for it, 
it has been a mystery to the owners. Very often the cock is blamed, especially if rather an old 
bird, simply because no other cause can be thought of ; when the real fault has been in the 
arrangement of the loft, which obliged the hen to fly up to a height beyond her strength. Again, 
when the breeding-boxes as commonly arranged are too high from the ground, it often happens 
