27 
net returns for the squabs sold were 90 cents a pair. Now, comparing 
this result with that in the first case above mentioned, which showed 
the best results of the three, we have the following: 
Fourth flock, 303 squabs, at 90 cents a pair, netted.*..$136. 35 
First flock, 166 squabs, at 90 cents a pair, netted. 74. 70 
Loss sustained. 61. 65 
With feed bills for each of these flocks approximating $18 per week, 
it can be seen that 20 pairs of squabs at 90 cents a pair were necessary 
to meet that item of expense. The first breeder mentioned barely 
reached that number, and the second and third fell short. 
Good management requires that the cause of such losses be most 
diligently sought. Luck has nothing to do with the question. The 
breeder must closely examine his coops, for the cause exists there. 
Without the inspection of any given coop thus afflicted it is not pos¬ 
sible to point out the exact cause of the trouble, but the writer confi¬ 
dently believes that in nine out of every ten cases the losses can be 
traced to one of the following causes, or a combination of them: (1) A 
fighting cock bird; (2) birds not mated; (3) lack of vitality in the 
breeding stock; (4) the presence of mice in the breeding quarters. 
A fighting cock bird. —A cock with a pugnacious disposition will 
sometimes cause a great deal of trouble. He will get into fights with 
the birds in other nests, as a result of which the eggs and young squabs 
will be thrown out on the floor. Such a bird should be removed from 
the breeding quarters at once and for good. 
Birds not mated. —Quite similar is the damage done by unmated 
birds in the breeding quarters, though not quite such radical treatment 
is required to remedy it. 
Many breeders who see their birds but little during the day do not 
realize the extent of the damage unmated birds may cause. They see 
eggs and little squabs on the floor, but do not really know how they 
came there. The breeder who finds cold eggs or dead squabs on the 
floor should investigate at once. Not a single unmated bird should be 
permitted in the pens. Serious damage can be done in a few minutes 
by such a bird. The unmated cock will hunt for a mate and an 
unmated hen will attract the cock birds; in either case a fight results, 
and the scene of combat is as likely to be in a nest with eggs or small 
squabs as elsewhere, and they are unceremoniously tumbled to the 
floor. 
Ignorance on the part of growers is in many cases the cause of the 
trouble. A mistake is always made in putting purchased birds in the 
permanent breeding pens until they have become accustomed to the 
new surroundings and resume their matings. 
Homers are not always prompt to begin housekeeping when moved 
177 
