17 
October 1, and do not feed new corn until Christmas. Especially 
avoid must}^ grain. 
Because one of these feeds mentioned may sometimes be quite cheap, 
do not be tempted to feed largely of it, thinking to save money thereby. 
This practice so often causes trouble that caution is urged in departing 
from the proportions named. 
Too much wheat in the ration will almost always cause looseness of 
bowels and make the squabs skinny and dark. 
Birds need a variety of feed, and it would be as injudicious and dis¬ 
astrous to feed exclusively on peas, a high-priced food, as on wheat 
alone or some other cheap food. 
Fig. 9.—Squabs (“peepers”), 12 hours old. 
How the squabs are fed.—Some wonder why squabs die in the nest 
or get on the floor or do not fatten up properly. Very frequently the 
reason is simply because the old birds are not properly fed. We 
should constantly bear in mind that a squab is very different from a 
chick. A newly hatched chick can run about and help itself to food 
and water. The squab, on the other hand, is utterly helpless at birth 
(figs. 9 and 10); it is unable to walk and must be fed in the nest with 
whatever the parent bird brings to it. For about five days nature pro¬ 
vides a special food eommonty called “ pigeon milk,” a creamy sub¬ 
stance contained in the crops of the pigeons and which they have the 
177 31562— No. 177—04-2 
