Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1901-11-28
URBAN POULTRY RAISING.
Difficulties That ncset the Fancicr I

New York City.
Few of those interested in the exhibit
ton of poultry and pigeons have any
idea of the number of fancy birds that
are Matched and raised right in New
York. Not all fanciers of fine pigeons
and poultry can find the time or money
to go into the country and start small
farm to breed and raise their pets, and
so they make the best of their sur
roundings.
In the upper part CT the city there are
some dozens of poultry yards where
prize winners at the show were reared.
More than one fancier has converted
his back yard into a poultry farm,
where under the cover Of wire netting
the birds do almost as well as if in the
country with ample room and breath
ing space.
"We have to be very careful in han
ding the cocks, or they will be COM
planned of as nuisances," explained one
of these up town fanciers. Before the
upper west side was built up l had one
of the best amateur collections of poul-
IL anu IJtStOltS III lsiC SldlC, DuI
bors crowded closer to me, and COM
plants began to come in about my
birds. To keep on friendly footing
with my neighbors 1 tried sarious
ways of suppressing the early morning
enthusiasm of the cocks. | kept them
in dark coops until 1 got up in the
morning, but they would crow in spite
of this, and the muffied noises sounded
even worse than the unobstructed vari-
ETY.. / believe a rooster can tell when
it is daylight if shut up in the darkest
place in the world.
81 tried next to shut them up in the
cellar, driving them in there every
night and closing the doors and win
doWS. Even this was not sufficient I'M
til l padded the windows so that the
sound could not escape. In that way
have succeeded in the past few years
in keeping my fancy poultry without
annoying the neighbors."
Down town there are several incuba-
tor companies that make it business
to hatch eggs in their establishments
for the benefit of their customers. Sew
eral incubators are kept full of eggs all
the time, and great numbers of young
chicks are hatched every week. These
are allowed to run at large in the win
dows for q week or two or until they
are sold.
There are several dozen pigeon lofts
in different parts'of the city. Some fan
cy birds are raised in these city lofts,
and they invariably find their way into
the annual show at Madison Square
Garden. Nearly all the lofts are on the
top of private houses or apartment
houses. If literally fed on the roof of
their own house, they will always re-
turn home at night, and the breeders
have little difficulty in keeping them.
There is no danger from irresponsible
gunners or from rats and mice. so
that the mortality among the city pi-
geons is really less than in the country.
In the country the young squads are
invariably annoyed by rats and mice
and even by owls and other night birds.
In the summer time night birds of prey
are attracted to the city by the pigeon
lofts, and quite a number can be seen
lowering over the roofs of houses after
dark
II should say that If the census of
the pigeons kept in New York could be
taken today there would be found a
thousand or two" said one of the
breeders. 81 have definite knowledge
of 20 different lofts of 20 to go pigeons
each, and 1 suppose there are many
more. Most of these pigeons are the
common kinds, with few fancy tum-
blers, fantails and carriers. There are
q number of expert fanciers with their
lofts in the city, and they raise some of
the finest birds found at the exhibit
tions.''-New York Post.