Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-02-11
SQUAD RAISING.
There Is Profit In the Business When
Properly Conducted.


There Is Profit In the Business When
Properly Conducted.
The details of squad raising are ex-
planned in bulletin of the depart
naent of agriculture written by Will
liam e. Rice. practical New Jersey
poultry breeder, who has had twenty
FIVE years experience with poultry and
ten years with pigeons He truthful
iy says: ''There is money in this indus
try If inteIHgently managed, but the
breeder must know how to begin and
how to proceed after beginning has
been made have found some very
rough places along the road to sue
cess
That there is money in squad raising
is shown by the fact that at one time
Mr.. Rice disposed of his flock and
buildings. Five years ago be started
again with a single pair of birds. buy
ing few FROM time to time until
small but well selected flock was OBJ
tanned. This flock has paid all ex-
penses of every kind-the bills for erect
ing two new houses at cost of $3.50
each and the wages of a man two days
in each week to dress squads and clean
out the houses Today he has a flock
of 600 pairs of good birds in healthy
condition and yielding fair weekly
income
The most important thing in starting
right is the site, which must be in
spot well drained, facing east and
south, sheltered from prevailing winds
and not exposed to extremes of heat.
cold or wind. A shallow stream of pure
running water for drinking and bath
ing is desirable. The house is as Inn
portant as the site,
1t should be built in sections for no
more than $50 pairs. and not more than
fifty pairs in each section. and designed
so as to be well ventilated, easily kept
clean, secure from attacks of mice. rats
and other animals and not subject to
drafts of air. Mr.. Rices houses are
forty feet long. twelve feet wide and
nine feet to peak of roof. Nest boxes
are made twelve inches wide, nine
inches high and twelve inches long. A
covered yard or fly thirty-two feet long
and eight feet high is attached TO the
house.
The Homer is recommended as the
best variety of pigeon to keep for
squad raising. These birds are large
and healthy. are good workers. are the
best of feeders. are of quiet disposition
when properly mated, and their eggs
are generally fertile. The Runt, which
is the giant among pigeons. is highly
spoken of BY some breeders because the
squads are so large, but they are not
prolific, and it takes an extra good pair
to yield four pairs of squads per year.
Dragons probably rank next to HON.
ers and are particularly useful in cross
ing with Homers. Straight Dragons
are about week longer in maturing.
The Duchesse variety is preferred by
some breeders, but they are not as good
feeders as Homers and have feathered
legs, which is Objectionable in squads.
A variety of feed is needed. for wheat
and cracked corn. if long continued,
will fail to produce the best squads.
In addition to these, Canada peas. mil
let Kaffir corn and hemp are needed.
Boxes should be provided of fine salt,
cracked oyster shells and ground char
coal. to which the pigeons can have
free access. Birds should be fed twice j
a day, morning and afternoon. at regu-
lar hours and it is important that one
person always do the feeding alone.
Pure water should also be provided at
all tiloes