Evening star., 1919-09-28
CARING FOR THE HOME FLOCK
H. W. RICKEY,
Poultry Specialist. Maryland State College

confine the pigeons from time to time
Is used 1t is placed In front Of the
house and where space is unlimited
10 usually from twenty to thirty feet
long and as wide and high as the
front Of the house, with roosts placed
at the end and along the sides
Within the house the nest boxes
are placed tier upon tier along the
back wan and part way up each
side. Pole roosts may be placed in
any convenient place. or as recon-
dividual roost made of pieces of board
five inches wide and six or seven
inches long may be used. nailed one
above the other on the side walls.
The dimensions Of the nest boxes
most commonly used are height
twelve inches, width and depth the
same. This permits the use of twelve
inch boards in the construction of the
boxes. The floors of all nests should
be made movable SO that they may
be easily cleaned. There should be at
least two nest boxes for each pair OF
two eggs with an interval OF one
day between the laying of the first
and the second. She then sits and
matches the eggs, with the as
sistance Of the male who relieves her
by sitting on the nest for considS
erabIe length Of time each day. AS
a matter OF fact incubatfGn really be-
gins as soon as the first egg is laid
and the incubating period from seven
teen to nineteen days. Nineteen Gays
from the first egg and from seventeen
to eighteen for the second. Often
nest until the last egg is laid. SO
that both will hatch at the same
time, while at other times they viii
sit close from the first. thereby
Matching out one squab one or Two
days before the other.
It is generally known that pigeons
mate only in pairs and the mating Is
never voluntarily changed, though
change may be forced by the pigeon
raiser. Unmated males should never
be allowed to remain in the breeding
pens, as they annoy the other fowls
to such an extent that production 10
interfered with. Unmated males and
females should be placed In q sepa-
rated non until they become mated;
then the mated birds should be placed
in the breeding pen. Pigeons, where
the sex is known. may be forced to
mate by placing them in cage with
wire partition between them for
about ten days. at the end OF which
time the mating is usually found to be
complete.
In order to be profitable each pair
Of pigeons should raise for market at
least seven pairs of squads. There
fore, in order to know which are the
profitable and which the Improbable.
close tab must be kept upon the pro-
duction Of each pair of birds in the
breeding pen. and to do this each pig
con should be leg banded. with col
ored bands, and q systematic record
should be kept AZ to the time OF lay
ing, number Of fertile eggs laid. num-
Der Of SQUADS Matched and the number
raised. II after three or four trials
any pair showing unsatisfactory re-
suits might well be discarded.
A common belief that the first egg
Of each nesting produces q male and
the second . female has been dis
proved, as has also the notion that
the male 10 moro vigorous than the
female. hence higher death rate OF
the female squads. While there 10
some diversity Of opinion even among
old breeders, It has been we'll estab-
lished that each brood does not al
ways consist Of q male and female.
While it is true in many instances.
there are Just about as many cases
where the two squads in the brood
are Of the same sex. either male or fe-
male.
The SQUADS are fed by both parents
with what is known as pigeon milk
q thick, creamy material manufae-
tured in the crops Of the parent birds
abundance Of this substance the pig
cons must be we'll fed. Hard grains.
such as wheat. cracked corn, kaflr
corn, Canadian field peas. buckwheat,
are the common feedsj Mallet and
hemp seed are used I'M small quanti-
.. ties during the molt. The Canada
pea is especially valuable with Its
Hing the breeding season. The hard
red or macaroni wheat is preferred
to the white. and no mash feed Of
ground grains Is ever fed. But 1t Is
advisable to furnish a daily supply Of
succulent green feed. Fountains Of
clean, fresh water and hoppers Of
grit and crushed oyster shell should
be kept in the house at all times.
The hard grain may be fed in hop
pers or in troughs. Many pigeon
raisers prefer to feed twice day a.
much feed as the pigeons will con-
sumo within q reasonable time, or
about two quarts Of grain to twenty
pairs of birds. though this varies
somewhat according to the production
Of squads. - MI
The house and the hy should be kept
rs clean as possible and bath pans
four or dve inches deep. filled with
clean water, should be provided every
day. except In winter. when the pan
10 placed In the house not more than
twice week and kept there only
during the forenoon. !
It Depended.
From tAe lposgua aTaasefipt.
First Girl (at Revere)-Can you swim?
Second Giri-When there's no young
man around to teach me-
She Got One.
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