Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1920-08-05

,Drlns no returns. Sell your extra
birds or buy mates for them.
Eggs: After the mated pair
has built its nest, the male begins
driving his mate around the squad
house and aviary. This is the IN
dication that she will soon lay her
eggs. After laying her first egg,
the hen will stand guard over it
until the second day when she lays
the second and last egg. Pigeons
incubate only two eggs at one
time or pair of squalls at each
setting. In seventeen days from
the laying of the second egg the
squads are Matched.
Squads For the first few days
the parent birds feed their young
with secretion which nature pro
Ivides them. This IS called pigeon
milk. Then they begin feeding
them solid food or grain. The
parents then select another nest,
two more eggs are laid, and the
hen starts the second Matching,
leaving the squads to be cared for
by the male parent.
recommend against handling
squads any more than absolutely
necessary. Let the parent birds
raise them. However, very often
one SQUAD by cheating its nest
mate of its share of feed, will gain
much in size and strength over the
other, until it crowds the other
away from the feed altogether
and the weaker bird dies of star
walton. This is the time to change
Your squads, putting a strong one
from another nest with the strong
one, and placing the weaker SQUAD
with another about its size where
lit will have an even chance for its
feed, The parents will not object.
By watching this point you will
save many squads for the market
which would otherwise be lost.
Youngsters Every SQUAD breed
err has certain pairs of old birds
that do better than others. Some
parents are excellent feeders and
consequently raise larger squads.
To increase your flock it is well to
watch for the good workers and
select your future breeding stock
from their young. These good
qualities are transmitted to the
youngsters and by following this
rule your future flocks will be
made up of first class squabbers
and the poor workers will be grad
ually eliminated.
AS soon as your youngsters are
able to fend for themselves re-
move them from the pen, and turn
them into rearing pen, the house
of which should be literally sup
piled with Wee shaped perches.
Watch them closely, and as soon
as you determine the sex of a bird
band it on the right leg if it is a
male and on the left leg if it is a
female. This will save you consid-
cradle time later on when you
come to select your matings for
the breeding pen.
Breeds: There are many differ.
ent breeds of pigeons, sufficient to
fiji every within Of fancy, sport or
SQUAD raising. | have experiment
ed with them all. One of my earii-
est recollections is being presented
with a pair of white fantails, and
| have had pigeons about NE more
or less ever since. They are my
hobby. l am a dyed-m-the wool
pigeon fancier, For money max
ing, fast producing squahhers, |
recommend Carneaux, lIomers,
Maltese, and Runts.
The CARNEAUX breed origi-
mated in France and Belgium, the
Belgium Car lcauN being the larg
er and better bird. They are
practically new to this country
not having been imported to any
extent until 1905, when the merits
of this excellent breed began to be
appreciated in America and the
dmand for them has become very
keen. CARNEAUX are extremely
hardy birds, they are average eat
ers, and breed about as fast as the
HOMER. Thoroughbred CAR
NEAUX squads weigh twelve to
fourteen pounds per dozen.
The HOMER breed was origin
ally imported on account of it's
homing Gong distance flying in
stincts. They proved to be such
fast breeders as to make them eX-
ceptionally valuable to squad
raising, and a special squabbing
HOMER has been developed to
considerably larger size then the
flying HOMER with all of the
hrnndinp Qualities of +hn HOMER