The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1924-03-20
HOW PIGEONS
FEED THEIR YOUNG

ture, and one that is not widel
known, is the fact that for the frs
six to eight days, of their live
squads are fed entirely on milk
Three or four days before the youni
are Matched, both the mother an,
father pigeon secrete a milk-lik
| fluid in gland in their Threats pro
vided by nature for that purpose
The squad thrusts his bill into thu
parents mouth and receives 1T
nourishment from the milk expressed
from this gland. So far as is known
| the pigeons and doves are the only
birds who feed their young in this
manner.
Pigeons lead a very exemplary life
in every respect, and to spend several
hours on large pigeon farm and
learn something of their habits Is
like step into fairyland.
The courtship and domestic life
of Mr.. and Mrs. Pigeon, for instance,
reads like an old-fashioned love
story There Is no infidelity there.
Pigeons mate for life. If one dies
the other may or may not take an
other companion, but as long as both
live, they stick together.
When the mother is sitting on the
eggs, promptly at 10 o'clock every
day the father bird comes to take his
turn. And so accurate timepiece
does he carry in his head, one might
almost set a watch by his appear
ance. This change does not consist
merely in her getting on and his TAX
ing her place, but he first stands out
side the nest on the landing board
and COOS and bows three times (just
three,) and kisses her. Then she
goes down into the yard and takes
bath and dresses her feathers. No
eating for Mrs. Pigeon until she is
we'll groomed. Then she is ready to
eat, sun herself, and probably ex-
change views with the other lady
pigeons on household topics. She
enjoys herself in this way until ex-
actly O'Clock, when she flies to the
nest, and the bowling and scraping,
billing and cooling take place again
and the transfer is made. In
pigeon home there is always time for
politeness.
There is perhaps no uglier thing
in all birddom than a newly Matched
SQUAD, but to these fond parents he
is beautiful. BY the time he is two
W0Chc Olu, AOWCNO1y nC 4ho AOoSA-
cred out and is very pretty.
The father continues to take his
turn on the nest until the children
are two weeks old, at which time
they require no further lowering. He
then brings material for a second
next, which the mother builds. The
children are left entirely to the
fathers care, and he is very busy
H. - Oft OF
hours day on the second nest, as he
did on the first, he spends twelve
hours out of each twenty-four there,
and rustles food for the first brood
also, for the older children are not
yet out of their nest.
When the second family is two
weeks old; the mother builds another
nest out of the material provided by
the father, and matches third fam
Ily Each family, by the way, con-
sists of two squads. Unless the old
est squads have been taken away for
as is done on commercial
farms, when the third litter of eggs
e being incubated, the father pigeon
has young ones to feed in two nests,
spends half his time on the third
nest, and somehow finds time to
each the first family to fly and feed
themselves. When one considers
hat an average pair of pigeons raise
EN- families year, it is apparent
hat Father Pigeon is not union
nan.s1sSs
Everything seems done in a spirit !
# love, and a man who has worked
With pigeons for twenty years says
lie has never seen any Quarreling be-
ween Mr.. and Mrs. Pigeon.-Dumb |
Animals.