image12Fig. 8. Showing End View of House No. 2.
Pigeons require, besides the grain they eat, salt, grit, and charcoal. These should be kept in the lofts constantly, so that the birds can get at them at any time.
Pigeons must have grit and plenty of it at all times. Moreover this grit should contain some tonic mixture and other essentials to keep the birds in the best of working order. Many breeders fail to supply their birds with grit of the right sort and for that reason do not get the best results from their birds.
There are many so-called "Health Grits" on the market and many of them with more or less merit but grits are heavy and freight and express charges are high so it is usually best for the breeder to secure clean sharp sand and mix the grit at home. There is great saving in this and at the same time better results are obtained.
Salt is absolutely necessary to the health of the pigeons. It should never be given them in the form of table salt, because they will eat too much of it. If rock salt can be secured, it is the best form in which to give salt to the pigeons. If this is not procurable, buy a five-pound bag of table salt and wet it. Then put it in the oven and dry it, when it will become almost as hard as the original rock salt. Put a bag in each loft and let the pigeons pick out the salt through the bag.
Charcoal keeps the birds in good condition and a cigar box full of charcoal, broken into bits about the size of wheat grains, should constantly be kept before the birds. This crushed charcoal is to be found in poultry supply stores. If none of these are within reach, the pigeon-breeder may make his own charcoal by burning wood to a coal and then extinguishing the fire with water. Corn cobs, charred in this way, make an excellent charcoal for pigeons.
image13Swiss Mondaine. Very large but usually slow workers.
It is usually best to feed pigeons by hand. They should be fed twice every day. In summer, feed at 7:30 a. m., and at winter 4:30 p. m. In winter, feed an hour later in the morning and an hour earlier in the evening. Of course, these hours may be varied but the feeding should be done at the same hour every day, morning and evening, as the birds soon become accustomed to the feeding hours and if not fed on time become very restless. Many successful breeders feed their birds in hoppers thereby greatly reducing the labor of feeding. This method is successful unless the birds get to picking out only certain grains and then more or less trouble will be met. It is always necessary to construct hoppers in such form that the birds cannot get into them and foul the grain, but this is a very simple matter as shown by the illustration on next page. Mixed grains sufficient for several days feeding may be placed in these hoppers and the birds will eat only what they need for each meal.
Feed troughs should be ten inches wide, six feet long and three inches deep. These are easily made and are much better than any of the automatic hoppers on the market. Where the feed is given in hoppers the birds will eat the kind they like best and waste much of the rest of the feed.
For the morning mix equal parts of wheat, cracked corn and Canada peas. Give three quarts of this mixture to each fifty pairs of birds. For the evening feed kaffir corn, cracked corn, millet and Canada peas, equal parts. Give three quarts to each fifty pairs of birds.
Every third day, substitute hemp seed for millet, or feed a little less of the regular ration and throw a handful or two of hemp seed on the floor as recommended above. If broken rice can be bought cheaply a small feed of this may be substituted for one of the feeds of hemp seed each week. Peanuts may be substituted for Canada peas wherever it will mean a saving in cost.
Never feed pigeons out of doors, as any feed left over is likely to be damaged by the weather; and in bad weather they must be fed indoors, so it is best to feed them indoors at all times.
image14Fig. 9. Showing Construction of Feeding Hoppers.Fig. A shows end construction of the double hopper from which the birds may feed at both sides and Fig. B shows construction of the single hopper. The style illustrated may be made in a few minutes from an old box and will hold about four bushels of grain. This method of feeding saves a great amount of time and labor.
The pigeon breeder should always feed his birds, so that he will know it is properly done. If at any time any of the grain from a previous feed is left in the troughs, the ration should be reduced a little. If the troughs are emptied in a way that shows the birds have not plenty to eat, add a little to the quantity given them.
Pigeons which are feeding squabs require more feed than those not working, as they must eat enough for the squabs and for themselves also.
Squabs are fed by the parents in a most peculiar way. The old birds, male and female, eat the grain and drink water freely. This is partially digested until it is formed into a milky liquid mass. Then the squab puts its beak inside that of the parent bird and the parent by a peculiar jerking motion of the head and neck "pumps" this liquid food into the crop of the young bird. This feed is called "pigeon's milk" and is very nutritious, young squabs growing more rapidly than any other kind of young birds.
The breeding habits of pigeons are peculiar. When a male has selected the female he desires for his mate, there follows a course of true love-making in which the male struts around his favorite, coos to her and evidently tries to show her what a grand bird he is. The female, if attracted by her wooer, becomes friendly with him and the two "bill" each other very much as if they were exchanging kisses.
The two then select a nesting place and build a nest therein and the cock bird becomes very anxious for the hen to begin laying. If she does not promptly attend to her duties, he will drive her about the loft, talking angrily to her and striking her with his wings.
Finally the hen takes to her nest and deposits an egg. Then she misses a day and deposits a second egg, this usually being all that are laid at one time.
As soon as the first egg is laid, brooding begins. The hen occupies the nest from about four in the afternoon until ten the next forenoon. The cock then sits while his mate eats and rests. In this order the brooding goes on and at the endof about seventeen days the first laid egg hatches, and in due course the last one hatches if no accidents have happened to it.
In this way it happens that one of the young birds is two days older than the other and almost invariably the first hatched is a male, the latter one being a female.
The old birds now begin to feed the young, and they grow marvelously. They are kept stuffed full of "pigeon milk" and on this they seem to grow while one watches them.
In a few days the hen is ready to lay again, and if there is a spare nest box the pair makes another nest and the hen lays two eggs, after which the couple are kept very busy brooding one pair of eggs and at the same time feeding a pair of rapidly growing squabs.
When the squabs are about four weeks old they are heavier than they ever will be again in their lives, as they have reached full size and are very fat. It is at this time that they are taken from the nest and sent to the market.
If not taken from the nest about this time, the old birds, desiring to start with another pair of eggs, turn the squabs out and they fall on the floor of the loft so fat they can hardly get about. Here they become lean while learning to eat for themselves, and soon become sleek and trim, instead of being unwieldy with fat.
This doubling up with families shows the necessity of providing at least two nest boxes for each pair of pigeons in a loft. It is even better to have more than two nests for each pair, as this gives them some liberty of choice and often saves quarreling between two couples.
As pigeons mate for life, it is very important that only mated and married pairs are kept together. If an odd cock or an odd hen is left in a loft, there are family troubles without end; and the quarrels which arise from this cause result in broken eggs and squabs killed in the fights.
It sometimes happens that a pair will not produce young. This is usually because the hen is barren. In such a case the hen should be disposed of and a new mate for the cock furnished. It is best to shut the two in a box with a wire partition between the two until they become acquainted with each other, after which they will usually mate, although they do not invariably do so.
It is very difficult to determine the sex of pigeons without watching them at work in the fly. Various breeders have methods by which they are sometimes able to distinguish the male from the female but at best, these methods are only a guess and the only safe way is to place the birds in a mating coop or in a fly with others and watch them carefully.
As a rule the bones at the vent of a female are wider apart and softer than those of a male, especially in older birds that have laid and hatched young. Sometimes the sex may be determined by an examination of the tail feathers, those of the male being worn on the under side at the ends from throwing the tail down against the ground or the roof of the loft when strutting. Others hold the bird by the beak in one hand and the feet in the other and then when the bird is stretched out, the male will usually hold the tail close to the body, while the female will throw her tail out. These signs are only indications of the sex and even the most experienced breeder will often be badly fooled in handling unmated birds. The best and safest way is to watch the birds, as stated above, and it will quickly be noted that the male is livelier than the female and is usually cooing and strutting about her and will turn entirely around in his flirting while the female seldom turns more than half way around.
image15Fig. 10. Showing the Construction of a Practical and Convenient Fly.
Almost everyone who raises squabs finds that he must constantly increase the number of breeding pigeons in his lofts in order to keep pace with the increasing demand for squabs.
The most economical way to increase a flock is to save the best squabs from the first breeding stock bought; and to do this it is necessary to select squabs for this purpose as they are hatched, the object being to improve the quality of the flock by keeping only the best of the squabs.
Where a flock is being increased, it is a good plan to buy some new stock which has been banded and mate the cocks which have been bought with home-raised hens and the hens which have been bought with some home-raised cocks. This saves inbreeding.
Close inbreeding soon runs down the vitality of a flock and should be avoided. This matter will be taken up further on.
As we have said, the first pigeon to hatch in the nest is almost invariably a cock and the last one a hen. This rule is so constant that it may be depended upon.
In selecting squabs for breeding stock, always select those from the nests of pairs which produce squabs most regularly. Such squabs are more likely to be good producers themselves.
Select the squabs which grow most rapidly and weigh the most at the time they are ready for the market. Such squabs are from pairs which are good feeders and will be most likely to become good feeders themselves.
Be sure to select squabs which have light-colored flesh, as these will produce squabs like themselves and light flesh brings the highest price in the market, unless they are sent in too soon.
When we say the light color in flesh of a squab denotes that it will produce light-fleshed squabs, it is to be understood that this will be the case if the parents are properly fed according to directions given in a previous chapter. Pigeons which are kept confined and properly fed always produce more and better squabs than those allowed to run at large.
Having selected the squabs which are to be retained for breeding purposes, band them at once. Open pigeon bands can be bought at about a cent each. The best plan is to band the cocks right leg and the hens on the left, using consecutive numbers for each pair.
Thus, 111 might be a cock and 112 hen. In making matings, the owner would know at once that these two were not to be allowed to mate together, as they would be brother and sister. If, in any case, nest mates show inclination to mate together, they should be shut away from each other, and forced to mate with non-related birds.
A forced mating is made by using a mating pen. This is a cage with two compartments in it, separated by a wire screen, such as two-inch mesh poultry netting. Put the cock in one side and the hen with which you want him to mate in another, and leave them in the pen until they are acquainted with each other. Then shut them in the same compartment and usually they will mate up with each other all right.
Squabs which are to be kept for breeding should be taken away from the older birds as soon as they have learned to eat for themselves. Feed them well all the time, and at the age of about six months they will begin to mate and then require regular attention, as they should be kept under close supervision at this time.
As soon as a male bird is seen "driving" a female, both should be caught and their bands examined. If they are nest mates they should be separated as recommended in the beginning of this chapter and forced to mate with other birds. It will only be necessary to remove the cock bird, substituting another cock in his place.
If the cock and the hen he is driving are not nest mates, their band numbers should be recorded in a book kept for this purpose. Such a record gives the owner an opportunity to keep account of the number of squabs a given pair produces and to pick squabs for breeding in the future, knowing what the parents have done.
The record should give the number of the cock and hen and a brief description of each. The following form is recommended: Cock 111—Red Check, Hen 222—Blue Bar.
Each pair should have a space in which to keep account with it. After the number and description may be a ruled space in which to keep account of the number of squabs thepair produces month after month. If they regularly produce and raise two squabs of good size and light color, they are valuable as the parents of breeding stock and should be kept.
If a pair does not produce squabs, the chances are then the hen is barren and she would be sold for what she will bring in the market and the cock mated with another bird. If the eggs are infertile, the trouble is likely with the cock and the matings should be broken and two birds tried again. If the eggs still are infertile, the cock should be sold in the market.
Usually there are more cocks than hens in a given lot of squabs and it is easier to give a hen which lays infertile eggs a new mate and sell the cock without experimenting further.
Barren hens and impotent cocks are not common in well bred birds, and very little trouble may be anticipated from such causes.
When one of a pair of squabs dies, the chances are about nine out of ten that the female of the pair dies. This is because she is two days younger than her brother and has less chance to get a start. Thus it happens that every loft produces more cocks than hens, a circumstance which has led some of the hucksters who sell pigeons as squab-raisers to send out lots of birds in which there were many more cocks than hens. This is why we have insisted that the buyer should buy from a reliable breeder and buy mated pairs.
In a loft containing fifty young cocks and fifty young hens it almost always happens that the matings are not all made up, as some birds refuse to mate with certain other ones, and there may be a few birds which have not mated. In this case the odd birds may be put among other young birds and so find mates that suit them.
In catching pairs at the time they are being recorded, or when they are to be sold as breeders, two people should do the work. A catching net, which is a netted bag the mouth of which is fastened to a hoop with a long handle, is used. The pigeon breeder soon gets so expert that he can trap a pigeon in such net without fail and without disturbing the other birds in the loft.
When a couple of pigeons is found driving, the one who does the catching traps one of them with the net while his helper keeps watch on the other one of the pair. The captured pigeon is examined and its band number put on the record.Then the helper takes the net and catches the one he has been watching and the band number is taken, always remembering that a bird with a band on the right leg is a cock and one with a band on the left is a hen.
If the method here recommended is followed, the pigeon-keeper will be able to know just what each pair of birds is doing and keep a pedigree of every bird in his flock by a simple method of bookkeeping as follows:
When the squabs that are to be kept as breeders are being banded the band numbers of the parent birds should be taken and set down in this way:
In making this record the number under the head "Parent numbers" is always set down in the same way, the name of the father first and the mother next.
It is but very little trouble to keep such records and the value of them is very great, for the pigeon-keeper can refer to his records at any time and find how any bird that was hatched in his lofts has been bred.
This enables him to select the best producers and feeders and improve his stock all the time, selling off its inferior ones and keeping up a high standard, which will in time give him a reputation for squabs or breeding stock that will be valuable to him, as he will get higher prices than he could get for ordinary stock.
On a large plant this method means an endless amount of bookkeeping work so it has not been attempted. The largest breeders do not bother to band their birds or keep a record of squab production for each individual pair but usually have a pen of select breeders that have proven their worth and from these are raised the new breeders to replenish or increase the flocks.
When a bird dies out of the working flock it is dissected to determine the sex and another of the same sex is placed in the fly to mate with the odd bird. These two soon get together and the fly is once more filled with mated, contented workers.
We make one of the sub-heads of this chapter, "Making a Market," although the market for squabs is already established, and the demand for them in the larger cities is constantly increasing.
Notwithstanding this, the enterprising squab-breeder will make his own market and get better prices than he can get if he sends his squabs to the larger cities.
In the beginning he may be obliged to ship to the cities, but he can build up a home trade among those who like to have the best the market affords and by degrees his home demand will grow until he will find a ready sale nearby and will be saved freight and commission charges as well as the cost and trouble of packing and icing for the longer shipments.
We know of numerous cases where squab-breeders have built up a home demand which takes all the squabs and brings them high prices the year around.
Very often the enterprising beginner will turn his attention to raising squabs to sell to others for breeding purposes, and finds this very profitable, although a good market for squabs is about the same as a good demand for breeding stock. Other squab breeders arrange to sell their young stock to those who do breed pigeons to sell as breeding stock and thus have a regular and constant demand for their young birds.
All these ways of disposing of the increase of the loft are open to the beginner, but the food market is the one that should be cultivated. We know of a case where a beginner started in with a view of selling breeding stock only, as he thought he was not so located that he would have any demand for his squabs in the handiest market, a small interior city, where squabs had never been put on sale.
After he got started he found that he could sell a few pairs of squabs to one or two restaurants and the best hotel in the town. He began supplying orders from these places and others began to call on him for squabs for special occasions, such as local banquets, receptions and other social functions.
He started with fifty pairs of breeders. He selected his best squabs to keep for the purpose of increasing his flock and sold the others in his nearest market.
At the end of a year he had saved another fifty pairs for breeding and found he had sold squabs enough to pay for a new house and all of the feed he had bought during this time.
Then he concluded to begin advertising squabs for sale as breeders. He received quite a number of orders, but the demand for squabs for the market became so strong that he gave up the breeding part of the business and began to sell in the market only. At last so many were sold in the town that a prominent provision firm came to him and made him a flat offer of $4.00 a dozen for all the squabs he would raise. He refused this offer, as he was getting more than this for a good many of his squabs and did not think he could afford to make a binding contract on a market where the price was increasing all the time. This same breeder now has a thousand pairs of breeding pigeons and hires a man to take care of them, while he attends to his own business, and makes about $1,000.00 clear money from his pigeons every year.
Another way to build up a private trade is to introduce nicely dressed squabs among the wealthiest families of a town. This can be done by presenting them with two or three pairs, nicely put up in a box, and asking them to try them. One breeder who started out in this way now sells all his squabs at $1.00 a pair. He dresses them neatly, puts a pair in a nice white box with a colored bit of "baby ribbon." He has a demand for all he can get at $1 a pair, although he lives near a large city where the price is often lower than this.
The enterprising squab breeder will be able to find a market for the product of his loft, no matter where he lives. The express companies carry squabs at the regular dressed-poultry rates, and in many places there are fast freight lines which take butter and eggs to distant markets in the shortest possible time.
The Parcel Post now brings a large field of customers right to your door, for dressed squabs may be sent many miles for a few cents and the package will be promptly delivered in good order to your customer. This new branch of the Postal service opens up greater possibilities for the squab producer and the live breeder who first takes advantage of this service will reap the rewards.
Squabs properly packed may be sent 1,000 miles to market and yet be profitable, but there is hardly a place in this country where a good market can not be found within 200 or 300 miles, and even a thousand miles is not a long distance for an express train.
The trouble will not be so much where to find a market as how to produce squabs enough, once the breeder has been in the business long enough to make a name for himself.
If any breeder sends squabs of good size and color and keeps up the quality regularly, it will not be long before there will be a call for his particular brand of squabs, and after that it will be a question of meeting the demand, for this will grow all the time.
Squabs are usually ready to send to the market when four weeks old. Some well-fed ones, or those bred from the best parents, will come to market condition a few days earlier and some a few days later. As a rule, it will be about four weeks from the time they are hatched until they are ready to send to market.
They should be dressed just about the time they are ready to leave the nest, for they are heavier and fatter at that time than they ever will be again.
They should be dressed at the time all the pin feathers are out. They then have a solid feeling about the abdomen and the breast is plump and full. It is very easy to learn the exact time that squabs should be sent to market, and anyone can learn it at once.
Go over the nests in the evening and select the squabs which are to be dressed the next day. These should be put in a coop by themselves, where they can not get anything to eat, so their crops will be empty when they are dressed. If they are sent to market with full crops, the contents of the crop will sour and ferment and spoil the squabs for food purposes in a short time. When dressed with the crops empty and properly iced in warm weather, they will remain fresh until they can be sold in the market.
A "killing rack" should be made before dressing begins. This consists of a frame not quite shoulder high, a 2x4 scantling making a good cross-piece for the top. In the side of this cross-piece drive ten-penny nails about six inches apart, leaving half the length of the nail protruding.
image16Fig. 11. Showing the Arrangement of a Small Plant on a Back Lot.
Make a loop of stout cord, looping it over both feet of the squab, and by this string hang it on one of the nails. Then cross the wings over the back in such a way that they are locked. This prevents fluttering and is painless. To lock the wings, turn the pigeon with the back to you and cross the hands. Then take a wing in each hand and pass one under the other in such a position that the "elbows" lock together.
With the small blade of a pen-knife in the right hand take the head of the squab in the left hand in such a way that the thumb and forefinger may be used to hold the mouth open. If held in the right way, the shoulders of the birds will be in the palm of the hand.
Run the blade of the knife up through the top of the mouth into the brain and immediately pass to another squab, letting the one just killed bleed, as it is necessary for the bird to be free from blood to prevent red spots from appearing along its back after it has been killed a few hours. These red spots are called "blisters" and injure the selling qualities of a squab which shows them.
After the birds are thoroughly bled, carefully pick the feathers from them, being careful not to tear the skin in any place, as this also lowers the value in the market.
The English method of killing is rapidly gaining in favor in this country and is superior in many ways to the use of the knife. By this method the operator grasps the bird firmly in the left hand with the thumb and fingers about the neck and the breast and wing, butts held securely in the hand. The bird's head is caught in the right hand with the thumb over and at the back of the head and the first and second fingers at the throat. Then with a firm pull, the neck is dislocated and the jugular vein is ruptured so the bird is killed instantly and thoroughly bled, all of the blood however remaining inside the skin of the neck.
A little practice will enable anyone to learn this method and it is much faster, neater and cleaner than the old method.
When a squab is plucked clean, throw it into a tub of water from a spring or well from thirty minutes to an hour. Then it should be thrown into a tub of ice-cold water to further cool and solidify the flesh, for all the animal heat must be chilled out before a squab is packed or it will not keep well, arriving in the market soft and unattractive in appearance.
Be very careful to have the second chilling water almost cold enough to freeze the birds. In cold weather they soon cool out in water which has been exposed to the air, but at any time in the year first cool them in well or spring water of normal temperature.
After the squabs are picked and cooled, pack them in ice in barrels or boxes. We prefer rather small boxes, say about the size of soap-boxes, but many thousand pairs are sent to market in clean barrels. Empty apple barrels or cracker barrels may be used.
In the bottom of the packet put a good layer of cracked ice. A good many times the ice is not cracked as small as it should be. It should be broken into pieces about the size of a hickory nut, so the pieces will work down through the space between the birds. After the bottom is covered with ice, put in a layer of squabs, pack down and so the carcasses are closely packed but not squeezed together. Over these put another layer of ice and again a layer of birds until within two or three inches of the top. Fill the remaining space with cracked ice and fasten the package.
Be liberal about using ice, for it is necessary that the birds should be kept cool and the express companies make allowance for the weight of the ice in weighing squabs packed this way.
If any grain has been found in the crop of a squab as it is being dressed, it should be removed. Cut a very small slit in the breast over the crop and wash out the grain. A small hose with light pressure from a tank or water system is very handy for this purpose.
Before packing the birds, carefully wash all the blood from them and wash the feet and legs until they are bright and red.
If there is a shade of difference in the quality of squabs, select the best for the top of the package and take pains that the top layer is very carefully laid in so that it will look nice when the package is opened.
If there happens to be a number of dark-fleshed or rather light-weight squabs in a killing, these should be packed by themselves and sent on in anticipation of receiving a low price for them. Nothing is gained by putting some poor squabs among a number of good ones, for they will reduce the price of the whole package. If fine ones are put by themselves andmarked "Firsts" and the poorer ones sent without any particular mark the prices obtained for the whole shipment will be larger than it would have been if good and poor had been packed together.
It is best to kill on a certain day in the week, the day depending on the distance to market. In South Jersey they kill on Monday or Tuesday and send the squabs to New York and usually get a check for them by Saturday. Some kill Thursday in order to catch the Saturday markets, but as a rule it is best to reach the market Friday morning, so as to give the commission merchant two days in which to sell the birds. Often an early shipment gets the best price.
At the same time the squabs are sent to market, mail a letter to the commission man, advising him of the number of birds you sent to him and by what express company or freight line. Give him any particulars which may help him to make a good sale, if you think of anything that might interest him.
In the eastern market squabs are graded by weight and quality. They are called 10-pound, 9-pound, 8-pound, 7-pound and 6½-pound, and the prices range accordingly. When 10-pound squabs are worth $6.00 a dozen, those weighing 6½ pounds will sell for from $1.50 to $2.75 a dozen, according to the state of the market, the high-priced ones always selling first, unless a buyer has a special reason for securing a lot of light-weights.
When breeding straight Homers, one can reasonably expect 80 or 90 per cent which will run 8 pounds or over to the dozen. About two-thirds of the remainder will run close to 8 pounds to the dozen and one-third will be classed among the lowest quality.
When 10-pound squabs are selling for $6 a dozen, a lot weighing more than 10 pounds to the dozen will bring a premium of from 50 cents a dozen up; but as a rule the most profitable squabs are the 8- and 10-pounders.
In picking squabs, some leave them hanging where they are killed, while others take them in the hand. The weight of practice is in favor of holding them in the hand.
Some enthusiastic or dishonest sellers of breeding pigeons talk about their birds producing nine or ten pairs of squabs each year. There are occasional pairs of very select birdswhich will do this, but they cannot be bought at any reasonable price. No pair of birds will raise two squabs every time they hatch, for accidents will happen, and one squab or both, in some brooding periods, will die. Occasionally an egg will be broken, and once in a while an egg will prove infertile. These accidents, which happen in the best cared-for lofts, come to every pigeon-breeder.
If a large loft of pigeons average six pairs of pigeons a year, it will do as much as can be expected of it. More will fall below that than run above it, because there are more careless pigeon-breeders than careful ones.
Say, for the sake of a basis from which to arrange, that a loft of a good strain of Homers, properly housed and fed, will produce an average of six pairs of squabs each year. As pigeons breed ten months in the year, this average should be easily made. This would be an even dozen squabs for each pair of pigeons in the loft. These we will put at the very low price of $3 a dozen, a price they will bring in a country town of any size, and we have $3 as the gross returns from a pair of fair breeding Homers.
Deducting from this the highest estimated prices for the feed of a pair of pigeons, we have $1.75 left. This will be the returns from which the pigeon-breeder must get his profits. The manure will pay well for the labor of feeding the birds, so this item is eliminated from the bill of cost.
It will not cost more than 25 cents per pair to pay for the other labor of caring for a loft of pigeons where any number above 100 pairs are kept. The owner of such a loft could do all the work before working hours in the morning and after hours in the evening so the birds would not interfere with his regular work.
The cost of ice, the cost of killing and picking the birds, and the cost of packages may be put at 25 cents a dozen, which is a very liberal estimate. This leaves $1.25 clear profit, after paying all expenses and paying the owner for the time he puts in feeding his birds, this work having been done when he would otherwise have been idle or not earning money.
Say, it cost $1.00 for each pair of birds kept in a house and the birds costs $2.50 a pair. The interest on this investment at 6 per cent a year would be 21 cents, thus leaving $1.04 as absolutely net profit from a pair of pigeons in a year, after paying all expenses at a liberal rate and paying good interest on the investment.
There is no other business open to those who have a small capital which will give such large returns. For every 100 pairs of pigeons kept, it is perfectly safe to say that a clean and clear profit of $100 may be made. Where a large number are kept, it is not uncommon for the owner to realize $1.50 net profit from a pair of Homers.
The one who begins with ten, twenty-five, or fifty pairs of birds will get proportionate returns from his investment in the way of increased number in his flock and will soon be in position to consider himself an extensive pigeon-breeder, because he may expect to have at least four pairs of first-class breeders from each pair he started with at the beginning of any year, having kept only the best and sold the poorest of the squabs. These estimates are very conservative for it is our intention in this book to give the beginner only the facts on which he may rely. If he fails to do much better than these figures after some experience in the business, he may well feel that he is not gaining the fullest measure of success.
The business is only in its infancy and those who start in now or any time soon may expect to reap a rich reward in the way of profits.
image17A Flock of Mammoth White Homers in far off Alaska.
image18Eggs in the Nest.
image19Squabs One Day Old.
image20Squabs Two Weeks Old.
image21Squabs Two Weeks Old.
image22Squabs Three Weeks Old.
image23Squabs Four Weeks Old. Just Prime for Market.
The very best way to escape trouble from diseases among pigeons is to prevent them by always keeping the lofts and flies in first-class condition. Carelessness is the worst disease that affects pigeons, and this is always manifest in the owner before it has any effect on the birds.
If the lofts are kept clean, the feed supplied is sound and sweet, the water pure and the feeding regular, the birds themselves will not often be troubled with diseases of any kind.
However, with all possible care, diseases will appear at times, and it is well to know what to do to prevent them from spreading and causing serious loss.
Epidemic diseases will never appear in a flock which has been properly cared for, unless they are brought in through putting newly purchased birds among the healthy ones.
It is just as well to use caution when introducing new birds even if there is not the least suspicion that they are not perfectly healthy.
When new stock is bought it should be kept by itself for a week to determine if it is free from disease. Not once in a hundred times will birds bought of a reliable breeder be found unhealthy, but prevention is better than cure any time, so precautions should be taken. In such cases it is much better to be over cautious than to have losses occur through lack of precaution.
"Going Light" is the common name for tuberculosis in pigeons. It is brought on by drinking impure water, eating unsound feed, lack of good supply of grit, or from natural lack of vitality. This disease never attacks healthy and vigorous birds, but takes for its victims those which have become weak from any reason. If it is not taken in hand at once, the bird wastes away and becomes nothing but "skin and bones" and dies. The first symptoms are usually diarrhoea, the droppings being thin and watery. The bird does not eat, but sits around with its head drawn down and really starves to death because it has no appetite to eat.
If a bird which has started to go light, is taken in hand at once it is very often possible to save it for future usefulness. Give it a dose of castor oil, giving about five or six drops. Put in a coop by itself and the next day give it ten drops of cod liver oil. Repeat the dose of cod liver oil every day until the bird is cured. Give it hempseed every day and be very certain the seed is sound and free from mustiness. A good health grit or tonic is the best preventive to be used.
Canker is a disease of the same nature as diphtheria in human beings. It appears occasionally in lofts where it never before has been found, and seems to be contracted from germs which float in the air. It often attacks the birds in one nest and not the one next to it, although if it is not taken in hand it will soon spread to all the birds in the loft.
It no doubt comes from a cold very often and for that reason birds which show symptoms of having caught cold should be carefully watched. The first appearance of this disease shows in little yellowish white blisters on the lining or mucous membrane of the mouth and throat. These rapidly increase in size and spread to other parts of the throat and form a cheesy growth until they show outside around the mouth, and the bird chokes to death.
When canker appears in a squab only and the parent bird shows no sign of it, the best thing to do is to kill the squab, disinfect the loft and stay the disease in this way. It may be cured by using a little patience, unless it has gone too far before it is discovered.
Remove the sick bird from the loft and keep it in some place not adjacent to the pigeon house. Take a small sharp splinter of wood, such as sharpened match, and scrape the cankers off, doing this as gently as possible. This will leave a raw red spot, which should be gently swabbed with a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and water, half and half. The solution will foam as if it were boiling, but it is entirely painless and does not hurt the bird in the least. Repeat the swabbing, putting on plenty of the solution, until it ceases to foam. It does not matter if a little of the solution goes down the throat of the bird, as it is perfectly harmless when swallowed by man, beast or bird, and it is the best germicide known, being non-poisonous and odorless.
Some good authorities recommend painting the cankers with lemon juice and putting a piece of alum in the drinking water, but we prefer the peroxide of hydrogen treatment. Do not return a bird to the loft until it is entirely well, and always disinfect the loft when a case of canker is found in it. Directions for disinfecting are given further on in this chapter.
If the disease does not respond quickly to treatment, it is sometimes best to turn the affected birds out of the fly and let them shift for themselves without restraint. The open air and scanty supply of food together with whatever they are able to find of nature's remedies will effect a cure in nearly every case. Sometimes a bird will leave and never return but just as well this loss as to kill the bird, or have others in the fly affected. By this method I have often cured young birds just beginning to shift for themselves and older breeders in the last stages of Canker and when the bird is entirely recovered from the disease it may easily be caught and returned to the loft without endangering the rest.
Roup sometimes appears in a loft, especially during damp weather or when the birds have not had proper housing. It is shown by the discharge from the nostrils, which has a very offensive odor. It is highly contagious in its later stages, and if not cured before it takes on the contagious form is incurable. When a bird has reached the last stages it should be killed and burned or buried far from the loft.
If a bird is noticed to have a discharge from the nostrils it should be attended to at once as the disease is very easy to cure at that time. Put some coal oil in a sewing machine can and squirt some of the oil up each nostril and in the slit in the top of the mouth. This usually effects a cure, but if it is not better in a few hours use camphorated oil in the same way. Any druggist will supply the camphorated oil.
Cholera is a dreadful disease to contend with, but no pigeon-breeder who keeps his birds properly need fear it, as it is caused by cold, dampness and filth in nine cases out of ten. It is very contagious and it is very hard to cure. Happily, the disease does not worry the careful breeder, but once it gets started in a loft it may kill off every bird in it unless vigorous measures are taken to stop its progress.
When a bird is attacked with cholera it presents a very miserable appearance. Its plumage is ruffled up, its crop fills with water which has a very offensive odor, and diarrhoea appears. The disease runs its course rapidly and soon the victim is dead.
To stop the progress of cholera in a loft, put ten drops of carbolic acid in a gallon of drinking water for two days. Feed only the very best feed. Follow the carbolic acid by putting a tablespoonful of tincture of gentian in each gallon of drinking water for ten days. Disinfect the house thoroughly twice a week until the disease disappears.
Vertigo is a brain affection which is incurable, although it does not usually kill quickly. It is characterized by turning the head over the shoulder and convulsions. These convulsions often occur when anyone enters the loft, while at other times the bird is quiet. There is no cure and it is best to kill the bird to put it out of its misery, as it will never again be of any use as a breeder.
Young hens are often affected by becoming egg-bound; that is; they are unable to force the passage of the egg from the ovary to the nest.
When a hen shows signs of distress, catch her and carefully feel of her abdomen. If she is egg-bound, the egg can be felt. Anoint the passage with vaseline and introduce the finger as far as possible, being careful not to break the egg. Then hold the hen over steam as hot as can be borne without scalding, until the parts are thoroughly steamed and relaxed. After this, carefully put the hen on the nest and usually she will be able to pass the egg.
Sometimes a disease similar to small pox in human beings and chicken-pox in poultry appears in a loft. This is known by small sores which appear about the head and face.
When this disease appears, wash the sores with a solution of copper sulphate or a solution of peroxide of hydrogen and water, equal parts. Either of these solutions will cure the disease in a short time.
Sometimes a pigeon will sit out in a cold rain or sleep in a stray draft and catch cold. This makes it sick and stupid, and it should be cared for at once.
To cure a cold of this kind, give five-drops of castor oil and the next day a one grain capsule of quinine. Follow this with ten drop doses of cod liver oil for a few days and the bird will soon be as lively as ever.
Leg weakness is usually caused by inbreeding or an accidental weakness. There is no certain cure for it, because we never know just what has caused the trouble. If a bird seems weak in the legs rub some camphorated oil on the hock joint and repeat the operation as long as necessary. The short-legged varieties like the Homer very seldom have any trouble with their legs.
Wing disease is a trouble of the "elbow." It is caused by a hurt, and the injured bird becomes lame in the wing. Presently a lump forms on the elbow and this increases in size, filling with a yellowish cheesy matter, causing the bird to drag the wing.
The only thing to do is to run camphorated oil on the injured spot, and when the swelling has reached full size cut it open. Usually the bird is not injured as a breeder, but it must make its nest on the floor, as it can not fly. If the disease is noticed at the very start, it sometimes may be cured; but if the trouble is neglected, a crippled bird is the result. For the sake of the appearance of the flock such birds should not be allowed to remain in the loft. If your windows or openings from the loft to the fly are good size there is little danger of this trouble for it is usually caused by the bird striking the wing in its rush to get outside. Birds that are wild or too often disturbed are more liable to this trouble.
Worms sometimes bother pigeons. If a bird has a varying appetite and seems to be running down, watch its droppings and it is likely that worms may be found in them. If the worms are not found, it is not conclusive evidence that they are not sapping the vitality of the bird and it should be treated.
A bit of garlic every morning will usually cure the disease. The piece of garlic should be about the size of a pea. A pill of powdered areca nut mixed with butter is also an effective remedy, or a pill as large as a small pea of gum aloes will kill the worms. Give any one of these remedies and expect a cure. Give the remedy before the bird has eaten in the morning.
Lice are not a disease, but they can do more damage than any disease. If they once get a start in the pigeon loft, it requires heroic treatment to get them subdued. If attention is paid to cleanliness, old nests taken out and burned as soon as they are empty, insect powder sprinkled in the nest boxes and tobacco stems are used for nesting material, lice will never get a foothold in the loft. If it should happen that lice get a start, take the birds out of the loft and clean it thoroughly. Then paint the walls and nest boxes with kerosene and afterward whitewash every part of the inside with lime.
Any druggist will supply a good disinfectant and give direction how to mix it for use. This should be sprinkled about the floor once in two or three weeks, and always mixed with the whitewash which is used on the loft. A mild disinfectant should be sprinkled on the floor at least once a week, and twice a week is better. Go quietly into the loft and gently sprinkle the solution on the floor, but not on the nests, as this frightens the birds. Keep the air of the lofts always smelling sweet and pure and there will be no trouble with disease.
Douglas Mixture is an old-time tonic, much esteemed by a good many breeders of pigeons and poultry. It is made by dissolving eight ounces of iron sulphate (copperas) in two gallons of water and then very slowly adding one ounce of sulphuric acid. Put in jugs and it will keep indefinitely. If a tablespoon of this is put in the drinking water occasionally, it will act as a tonic and make the blood richer. It is especially recommended for use during the molting season.
Compound tincture of gentian is highly recommended as a tonic for pigeons. If the birds seem out of condition, a tea-spoonfulof this in the drinking water will tone them up and give them good appetites again. When the birds are molting during the months of September, October and November, a tablespoonful of compound extract of gentian in the drinking water every Sunday morning will keep the birds in condition, but this should not be used if the Douglas Mixture is used as a tonic.
For looseness of the bowels, sweet fern tea has been found a very good remedy. Looseness of the bowels occurs from feeding too much wheat that has not been well dried. It also comes from impure water or unsound feed of any kind. To cure it a good handful of the leaves is put into three gallons of water and boiled down to one-half. Put a teacupful of this in two gallons of drinking water.
Some breeders recommend nux vomica very highly as a tonic, and we mention it so those who follow the directions in this book may have their choice. Sixty drops of the tincture of nux vomica is put in two gallons of the drinking water twice a week, during the molting season. At other times in the year it is given when the flock seems to lack liveliness or to be droopy for any reason.
The tincture of nux vomica is about the easiest of all the tonics to use, as enough for a year can be kept in a small bottle and put into the water without trouble at any time it is needed.
Every pigeon-breeder should have a small box in which to keep a supply of the medicines which may be needed. This box should contain a pot of carbolated vaseline to be used on cuts or bruises, as in wing trouble. There should be a four-ounce bottle of peroxide of hydrogen, a small bottle of camphorated oil, an ounce or two of carbolic acid, a few quinine capsules, a bottle of cod liver oil and a bottle filled with kerosene. There should also be a medicine dropper, such as is used to fill fountain pens, and a small sewing machine oil can to use in cases of roup. Such a medicine chest will come handy many times a year.
Don't get into the habit of dosing your birds for every imaginary trouble. If pigeons are given a dry, light house,good sound grain, plenty of grit, salt, charcoal and perfectly pure water to drink, with good facilities for bathing, there will be little call for use of medicines. Only doctor sick birds when necessary, and then take them out of the loft and keep them out until they are well. The careful pigeon-breeder will always learn to know his birds by sight and will notice any symptoms of disease as soon as they appear. Once any disease is noticed, apply the remedy at once without giving the ailment opportunity to become chronic.
If the directions given in this book are followed, the pigeon-breeder, although he may start without practical knowledge of the business, will be able to carry his birds along in good health and promote productiveness in such a manner that he may anticipate the best results from his work.