MATING AND BREEDING
37. Mating
_a._ GENERAL. Pigeons will keep the same mate for life unless forcibly
separated. The desire to mate is a natural instinct. Since pigeons are
monogamous their mating can be controlled for breeding purposes. If
left to their own inclinations, pigeons will mate between the ages of
4 and 9 months. Mating for breeding purposes, however, should not be
permitted until pigeons are at least 9 months of age.
_b._ PURPOSE. The aim in mating is to produce youngsters which are
equal, if not superior, in ability, to either of the parents. Such
youngsters are obtained by selecting breeder stock with pedigree,
performance, physical qualities, and temperament which will probably
produce youngsters of the required type.
38. Sex
_a._ Sex of the pigeon is difficult to determine without experience;
however, some external characteristics help recognition. Under ordinary
circumstances the cock usually has—
(1) Broader skull.
(2) Larger head.
(3) Larger bill and wattle.
(4) Stronger neck.
(5) Broader shoulders.
(6) Closer vent bones.
(7) Larger legs and feet.
_b._ In some cases, where the physical characteristics of the male and
female are similar, it is often necessary to observe their actions when
together to determine sex. Some of the common actions of the cock are:
(1) Chasing hen when cooing.
(2) Scraping of the tail when cooing.
(3) Pecking the head of the hen when she shows no desire to mate.
(4) Cock’s coo is deep and full, while hen’s is sharp.
39. Selection of Stock
_a._ GENERAL. Stock for breeding at a loft should be selected with
the advice of the pigeon expert in charge of breeding. The pigeoneer
who desires to become an expert in the art of breeding pigeons is
encouraged to study additional literature on this subject. The pedigree
for at least two generations is used to determine probable qualities of
future youngsters since it shows family, strain, and kind of flying in
which the birds excel, as well as the performance of other youngsters
produced by the same parent.
_b._ PHYSICAL QUALITIES. Pigeons selected for breeding should be in
good health and as nearly perfect physically as possible. A pigeon
which has had a serious injury, or has been very ill, is unsuitable.
The following physical qualities are desirable:
(1) _Feathers._ Feathers should be of good quality. Flights, which are
most important, should be heavy and wide, and should overlap when the
wing is extended, showing no gaps. Birds with very thin flight should
not be bred. Body feathers should be soft and plentiful. Those on neck
and chest should be glossy and iridescent.
(2) _Eye._ The eye is complex and is of great importance. It should
never be of a sunken or extended nature, but should completely fill
the orbit (bone cavity containing the eye) and be surrounded by a fine
white textured cere. The eye should be clear and bright; its color is
of no importance. The eye may be best examined with a magnifying glass.
(_a_) The pupil is approximately one-third the size of the eye. It
dilates and contracts according to intensity of light and distance of
object being focused. The pupil should be black and brilliant.
(_b_) A thin visible muscle (often called the scouting sight) should
completely encircle the pupil. This muscle dilates and contracts the
pupil. A portion of the muscle may be of a darker shade and located
either at the front or lower front of the pupil. This muscle should
be prominent in at least one of the birds selected for breeding to
produce a higher percentage of dependable birds. If pigeons which do
not possess this muscle, or which have only a small portion of it
visible, are to be used for breeding purposes, they should be mated to
pigeons having a muscle which is more prominent even though it may not
completely surround the pupil.
(_c_) The iris determines the color of the eye. It should be well
blended and possess the brilliance denoting life and observance.
Pigeons possessing faded or weak eyes are not desirable for breeding
purposes.
Splashed birds often possess a “bull eye” which has an iris of a solid,
dark purplish-brown color. When this color appears only on a part of
the iris, the bird has a splashed eye. It is hard to detect the muscle
surrounding the pupil when the “bull eye” is present.
The color of the iris may be maroon, ruby-red, rose, pink, walnut,
chestnut-brown, orange, yellow-orange, carrot, violet, grayish white,
or pearl. When the iris consists of one color only, it will be
considered a “full eye.” Two colors may occasionally be present in the
iris, such as red and yellow, orange and yellow, and so forth. The two
colors should be well blended in any case. “Full eyes” and “two-colored
eyes” are both satisfactory for breeding purposes. Mated birds should
have irises of similar shades.
The outer part of the iris is normally darkest; the color diminishes
toward the center of the eye. This coloring is more pronounced when the
birds are in top condition.
(_d_) The thin line circumscribing the iris should be extremely dark
and very distinct.
(_e_) The remainder of the eyeball should be dark and well covered by
the cere. The bird is said to have an “open eye” when the portion of
the eyeball which should be covered by the cere is visible. Birds with
open eyes are undesirable for breeding.
(_f_) The upper and lower lids are a part of the eye cere. A third lid
which is a transparent membrane frees the eye from foreign material.
The blinking of the third lid can scarcely be detected when the pigeons
are in perfect health.
(3) _Size and temperament._ Medium-sized pigeons are most desirable and
birds should be mated to attain this uniform size. Birds being mated
to breed stock for pigeon communication should be calm and easy going,
not high-strung. Nervous or excitable birds should never be mated.
40. Line Breeding
The aim of breeding from pigeons of the same or closely related
parentage is to reproduce the qualities of the old birds in their
young, amplifying the good qualities and minimizing the bad. Line
breeding requires the services of an experienced pigeoneer. Only
champions which are physically perfect should be mated. Except for line
breeding, inbreeding should not be practiced.
41. Nests
_a._ Bowl PG-75 is an expendable item made of pressed wood pulp and is
used as a nesting place for pigeons. It is advisable to replace the
bowls occasionally to avoid vermin. Cocks display a keen desire to use
the same nest compartment each time they are mated or, if moved to a
different loft, the nest compartment in the same relative position as
the one occupied previously. If not permitted to do this, the cock will
fight the occupant of the compartment. Therefore, consult previous
breeding records carefully in assigning nest compartments. Hens do not
show this trait, but accept a change in compartments and follow their
mates.
_b._ Keep a supply of tobacco stems for nest material in a rack on the
floor of the loft. Allow the pigeons to arrange this material to suit
their fancy. Put a handful of sawdust or wood shavings in the nest bowl
to prevent breaking of eggs.
42. Control of Breeding
The method of control given below is simple, natural, and successful;
it requires minimum handling of the birds.
[Illustration: _Figure 39. Parent pigeons in nest with youngsters in
Bowl PG-75._
TL70208]
_a._ TIME. Since best youngsters are obtained when birds are mated
during February, March, and April, whenever possible, arrange all
breeding for the year during these months. Eggs which should not be
hatched should be replaced with EGG PG-50 (glass).
_b._ MATING. To begin breeding, place each pair to be mated in its
nest, and confine for approximately 1 day. Open one of the nests and
allow the pair to leave and return at will. The pair may be considered
mated after it returns to the nest several times. Close the nest
compartment and proceed in the same manner with the next pair, and so
on until each pair is mated.
_c._ AFTER MATING. To minimize the danger of birds entering the wrong
nest and fighting, open only alternate nest compartments for the first
few days after mating.
_d._ FOLLOWING SEASON. Any pair producing outstanding youngsters should
be mated the same way each year. Mated pairs producing unsatisfactory
youngsters should be separated and each pigeon remated. Destroy breeder
pigeons which produce unsatisfactory youngsters subsequently.
43. Laying
The first egg is usually laid during late afternoon from 7 to 10 days
after nesting has been started. The second egg is laid approximately 44
hours later. As a rule, parent birds do not hover the first egg until
the second egg has been laid. This usually enables the youngsters to
hatch within 1 hour of each other, and gives each one an equal chance.
The youngster from the first egg will be much larger than the other
if the parent birds start to hover at the time the first egg is laid.
Fertility is indicated if the egg becomes a light bluish color after 10
days, or if it shows blood lines after 5 days when held up to the sun’s
rays. Do not destroy the first pair of eggs as it is generally believed
that they often produce the best youngsters of that year.
44. Hatching and Feeding
_a._ The incubation period is from 17 to 18 days long. The hen pigeon
usually sits from 1600 of one day to 1000 the following morning; the
male pigeon sits the remainder of that day.
_b._ The young pigeons are fed by both parents. Their first feed is a
thick, creamy-white excretion produced in the crop of both female and
male (pigeon milk or pap). Pigeons are the only birds both sexes of
which produce milk for their young. The young pigeon places it’s bill
down the throat of either parent, and the parent in return forces the
food into the young one’s throat. This method of feeding is known as
“regurgitation.”
45. Identification
The identification record of the pigeon is started when the hen lays
the egg. Until the time that the youngster leaves the nest compartment,
this record is kept on a breeding card (par. 27). For identification
purposes, each pigeon is banded when approximately 8 days of age (par.
28).
46. Culling
It is necessary to cull (destroy) severely to keep the stock in a loft
up to standard. Cull birds which do not meet physical requirements
for breeding unless all birds are needed. In addition, destroy those
which show a definite lack of intelligence, or which do not perform up
to the average. About 30 percent of the young bred in any one season
are normally under the physical standard and should be culled to keep
the stock from degenerating. In addition to losses sustained through
culling, 20 to 30 percent of the remaining stock may be expected to
be lost during training flights, as result of disease and injury, or
through additional culling because of substandard performance.