FEEDS AND FEEDING--BREEDING HABITS
Pigeons are exclusive grain eaters. They do not require animal food of
any kind, nor is green food necessary for them. Occasionally a nice
tender head of lettuce may be given to each loft and they will eat it
with relish, but such green foods as grass, lawn clippings, or cut
clover should never be given them. The lettuce is not necessary but may
be given by way of variety, but not more than one head to fifty pairs of
birds.
The principal feeds are red wheat, sifted cracked corn, Canada peas,
kaffir corn, hemp seed and German millet seed. Besides these, buckwheat,
barley, and canary seed may sometimes be given; but the first-named
constitute a good variety and should be used as a constant feed. All of
them are necessary and they should be properly rotated.
SOUND GRAIN NECESSARY
We want to emphasize the fact that all grain used for feeding pigeons
must be sound and wholesome. It is the very poorest kind of economy to
feed shrunken, musty, or damaged grain of any kind.
WHEAT
The wheat used should be sound red wheat which has been thoroughly
dried. New wheat should never be used. Good No. 2 red wheat, at least
six months out of the straw, should be selected.
PEANUTS
In many localities Canada Peas are so high in price that breeders can
hardly afford to feed them but the cheapest raw peanuts may be obtained
at a low price and these will take the place of the Canada Peas and give
just the same results. I have found them very satisfactory as a feed and
hundreds of my customers have reported excellent results with them.
CRACKED CORN
Sound, well dried, No. 2 sifted cracked corn should be used for pigeons.
By well dried, we mean that the corn should be of the crop of the
previous year. It should be cracked so that the pieces will be about the
size of wheat grains. It should be sifted to separate the fine meal, as
the pigeons will not eat the meal and if it is left in the food troughs
it will sour and produce bowel trouble in the birds, old and young.
CANADA PEAS
Canada peas should be well dried out, selecting those of the previous
year as they are thoroughly dry and sound. This is the highest priced
feed the pigeon-keeper will need to buy but it is not fed largely, being
used sparingly on account of the great nutritive qualities, which cause
squabs to grow rapidly and make heavy breast meat.
KAFFIR CORN
Kaffir corn has become a regular article of sale and can be bought
almost anywhere. It is between wheat and corn in value and makes a very
good pigeon feed. Buy seed of the previous year when buying for pigeons.
HEMP SEED
But a small quantity of hemp seed is used. If too much were given the
birds they would become very fat and get lazy. A good plan is to throw a
handful of hemp seed on the floor once a week on a stated day, say
Wednesday. Never put hemp seed in a feed trough, as the first birds to
get to the trough would "hog" all the seed.
MILLET SEED
The seed of the German millet makes an excellent pigeon feed. It also is
quite fattening and must be used sparingly. It is usually quite cheap,
compared with its food value, and should be kept on hand at all times.
BUCKWHEAT
Buckwheat is very fattening and should be fed sparingly. The
pigeon-breeder need not take any special pains to get it for his birds,
but in some localities buckwheat is raised extensively and in these
places the grain may be used by way of variety. Buckwheat is very
heating and therefore is best used in severe cold weather.
CANARY SEED
Canary seed is too costly to use as a regular feed, but birds relish a
small feed once in a while. In some parts of this country canary seed
might be grown very easily and it would find a large sale if enough of
it were produced to meet the demand which would soon grow up.
[Illustration: Fig. 8. Showing End View of House No. 2.]
OTHER FOOD REQUISITES
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.
GRIT
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
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
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.
[Illustration: Swiss Mondaine. Very large but usually slow workers.]
HOW TO FEED
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
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.
MIXTURES RECOMMENDED
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.
ALWAYS FEED INDOORS
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 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.]
ECONOMICAL FEEDING
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.
BREEDING HABITS
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 end of 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.
DETERMINING THE SEX.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 10. Showing the Construction of a Practical and
Convenient Fly.]