CHAPTER III.. The Fundamental Requirements for Successful Squab Raising.

THE FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL SQUAB RAISING.

Good squabs can be raised in any structure, free from dampness, that has sunlight and can be protected from rats. Any shed, outbuilding, or chicken coop can be turned into a first-class pigeon pen with little difficulty. First, the building must be made habitable by patching all cracks and leaks in roof. If the locality is subject to cold wind, snow and ice, attention must be given to sides and floors. The floors, particularly, should have no holes, and double floors are a decided asset for the northern breeder.

Making the house rat-proof, is very important, and the best method I know is to raise the building on posts, not less than 15 inches from the ground at all points. Line the posts with tin or put a can over the top, as is done with corn cribs, and you will be well protected. A window must now be put in the southern side of house to allow the pigeons to reach the flying pen or aviary. The door also must be tight, and it is safest to have a screen door on the inside, with a spring to always keep it in place. If this is lined with one-half-inch mesh wire, it will serve as a protection from rats, and allow for good ventilation.

Equipping the house is easily and cheaply accomplished by the use of egg crates turned on the side, with opening facing out. These should have a three-inch strip nailed across front at bottom of crate, to keep the squabs and eggs from falling out, or better still, make an inside rectangle of three-inch lumber that just fits inside the crate. By this, I mean a draw three inches high and eleven and one-half inches in width and length, but without a bottom, as the lower side of the crate completes the bottom.

With this draw in place, the squabs are protected with a three-inch partition in front, and to clean, simply pull the draw out and have a basket beneath to catch the nest in. In making the so-called draw, care should be taken to cut two pieces eleven-and-one-half inches and two ten-and-one-half inches. The eleven-and-one-half-inch pieces are to run all the way to the rear of box, and the shorter pieces comprise the front and rear pieces. The longer pieces overlap the front and rear pieces and are nailed securely. By having the front and rear pieces short and the side pieces long, the draw will always pull out without breaking. If made the other way, the nails may pull out when you clean house. The ten-and-one-half-inch pieces are figured on the basis of using lumber that is five-eighths-inch in thickness. Figure No. 3 shows crate in position and nest ready to put in place.

One pair of pigeons uses both sides of one egg crate as they like to alternate in breeding. Sometimes they have squabs in one side and commence a nest in the other side. By the time the squabs are three weeks' old, there will often be eggs in the other side of box. After crates and nests are ready, arrange in east and west side of pen, piling as high as necessary to accommodate the number of pairs. The north side of house may also be used for nest boxes, or, if the east and west sides of house are piled near the roof, it is well to have a landing board or perch on the north end. A shelf should always be put above the southern window and two openings cut through the side, to let the birds into the aviary, when the window is closed.

Outside, there must also be a corresponding shelf for the pigeons. One hole is not sufficient, as a cock bird will often block the one opening and keep other birds off their eggs until they are chilled. To complete the inside equipment, you need a drinking fountain or pan, so protected that the pigeons can only put their heads into the water. A small box will do for grit and this should be placed near the floor in a clean spot, protected from all droppings. The feed, I believe, is best handled by spreading in a long, narrow trough about one-and-one-half inches high and long enough so that all the pigeons can get a chance at the food at the same time. In a pen of 50 pairs, this is not practical, but I have the trough six feet long, ten inches wide, and two inches deep, for a large number like this.

The aviaries, except for being on the southern side of building, can vary according to available space and number of birds. Pigeons, for best results in housing, should never be crowded into less than one square foot to a bird and one-and-one-half or two square feet is best. The aviaries should have two to three square feet to a bird and should be from six to ten feet in height. Our pens are 10 by 12 feet inside and 10 by 20 by 10 outside. These pens accommodate 40 to 50 pairs comfortably. Two-inch mesh wire is all that is required, although some breeders use one-inch mesh. In ordering wire, specify galvanized after weaving, or galvanized before and after. It pays to do this, as good wire lasts eight or nine years. The posts or uprights for aviary should be two by four lumber with the sunken end well tarred, or any fairly heavy posts available. If the fly is to accommodate more than five or ten pairs of pigeons, nothing smaller than two by four should be used in the frame work, provided that the winters are severe. A heavy snow will sometimes hold on the wire, and is apt to break the supports and release the birds. Particularly watch the fastening of your wire to the coop along the top edge.

The outside equipment consists of a bathing pan about 24 to 36 inches in diameter and four to six inches in depth. A door should be provided in aviary and a few perches or landing boards, along the sides.

This, I believe, completes the necessary house to make a successful start, and the only exceptions I would make are for the breeders in warm climates, who can best be advised to follow the example of neighboring chicken and pigeon raisers. In southern California, I saw fine squabs raised with a northeastern exposure, no floors, and only a three-sided shed. Here one side was open entirely and nest boxes were built high enough to protect from rats. The aviaries were constructed of slats instead of wire, so as to furnish greater protection. In Jacksonville, Fla., I went through a large plant very similar in construction to the northern breeders, and the feeding was about the same as mine. Each locality has a few distinguishing features, so if you combine these instructions with a little observation and thought, you cannot go far wrong as to proper housing.

In the next chapter I will deal with the breeders, and it cannot too often be said, that no matter how fine the plant and equipment, it will all be wasted unless you start with foundation stock, that has been scientifically perfected.