. Our domestic birds; elementary lessons in aviculture . conclusion that home dutiesdemand his mates constantattention. At the nest hestruts about, cooing and coax-ing, entering the nest him-self, then leaving it andplainly showing his wish thatshe should take the she goes away from thenest, he follows her with hishead high and his neck in-flated. His cooing turns toscolding. He pecks at her MANAGEMENT OF PIGEONS 267 and take some exercise. Counting from the time the last eggwas laid, the period of incubation is sixteen or seventeen days. Young squabs, like all other young birds that a
. Our domestic birds; elementary lessons in aviculture . conclusion that home dutiesdemand his mates constantattention. At the nest hestruts about, cooing and coax-ing, entering the nest him-self, then leaving it andplainly showing his wish thatshe should take the she goes away from thenest, he follows her with hishead high and his neck in-flated. His cooing turns toscolding. He pecks at her MANAGEMENT OF PIGEONS 267 and take some exercise. Counting from the time the last eggwas laid, the period of incubation is sixteen or seventeen days. Young squabs, like all other young birds that are naked whenhatched, are ugly little things. They have apparently insatiableappetites, and their mouths seem to be always open. They arefed by the parents with pigeon milk, which is simply theusual food of the old birds softened in the crop. The pigeonhas the power of disgorging the contents of the crop at will,and feeds its young by forcing food from its crop into theirmouths. When they are well fed, the squabs grow very Fig. 219. Dressed squabs. (Photograph from Dr. J. G. Robinson,Pembroke, Massachusetts) Young Homers four weeks old often weigh from three quartersof a pound to a pound, or even more, and are ready for of the fancy varieties of pigeons are hard to rear, becausethe abnormal structure of the beak or the interference of pecu-liar feather characters prevent the old ones from feeding theiryoung properly. All the breeds described in detail in the pre-ceding chapter are known as good feeders. Pigeons will breed nearly the year round, stopping only whilemolting, but in cold climates many young birds die in the nestsin winter. Those who are breeding for market take this as oneof the risks of their business. If only half of the squabs are 268 OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS reared in winter, the profits may be as great as when the actualresults are much better, because in winter the prices are muchhigher than at the seasons when squabs are most easily
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