The Feather's practical pigeon book

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PRACnCA

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CHAPTER I. The Origin of Fancy Pigeons

The term pigeon is derived from the Latin word Pipio, which translated Uterally means a nesthng bird that "pipes" or cries out, or as we know it in America a "squealer." The pigeon proper belongs to a family of birds known as Columbidae, comprising all the different varieties of doves, as well as pigeons, and forming the genus Coluraba. They are generally classed among gallinaceous birds, but as they resemble both the orders Rassores (Scrapers or Scratchers) and Insessories (Perchers) they have by some naturalists been constituted into a distinct order between the two.

While they resemble the order Gallinacea, in that their bills are comparatively short and slightly curved with a cartilaginous scale, through which their nostrils are pierced, and in their large crops and blunt claws, they dift'er from them in their monogamus habits, their living in pairs, and in the fact that the male shares with the female the duties of incubation and of feeding the young.

Their young, unlike those of the Gallinacea which are able to run as soon as they are hatched, are born blind and helpless and consequently must be fed by the parent birds. By a wonderful and singular provision of Nature, as the period of incubation draws to an end, the food taken by the old birds into their crops softens, and is changed into a milky fluid, known to naturalists as "pigeon's milk." This "milk" is injected into the mouths of the young birds, by a peculiar spramodic

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action of the crop and neck of the parents, wlio take the beak of the young birds in their mouths for that purpose. This manner of feeding is kept up until the young bird is able to care for itself, which will be in about six weeks' time.

The number of species of the family Columbidae is very great, and they are found in all warm and temperate climates. Our fancy pigeons, the descendants of the true pigeons Cohiinba Livia and Colimiba Affiiiis of which I propose treating entirely, are gregarious in their habits, social in their nature, and live in flocks, though still retaining their monogamus practice.

The origin of our various breeds of fancy pigeons is in a measure veiled in mystery. Pigeons have existed and been the companions of man, so to speak, from the earliest period of which we have any history, mention being made of them in ancient manuscripts written in the Hindu, Sanscrit, Arabian, and Persian languages, as also in various books of the Old Testament. The earliest record is said by learned writers to have occurred 3,000 years B. C. But whether the great variety of fancy pigeons we know at the present day have all descended, as many eminent naturalists maintain, from the Blue Rock Pigeon or Rock Dove, "Cohiniba Livia," and the Chequered Dove House Pigeon, Coluiiiba AfUnis," peculiar to the various countries of the Old World, is the question.

That some of our Toy Pigeons owe their origin to them there is no doubt, but such pigeons as the Carrier, Pouter, Barb, Fantail, Jacobin, and others, present characteristics of such marked peculiarity as to cause thinking men to believe that they have an origin distinct from the Blue Rock. Bht if such is actually the case, the varieties from which they sprang must now be extinct.

CARRYING PIGEONS.

METHOD OF HOLDING A PIGEON.

Tlie Feather's Practical Pigeon Book.

for nowhere in a state of nature are any breeds of pigeons found with pecuHarities that can mark them as the progenitors of any of tliose varieties we know to-day as high-class pigeons.

Darwin, than whom there is no better modern authority, made deep research in this direction. Being an ardent pigeon fancier himself, he had the best of opportunities to study their construction and habits, and at first inclined to the belief that most fanc}' pigeons sprang from separate sources, but giving it thought and being so led to experiment in crossing, he found that the tendency was to continually revert to the common origin, and that in the end liis crosses produced a blue pigeon, with white rump and black bars on the wings like the Blue Rock.

We all know how, by proper selection, we can, after a time, breed all the fancy qualities out of a pigeon and have nothing left, as it were, but the frame or foundation. For instance, take the F"antail ; by selecting the poorest specimens "of a flock, we can, by continued breeding, bring them down to what we call a common pigeon with twelve feathers in the tail, and as distinct in shape and action from the Fan as well can be.

So this process of evolution upward, while necessarily slower than the breaking-down process, can, by the selection of the fittest, finally be brought about. Doubtless our ancient pigeon fanciers taking advantage of some marked peculiarity in some of their feathered pets by crossing them together fixed these qualities, and so by careful selection of their progeny and mating back to the parents, a variety distinct from the Blue Rock was established. From this variety it may be there was a sport, and this again being protected and preserved, established another variety. This is, of course, all con-

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jecture, for there is no written nor known history to estabhsh this fact, but as all the experiments and study of Darwin and other naturalists point to the Blue Rocks as the common origin of fancy pigeons, we who have not given the matter deep thought and scrutiny, as we can not bring convincing proof to contradict, can do no better than accept this theory, and believe in the principle of evolution and the survival of the fittest as applied to the pigeon family.

The Blue Rock Pigeon or Rock Dove and the Chequered Dove House Pigeon, are what are known as true pigeons, and differ from the Dove proper, in that they are not arboreal in their habits and are of a domestic rather than a roving disposition, preferring to live in colonies and having a fixed abode, and being capable of domestication. They are found in most parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa in a wild state, making their homes about cliffs and among the rocks and caves where they live in large families, never going far from home. They build their nests on the rocks and they are composed of twigs, rough grasses, and other coarse material placed loosely together. The female lays two white eggs,. and they produce several pairs in a season, the male assisting the female in the work of incubation. The Blue Rock is rather smaller than the Dove House Pigeon, and, as its name would indicate, has plumage of a light grayish-blue, with a beaiitiful tinge of green about the neck, variegated with purple and bronze reflections. The head is quite long, eyes orange-red, the beak thin and black in color, legs short, feet red and tipped with nails the color of the bill. Across the lower part of the wings are two black parallel bars, the rump is white, the tail narrow, composed of twelve feathers, each ending in a black bar which, when closed, forms a bar

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across the tail. This type of pigeon is so often seen among our flocks of domestic pigeons that there will be no difficulty in recognizing it and proving its claim as one of the ancestors of our domestic flocks at least.

The Dove House Pigeon {Coliiiiiba Affiius) is another wild variety of pigeon peculiar to all parts of the Old World, and supposed by many to be the true progenitor of our whole family of domestic pigeons. Like the P)]ue Rock, it frequents rocks, cliffs, and caverns, but is more susceptible of domestication than the true Rock. It is a trifle larger in size and differs from it somewhat in color, being a trifle darker and with wing-coverts cliequered or dappled ; in other respects it is the counterpart of the other. It is also said to be more prolific than the Bhie Rock, and, if taken young, easily tamed and domesticated, and does not retain the wild, suspicious nature of the Blue Rock. But while this variety in its instincts and habits seems to have good grounds on which to base its right to be called the originator of all our fancy breeds, there is no evidence to prove that it may not have derived its own origin as claimed by Darwin, from the Blue Rock. This, however, is a cjuestion J am not inclined to argue, as its settlement can not affect the status of the pigeon as we know it to-day.

Admitting, as scientific research seems to prove, that these two varieties of wild pigeons are the source from which all our common and fancy pigeons sprung, it seems strange that we see none of the variations in form and shape to-day among our common flocks that must some time have formed a basis from which to breed such birds as the Carrier, the Pouter, the Jacobin, and the host of feathered beauties we now know. Who in our time has ever heard or known of anyone producing from common pigeons any breed of fancy pigeons that

ALL KINDS or PER.CHES FOR PIGEONS.

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could lay claim to an established variety, breeding true like the Barb, the Turbit, or the Owl? Yet it seems strange if such sports occurred in earlier times that we never see an instance of it now. Taking this all into consideration, is there not apparently good grounds for the belief that some entertain, that a nvunber at least of our fancy pigeons must have had a more aristocratic origin than the wild Blue Rock ?

I have here given a short history of the supposed origin of our domestic pigeons, and now turn to the pigeon as we know it in the United S*"»*:es. The only bird known to us as a pigeon, indigenous to the United States, is the wild or "Passenger Pigeon." This bird being strictly arboreal in its habits, that is, making its home in the woods and building its nests and perching in trees, is more properly a dove, and, therefore, the term pigeon is a misnomer. In form and shape it varies greatly from the true pigeon, and while an occasional specimen has been kept alive in the lofts of some fanciers, it can not be said to be capable of domestication, for, as a rule, it docs not brook confinement and soon pines away and dies.

As we find by this that we have no pigeons native to this country, we must naturally infer that all our common and fancy pigeons have been imported from foreign countries, but from what particular section of the Old World they first came history does not inform us. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that they were introduced by both the English and Dutch settlers, as both nations are known to have had lovers and breeders of pigeons before the United States were first settled.

Naturally after becoming domiciled in their new homes and finding nothing of the kind native to the country the first settlers must have had a longing for a

A COMBINATION HOUSE. .

The plan shown here is one that will meet with universal favor with the fancier who has limited space, and desires to keep poultry in connection with pigeons. It is a two-storied building, with the lower half arranged for poultry and the upper half for pigeons, with an aviary on two ends. It is unnecessary to give detailed plans of the building, which, of course, would have to be varied to suit the convenience of the builder. The house should be substantially built, and have steps or ladder leading from the first to the second floor. The windows in front of house should be covered with mesh wire to prevent escape of birds.

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few of their old companions, and so some of the returning ships were commissioned to bring out on their return trip a few pairs. Thus, no doubt, was the foundation laid for the immense numbers now owned and bred every season throughout the Union. It may be that the Huguenots were among the first to introduce them, as, in my researches, I find that many of them were v/eavers of silk and other fabrics, and great fanciers of pigeons and birds, and that when driven out of France into England they took their pets with them, settling in and about Spitalsfield, which we know is a great center of fanciers to-day. In course of time many Huguenots found their way to America, and it is not unreasonable to suppose brought son:e of their pets with them and thus aided in laying a foundation for the fancy here.

From inquiries made some years ago, however, I am inclined to believe that Philadelphia and Baltimore were about the first ports through which fancy pigeons were introduced, and as these cities have long been great pigcon centers, I think this will tend to bear me out in my belief. As far back as I have been able to trace is about 125 years, and pigeons were then owned and bred in Philadelphia. Neither New York nor Boston, to my knowledge, furnishes any record of importations previous to this. What St. Augustine or New Orleans might furnish I am unable to say, but probably, although these points were among our earliest settled, no record of so small a matter to the earlier historians was ever kept, and so the subject is shrouded in oblivion. In these later days we know that fancy pigeons have been brought to us from England, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, the Mediterranean districts, and from India, and from these importations large families have descended

PLAN OF AVIARY FOR LOFTS.

This arrangement is admirabh' adapted to those who are not situated so as to have room for the construction of a separate house, and desire to keep a few pigeons for the pleasure of it. Such an arrangement is easily applied to the lofts of barns, stables, and other outbuildings on the place with excellent results. No extensive alterations are necessary, and the interior of loft may be made to conform with the plans hereafter shown.

Tlie Feather's Practical Pigeon Book.

to delight America's fanciers, both old and young. Thanks to the energies of these fanciers, the quality of their pigeons has reached a higher standard to-day than lias ever been known before, and to help- maintain this standard and keep up the inteiiest of young fanciers this work is published.

CHAPTER II. Accommodations for Pigeons

Having, as it were, in the preceding chapter, confirmed our belief in the origin of our numerous famiUes of domestic and fancy pigeons, we pass to a subject of fully as much, if not more, importance to the amateur and novice, that of providing proper accommodations for the pretty pets.

Pigeons can be bred and raised almost anywhere that shelter can be provided, and they sometimes do with very little shelter ; in fact, I have seen them make a home in a common soap-box, nailed to the side of a barn, where they seemed as happy and contented as in more luxurious quarters. The flocks I have in mind were quite numerous and were accommodated with shelter by nailing a variety of small boxes to the gable end of a barn ; here they raised their young, and I have seen squealers in the nest, with the snow all about the sides of the boxes, and the mystery was that they had not frozen to death ; but they seemed fat and hearty, and there was no question raised as to their hardiness. Such a life must naturally produce a hardy race, but would not likely prove successful with the majority of high-class and Toy Pigeons. But while they may succeed with limited and unpretending quarters, still accommodations that allow of their being well cared for, and in which they can be visited with comfort and pleasure, are without doubt the most satisfactory to the breeder and fancier.

These accommodations can be suited to the space

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available by the fancier. It may be a box nailed against the gable end of the house or barn ; it may be a limited space in the peak of the same ; it may be a larger room in that house or barn, or it may be a commodious building erected for the purpose in the rear of the home lot. Wherever your fancy dictates or your means will allow, there can your pigeons find a home. They are not fastidious, no pride governs their choice, and they build, breed, and raise their little families as happily and contentedly in a rough box as in the most conveniently and comfortably arranged aviary. So if you can do no better and must have a few pigeons, take a box about lo inches deep, divide it into as many apartments lo inches square as size of your box will allow, then cut holes in the bottom of the box to correspond with each of the apartments you have made, say 4 inches wide and 5 inches high, nail an alighting-board 4 inches wide and 6 inches long to the floor of each apartment, letting as much as possible of the board project through the holes you have cut, after giving it a secure attachment to the floor of its apartment. When all this is done, you can fasten it to the side of any building, or fence even, if high enough from the ground to be out of the reach of cats and dogs. By placing the open side of the box to the building, it answers in place of back and saves adding weight to it by nailing on a back.

As far as possible place it in a position facing the south, and protected from the cold northerly winds. Also make it water-tight, if you can, by covering with some water-proof material. This will make a very primitive pigeon-house, but I have known many a boy made happy over a no more elegant house, and the pigeons are just as happy here as in a palace. The house can be placed high enough to be reached by a short lad-

The Feather's Practical Pigeon Book.

der and thus surely be out of harm's way. After the house is arranged and your pigeons mated, by confining the pairs in the little apartments for a week or so, they will become wonted and be likely to stay and live contentedly in their new home.

A house can be made with quarter pitch roof if one is handy with tools, or a carpenter can be employed to make one that will accommodate six or eight pairs, by making an upper and a lower floor, and dividing each into three or four apartments with entrances apart from each other, that is on each side of the house, and not directly over each other. This can be erected on a pole, and reached when necessary by a ladder. Finished and painted neatly it can be made very ornamental.

If you have an out-building of any kind, where a commodious room can be arranged, looking to the south, you can arrange more elaborate quarters and be able to enjoy your birds in a greater degree, likewise controlling their actions more directly. This room needs plenty of light, and should be provided with one or two large windows even if you have to place them there yourself. Before arranging the nesting-places, get some old roofing-tin, cut it into strips 2 feet wide, nail this all around the sides where the floor and the walls unite, letting it project 6 or 8 inches over the floor, and the balance up the sides of the walls ; this will render it proof against rats and mice, the bane of pigeon breeders. Cover every weak spot where you think the vermin can get in, with pieces of tin, then give it a thorough coating of whitewash or white paint, as pigeons are fond of white, and you are ready to place your nesting-boxes and perches.

First arrange a tier of shelves about 15 inches wide and 12 inches apart; divide these into apartments about

FLIGHT

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■lOFT-

PLAN OF HOUSE FOR THE BACK YARD.

The plan herewith shown is an excellent one for the fancier who has a back-yard and desires a special house for his birds. The dimensions of houses may be varied to suit the size of yard, running from fence to fence. The framework should be substantially built, and boarded on the outside with tongued and grooved siding; the inner side should be boarded also with the same kind of material, and, if possible, the space between the walls should be filled with sawdust. The floor should be made of tongued and grooved material securely nailed to the timbers below. The underneath part of the roof should be lined with the same material as the sides, and the outside of roof should be shingled or covered with tin. Where the house joins the fence, the cracks should be well covered to prevent rain from leaking through, and every precaution should be taken to keep the interior of house free from dampness.

c

H S P5

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l8 to 20 inches long, by upright partitions reaching out flush with the edge of the shelf. This gives an apartment for each pair, gives them the seclusion they prefer, and prevents in a measure quarrelling, a condition of aiffairs \'ery necessary to successful breeding.

These little apartments can be again sub-divided by a half partition, say 1 1 inches long and 5 inches high ; this allows space for two nesting-boxes or pans, whichever is used, and permits of the hen making a second nest before the young are ready to leave the first, and allowing the old birds to carry on the incubating process without being annoyed by the youngsters begging to be fed, as they are continually doing when not separated from the parent birds. In front of this middle partition place a strip about 3 inches wide extending from side to side ; this will keep the nest-pans in place, and prevent the squabs coming to tlie front of the apartment should they work themselves out of the nest, and falling to the floor, where they are liable to be maltreated and killed by old birds of other pairs. Occasionally you will find birds, both male and female, so kindly tempered as to feed every young squab that comes to them to be fed : but they are few, and it is to guard against the vicious that I advise this precaution.

To the front of every nesting-place I would have fitted a movable wire door or screen made of two-inch mesh wire. This will enable you to confine your pairs to the particular nest you select for them until they become settled, when it can be removed entirely and laid aside until needed again. The fastening of these doors to the apartment can be made a matter of choice ; either hanging them on the side, so as to swing outward', or suspending them from the shelf above, so as to raise upward. Or they can be made in form of two doors, one

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to swing to the right and one to the left. This I think the better form, as then you can leave one of the doors closed before the nest in which the hen is sitting, thus partially secluding her.

For nests there is nothing better than the circular earthern nest-pan, found at the poultry-supply stores, and made in sizes of 9, 10, and 12 inches diameter, the 9-inch being for the smaller class of pigeons, like Tumblers, Owls, etc., while the lo-inch answers for the medium-sized pigeons, and the 12-inch for Pouters, Runts, and Carriers. But you may be in a locaUty where such nests can not be found ; in such a case tin pans can be used, such as are made from block tin, pressed. These can be nailed to a square wooden foundation, thus making them movable and preventing them from being upset. Or you can make square wooden boxes of same width as diameter of the pans. If boxes are used the corners should be fitted with triangular corner-blocks to keep the nesting-material towards the center. If the tin pans or wooden boxes are used I would advise giving them a good coating of paint. This will act as a preventive against lice, and make them easier to clean.

For nest-material there can be nothing better than pine sawdust, as this can be frequently changed and also has a tendency to keep insects away. Cedar sawdust is even better if one lives in a locality where it can be procured. You will also need perches in different parts of the room for the convenience of birds not nesting. These can be made of half-inch material, 4 inches wide. Take two pieces 5 or 6 inches long, nail two ends together, thus forming the two sides of an angle. Hang these on ten-penny nails, driven into the walls in various places separate from each other. These make the best

12 FT PERCHES

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PLAN or DUPLEX HOUSE.

The Duplex House may be built separately or fitted to a wall and will comfortably bouse from forty to fifty birds, except in the mating season when the number must be considerably lessened if the wished-for success is to be attained. The arrangement of the duplicate compartments allowing the sexes to be divided, as they should alwa)'S be except in the breeding season, and the overhead loft giving freedom for a few pairs of common pigeons to be used as feeders, are decided advantages of this house.

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of perches, are easily moved for cleaning, and as they accommodate but one pigeon prevent quarrelling.

To every loft such as I have just described there should be an outside area or "fly" attached for the purpose of giving your birds, when confined, a place to sun and air themselves. This can be located immediately in front of your windows, or to one side as convenient, but should, like the windows, be on the sunny side of the house. It can be made as large as you deem advisable, and should have perches distributed about, such as are described for use in the loft. Cover it with two-inch mesh wire on sides and top, having the bottom or platform of wood made tight. If you intend permitting tbe birds perfect liberty after a time, to go and come as they please, you will need to construct a falling door, either on one side or the front. This can be hung on hinges and controlled by a rope and pulleys, sc as to be lowered and raised at will. This door need not be over 8 inches wide and 2 feet long, unless you desire it. Two pieces should project from the platform for it to rest on when down, and in this form it will answer as an alighting-board for pigeons returning to the loft.

There should also be two or three sets of what are known as bolting-wires. At some place in the area cut tbe wire away and insert a board 2 feet long and 8 inches wide. In this board cut three holes 4 inches wide and 5 inches high, rounded at the top. Project from these holes an alighting-strip 4 inches wide and 8 inches long, fastening one end to the platform of the area. Take a round stick i inch in diameter (an old broomhandle will answer), saw this into pieces 35^ inches long. ' Bore a hole ^ of an inch deep in the middle of the stick, and an inch each wav bore other holes of

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same depth ; take pieces of common telegraph-wire 5 inches long and insert in these holes solidly as far as their depth will allow. Then bore in each end of the stick other holes an inch deep ; in these insert pieces of wire 2 inches long. These answer for axles, as it were, for the bolting- wire to move on. After this is finished put a screw-eye on the left of the opening made in the board near the top, then insert one end of the axle in this. Place another eye 'on the opposite side, opening the eye so as to permit the other axle to slip into place. This you will see gives you a little swinging gate that should just about fit the hole cut in the board. By placing another piece of wire across the bottom of the hole just so the ends of the longer wires hit it, you prevent it swinging outward, while it opens easily to the inside. The object of this is to allow any belated pigeons admission to the loft after the falling door is closed, and yet preventing any from leaving until the door is again opened. Pigeons soon learn to know the purpose for which this is intended, and avail themselves of it.

When possible, a building erected for the purpose and one story in height I consider the best. This saves climbing stairs and consequently is much more easily taken care of than a second-floor loft. Where built for the purpose it can just as well be made rat, cat, and even man and boy proof, as a more elevated room. By excavating the ground for about a foot in depth, filling this in with cinders or broken stone, and then giving it a coating of asphalt, you have a rat-proof floor, and one that is easily cleaned at all times, besides being free from dampness. Covered a few inches deep with clean, white sand or pine saw^-dust, it will keep sweet and clean for a long time, especially if occasionally raked with a fine-tooth rake, and all refuse that