warm localities. The corn
should either be Argentine Corn or small American Corn with a part
cracked corn. The amount of cracked corn is determined by the quality.
If you can get a good recleaned steel-cut cracked corn, fairly free
from loose fibre, it is all right to use half-and-half with the whole
American Corn. Otherwise use 25% cracked to 75% whole corn.

All grains must be reasonably cured and dried. Do not buy new crops of
grains until well seasoned. Inferior grains like heated corn, or wheat
that has sprouted, are all to be avoided. Scratch feed is not to be
recommended as a steady diet, but will serve for a while. Most scratch
feeds contain rye, barley and oats, all three of which I do not
recommend as pigeon feed. Scratch feed also lacks peas, and these are
the finest fattening and strengthening food that squabs can get.

See that the birds get fed regularly twice a day and that they clean up
all the food given them, within an hour. The morning feeding should be
between 7:30 and 8:30, and in summer, not later than 8 o'clock.

Afternoon feeding should be around 3 o'clock in winter and 4 o'clock in
summer. If the birds can only be fed once a day, feed in the morning
and see that some feed lasts until 3 o'clock in the afternoon. It is
easy to judge by the way the birds fly for the grain whether they are
fed too heavily or too lightly.

Fig. 5 illustrates the card we use to regulate feeding.

A circular piece of card board, mounted with a thumb tack through
centre, just outside the door, shows how much feed was given at last
feeding. The top of card indicates the amount. Always setting the card
the amount fed, avoids waste and having too much feed standing around,
which may become mouldy and cause sickness.

CHAPTER VI.

SQUABS FOR MARKET.

Squabs are ready for market at from four to four-and-one-half weeks
from the time hatched. As soon as the squabs are fully feathered, they
should be removed from the nest, as they will soon jump from nest and
run on the floor, thereby losing weight until killed.

If squabs are to be killed at once, care should be taken to remove from
pen just before feeding time, so that their crops will not be full of
grain. They may even be taken the night before, if kept in a warm
place.

[Illustration: Figure 5. REVOLVING FEED REGULATOR]

To kill squabs properly, they should be hung up by the feet. Two nails
driven partially into a board about an eighth of an inch apar