CHAPTER III The Construction of Houses PIGEON HOUSE PLANS--NESTS--WATER FOUNTAINS--BATHING DISHES--KEEPING THE HOUSE IN SANITARY CONDITION

No doubt many a person has been deterred from making a start in the business of raising squabs on account of the fancied expense of building suitable houses. No one should make the mistake of thinking that a costly house is necessary. To be sure a well built, nicely painted house is ornamental and adds to the appearance of a squab-breeding plant; but this will come before long if the beginner has the proper qualifications and the ability to increase the size of his flock as rapidly as he may with good care and attention to his business.

The writer has traveled all over the great squab-breeding sections of the East and West and found about every kind of a pigeon house that the ingenuity of man has ever been able to build. We have seen houses which cost thousands of dollars and those which were built of the odd boards that were picked up about the farm. We have seen as fine birds and as large squabs in a house improvised from piano boxes as we ever saw in any of the great squab-breeding plants.

It is not so much a question of looks in a house as it is of comfort and good care. One of the finest squab-breeding plants in this country has grown up from a few birds which were housed at first in a corner of the barn. The owner persevered and kept adding to his flock as he made money from it, and he now has fine buildings and thousands of birds, all earned from an initial investment of something like $25. Not a cent was ever added to the original investment, all the increase and improvement in buildings having been paid for out of the earnings of the birds themselves.

Before we go further, let us say that the pigeon-breeders do not talk about pigeon houses. A house or room in which pigeons are kept is called a "loft," whether it is on the ground floor or in the peak of a barn. The pigeon house is a loft and the flock of pigeons kept in a loft is called a loft of pigeons. It is just as well to get the proper terms used in the business at first, as pigeon-breeders always use them. To return to our pigeon loft. A loft may be made in the corner of a stable or other out-house, with a fly outside. We might explain for the benefit of the beginner that a pigeon "fly" is a wired-in yard, a sort of big cage in which the pigeons are kept within limits. The flies are made by setting up posts about eight feet high and stretching two-inch mesh poultry netting on them. A fly is usually about ten feet wide and from twelve to thirty feet long. This is covered over the top with the same kind of poultry netting that is used on the sides.

We have seen as good pigeon lofts as any one would need made in the loft of a stable, the fly being on the roof. Posts were so set up on the roof that their tops were even with the peak of the roof. The enclosure was then shut in, sides and top, with poultry netting and the birds had a roomy and dry fly which was always clean, as the rains washed the droppings off the roof at frequent intervals.

In Chicago, we saw an extensive pigeon loft on the top of a flat-topped building high above the street; and a very well-known squab breeding establishment in a southern state is on top of a big hotel, the owner breeding the squabs he needs for his hotel in this high-placed situation.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the question of housing the breeding pigeons is not a very complicated one, as there is a wide latitude for action.

Some breeders even allow their birds to fly at large not using flies at all; but this practice is not recommended. In the first place, the birds do not produce so many squabs as they do under confinement and they are liable to accidents, such as being caught by hawks, shot by boys, or some other mishap which causes the owner to lose them and often lose squabs which such birds have in their nests.

It has been found best to keep the birds strictly confined. One well-known squab-raiser has a pen of fifty pairs of birds in his lofts which have been confined in the same place for seven years and are still working well. The writer visited this loft at the end of the seventh year of their confinement and noticed that they were producing squabs at a good rate.

For the convenience of beginners, we give ground plan and elevation of two styles of pigeon lofts. The loft designed as No. 1, may be built at a cost as low as $15.00, for one room, or it may be made to cost $50 or even more. It will be seen that the plan is for two rooms, but this is not the limit of size that is possible. We have seen lofts with a dozen rooms in them, but would recommend about four rooms as the most convenient limit where pigeons are kept extensively. Where a four-room house is built for lofting purposes, the plan should include a storeroom unless the owner has a room which conveniently can be used for a storeroom for feed and as a place for dressing and packing the squabs.

In House No. 2, it will be seen that an alleyway is built in the house back of the lofts. The partition between this alleyway and the lofts is made of two-inch poultry netting, but the partitions between the rooms are solid and as air tight as the outside walls.

A good many breeders are now using stout muslin instead of glass in the windows, as this gives light, lets the warmth of the sun enter the rooms and provides a good system of ventilation. Houses in which cloth windows are used are found to be fully as warm as those having glass windows.

On the side of the house next the fly, a series of openings is made near the roof, but low enough to open under the top of the fly. These openings may be about eight inches square with a six-inch wide shelf even with the bottom inside and outside. These are the doors through which the pigeons go back and forth to and from the fly, and the shelves beneath them are the lighting perches. These openings should be provided with a sliding door so that they can be closed when it is desirable to shut out the cold or to confine the birds for any reason.

NESTS

In providing nests for a loft, at least two nests for each pair of birds should be provided. This gives the birds a chance to build a new nest to use while the squabs are maturing in another, as after the birds begin to breed they will have eggs in one nest while they have a pair of squabs in another. Some breeders provide 120 nests for fifty pairs of birds, but this is rather more than is necessary.

The nest boxes are easily made. The illustration on page 21 shows very clearly the manner of constructing them. In practice, boards one foot wide on which cleats one inch square are nailed across, one foot apart, are set against the wall in perpendicular lines one foot apart and firmly secured, the edge being to the wall, of course. This leaves the cleats opposite each other. Then boards one foot square are cut and laid on these cleats. When the work is done, we have a series of nests one foot every way, each shelf forming the bottom of a nest and the top of the one under it. If nappies are not used, a cleat should be nailed on the front edge of the shelves in order that the nesting will not be worked out by the birds. Nests made in this way are very easily cleaned, as the shelves may be drawn out and cleaned without trouble.

NAPPIES

Nappies are dishes or bowls of a peculiar shape which are made for pigeon nests. These nappies are used by a great many pigeon-breeders, but we have not found them necessary as the birds are perfectly able to build their own nests and will do so if the nest boxes are provided.

Where only a few pairs of birds are kept, we have seen boxes used for nests. Boxes about the size of orange crates are used, these being divided into two compartments and fastened to the wall by nails driven through the bottom. We recommend that regular nests be provided as they give a nearer appearance to the lofts and are more easily cleaned.

NESTING MATERIAL

A good supply of nesting material should be provided for the pigeons. This may be short straw, or coarse hay in short lengths, but the best material is tobacco stems which may be bought at about one cent a pound from the stores that keep pigeon and poultry supplies. These tobacco stems prevent insects from being harbored in the nests and save a great deal of trouble in this way. The ideal nest is one made of tobacco stems for a foundation and then finished with soft straw.

WATER FOUNTAINS

Pigeons are great drinkers and should be watered at least twice a day as they need a plentiful supply of fresh water. The best way to supply this is by using the regular watering fountains which are made for this purpose. These may be bought through almost any breeder who sells pigeons. If the one of whom the pigeons are bought does not keep them for sale, he will give the name of a firm which handles them. These fountains cost only a small sum and they keep the water clean, whereas if open water vessels are used, the water becomes foul with dirt and dust.

BATHING

Pigeons must be provided with facilities for bathing, as they will not keep in good health if they cannot have a bath regularly. They delight in getting into water and bathing themselves all over. An ordinary big dishpan makes a good bath-tub for pigeons, or a barrel so cut off as to be four inches deep makes a good tub for bathing purposes. Empty the bath-tub as soon as the pigeons have finished their baths to prevent them from drinking the foul water.

SANITATION

A pigeon loft must be kept free from insects and disease germs by carefully attending to sanitary conditions. The free use of lice-killers, cleaning the nests out as soon as the squabs are taken from them and whitewashing the whole interior of the loft at least twice a year will keep the enemies of the birds from gaining a foothold, as well as destroy stray disease germs which may be floating in the air.

DRYNESS

Pigeons must have a dry loft or they will fall victims to disease. To keep the houses dry they should have the floor at least a foot from the ground and the location should be such that water does not stand around the house or under it. Make the floor double, so that it will be air-tight and let the air circulate under the house freely. Two objects are accomplished by having the floor off the ground; the rooms are kept dry and rats will not burrow under the house.

FLOOR COVERING

The floor of the pigeon houses should be kept covered with about an inch of sand, if this can be procured handily. Otherwise keep it covered with chaff, which should frequently be renewed.

CLEANLINESS

It is necessary to keep the pigeon lofts clean. Some breeders advocate cleaning them every week, we think a good cleaning once a month will do. Every time the lofts are cleaned, the birds must be disturbed more or less, and this results in some little loss, so the matter of cleanliness should not be carried to extreme. If the house is dry and light, the droppings will quickly dry up and will not become offensive for several weeks.