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    Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs - A Complete and Concise Guide to the Amateur Breeder of Domestic and Fancy Pigeons
    Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs - A Complete and Concise Guide to the Amateur Breeder of Domestic and Fancy Pigeons
    Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs - A Complete and Concise Guide to the Amateur Breeder of Domestic and Fancy Pigeons
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    Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs - A Complete and Concise Guide to the Amateur Breeder of Domestic and Fancy Pigeons

    By James C. Lyell

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    About this ebook

    This vintage book contains a comprehensive guide to pigeon-keeping, with information on housing, feeding, selection, breeding, different varieties, and much more. Easy-to-digest and full of invaluable information and handy tips, this volume is ideal for the novice fancier, and would make for a great addition to collections of related literature. Contents include: “General Management”, “Lockers”, “Lofts”, “Nesting Accommodation”, “Perches”, “Limewashing”, “Choosing a Variety”, “Matching of Pairs”, “Mating Up”, “Stud Book”, “Nesting Quarters”, “Nesting”, “Hatching”, et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We are republishing this vintage book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on pigeons.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRead Books Ltd.
    Release dateMay 6, 2015
    ISBN9781473394117
    Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs - A Complete and Concise Guide to the Amateur Breeder of Domestic and Fancy Pigeons

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      Book preview

      Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs - A Complete and Concise Guide to the Amateur Breeder of Domestic and Fancy Pigeons - James C. Lyell

      passion.

      PREFACE.

      THIS little work, so ably written originally by that capable enthusiast, breeder, and lover of Pigeons MR. JAMES C. LYELL, must have proved a valuable assistant to many a keen aspirant to the ranks of the fancy. So vast and wide too are his associations with the more distant varieties—and their breeders—that much pleasure and information have doubtless been afforded to men of even more mature experience within the ranks.

      The Pigeon fancy is an ever-widening circle, with types and ideals changing as years roll on, that it is the primary importance of a reliable guide that it moves with the times. It has been my endeavour therefore, with the knowledge at my command, to incorporate with this new edition of Pigeon-keeping for Amateurs any useful information which twenty-five years of practical experience have impressed me as being of value to young and intelligent recruits to this fascinating and absorbing hobby. Indeed, the breeding of fancy Pigeons is to-day more an art, having been brought to such perfection that it is absolutely essential to success to have at one’s command every grain of knowledge bearing upon the subject.

      If my assistance has contributed to making this book a reliable guide the pleasure also will be mine, and I shall be amply compensated for having helped others to enjoy the scientific breeding of their birds.

      G. E. DANKS.

      Felday,

      Grosvenor Avenue,

      Wallington, Surrey.

      Pigeon-Keeping

      for Amateurs.

      INTRODUCTION.

      IN a work of this description, wherein so much has to be conveyed in a very short space, one must of necessity discard technicality for the practical. The subject, too, is so vast and important that it is impossible to enter into an elaboration of the species or to dwell too long upon any one particular. It will thus merely be my endeavour to make Pigeon-Keeping for Amateurs what it claims to be—viz., a complete and concise guide for the purely amateur breeder of domestic pigeons—a veritable assistant to those who are about to commence with these birds, and also to those who are ambitious to achieve some amount of distinction with their fancy stock, instructing in such a manner as experience has proved conducive to the greatest success in breeding, rearing, and the general management.

      Pigeon-keeping is a hobby—perhaps second only in popularity to flower culture—which dates back to far-distant ages, and has always been closely associated with civilisation in almost every corner of the globe. Of all birds capable of domestication the tame pigeon holds a conspicuous place. It has endeared itself to the heart of mankind from the earliest days, due doubtless to its gentle nature and its love of home. Even in its crudest form—the ordinary common pigeon—it has adapted itself to all sorts of conditions and surroundings, and when once acclimatised to its home nothing but pure accident will divert it therefrom.

      With its cultivation for loftier aims I am the more concerned, for the pigeon has excelled above all other live stock in the matter of variety. Lending itself to careful study and the breeder’s art, it is astonishing what has been achieved. So many and varied are its colourings, and so extensive the ramifications of breed, that even the most exacting taste should be easily satisfied. Much we owe the inhabitants of the countries of the Near and Middle East, for some of the most charming sections of the Columbarian race, many of exquisite markings and with the quaintest of feathering, have been the outcome of their cultivation. Indeed to-day large numbers of pigeons are kept and tended by all grades of society in Mohammedan countries.

      At home the pigeon fancy is divided into three groups. There is the Homing section, whose whole thoughts and ability are directed to the sport of racing their birds and the breeding of stock valuable for endurance, speed on the wing, and homing instinct. Amongst those who take interest in the racing pigeon are numbered many of noble birth, led by no less a personage than His Majesty the King, who owns a very successful stud of these birds. Our Admiralty and War Departments, too, have huge establishments of pigeons, and when anything approaching a complete history of the Great War comes to be written it will be found that the humble Homing pigeon, collected from all the best studs of the country, has played a conspicuous part therein. We then have the Tippler and Tumbler flying section, not by any means so large as the preceding, but a not inconsiderable fraternity with big followings in certain parts of the country. Their aim is the production and perfection of birds that can endure high and continuous flight. After these we come to the pigeon fancy proper, comprising those who breed their birds for beauty of plumage, structural form, or other characteristics peculiar to the variety. Adherents to this category are legion, for the cultivation of fancy and exhibition pigeons has become very popular and competition has grown particularly keen indeed during the past twenty years. The War has of course put a stop to hobbyists of all denominations, and not least to Columbarianists; but their work, latent for the time being, will awake with renewed vitality and redoubled energy with the coming of peace.

      GENERAL MANAGEMENT.

      Lockers.

      Those who are about to enter the pigeon fancy, no matter to which section they intend to devote themselves, will do well to study first of all the question of accommodation. If the idea is merely to keep a pair or two of flying birds—or even of the hardier of the fancy varieties—just for the pleasure of their picturesqueness and beauty about the homestead, it may be only necessary to erect what is termed a dovecote—a locker upon a pole, or an even smaller one attached to the wall, shown in the illustrations. Either of these is pleasing in certain surroundings, but neither is practical from the point of view of the serious cultivation of a breed, inasmuch as it is impossible to exercise over the different pairs occupying such habitations the necessary supervision to ensure success in breeding and rearing and particularly in mating. Pigeons, however, take very kindly to these lockers when once they have properly settled down therein; and they have been known to increase into quite a big colony from such modest beginnings

      Pole-Locker.

      Wall-Locker.

      Lofts.

      For Homing and Flying birds an ordinary stable loft or such-like structure is generally the most satisfactory, the more so when it is built so as to permit of an outer open flight or dormer being attached. In adding this outer flight it is usual and advantageous to make the whole front of it to open down as a trap-door or flap. Whichever form this outer flight takes, an arrangement of bolting wires should be fitted, which will enable the birds to enter at will, while at the same time not allowing them to regain their liberty. The actual construction of these wires will be found described on page 60 in the paragraph dealing with the Flying Homer.

      Houses for fancy pigeons are usually spoken of as lofts, though oftener than not they are far removed in appearance from such. It will, however, suit my purpose here to hold to the conventional. A southern aspect is by far the most suitable for the erection of a loft for the breeding of almost all varieties of pigeons, owing, I presume, to the greater shelter it provides, the maximum amount of sunshine and hence the cosier conditions for the birds. Some of the hardier varieties will live and thrive in quite bleak positions, but for the delicate breeds and the higher-bred toys it is essential that every protection be afforded. By this I do not imply that close, stuffy apartments or positions are suitable—anything but that, as all pigeons revel in fresh air and plenty of space. It is of course not always possible to choose a southern aspect, in which case more protection must be provided on the bleakest sides. Such difficulties are easily surmounted when a mind is made up. In short, the more consideration is given to the complete comfort of a loft’s inmates the greater will be the success with them.

      To such an extent has the breeding of fancy pigeons grown that lofts have been built of great size and remarkable elaboration by those to whom cost is no object, every contrivance for the convenience and comfort both of the birds themselves and of their owners being installed. To the humbler breeder this is small consolation, he being more concerned with his own possibilities.

      Having decided upon the most suitable site, let the next consideration be the plan and size of the building. Size must naturally be governed by the space at disposal, and even if this latter is unlimited it must of necessity be considered in relation to the number of pairs it is proposed to start with, having at the same time due regard for the ultimate extension of the stud. A great point is to remember that the more room—in reason—that one allows one’s birds the better condition they will keep in and the greater will be their success in breeding.

      It is imperative at all times that ample ventilation be provided, but draughts must be avoided. All top ventilation must be well above the heads of the birds—that is to say, away from any beam or ledge that might possibly be used by them for perching upon.

      The loft must be built substantially, and if with timber care must be taken that it is of good substance, properly joined, and thoroughly painted or otherwise coated to keep out wet or damp. The roof should be felted, or if corrugated iron is used it should be boarded inside. It is a satisfactory and businesslike plan to concrete the floor and, where possible, to raise it somewhat above the ground-level. Thus made it keeps much drier in damp, clammy weather. A cemented floor, too, is a perfect safeguard against rats and mice, which cause havoc if allowed to reach the birds. Where the floor must of necessity be wood it should be well off the ground to ensure the circulation of air and consequent dryness, and, if the structure will permit, let the floor be at a

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