There may be a dove-cot for pigeons in the poultry-yard with the other fowls. When the pigeon-house is large, it is generally built round like a tower from the ground upwards; but where this is inconvenient, a small wooden dove-cot may be fixed against the walk. In your case I would decidedly advise you to have a pigeon-house in your poultry-yard; and, if it is built like a tower, there should be holes in the upper part for the birds to enter by, with a shelf under each row of holes, and a little penthouse projecting from the roof to keep out the wet. The interior of the pigeon-house must have cells for nests, which are made by putting up shelves twenty inches wide and one foot apart, and dividing the spaces between them by upright partitions, three feet from each other. Across the back of each nest there should be a board three inches wide, sliding up and down in a groove, to prevent the young ones from falling out, and yet to allow of the nest being cleaned. When the house has been stocked with pigeons, a little hay or soft straw is put into each cell for the pigeon to form its nest. Some persons divide each cell into two nests, as, when the young are about a fortnight old, the female, without waiting till they are fledged, often begins to lay again; and, when there is only one nest, it is not an uncommon thing to see a female pigeon sitting on a fresh set of eggs, while the young of the former hatching are still under her care. When a pigeon-house is to be stocked, a number of young birds are obtained either in May or August, when they are in the state called squeakers, that is to say, not fully grown, but able to feed themselves.
When the female pigeon begins to lay, she produces only one egg, and then waits a day or two, after which she lays another, and immediately proceeds to sit. She continues sitting from fifteen to twenty days, or rather the male and female sit alternately during that time; but, as soon as the young pigeons are hatched, the mother never leaves them, for the space of three days, though after that time she commits them, very frequently, almost entirely to the care of a male, who feeds them in the same manner as she does herself, by swallowing peas or other large seeds, and, after keeping them in the crop till they are partly macerated, forcing them up again, and ejecting them into the open mouths of the young ones. While the young are thus fed, they are called squabs, and in that state they are reckoned best for pies; but, when they get old enough to feed themselves, they are called squeakers. They breed very often, but only continue prolific for a few years, and are, in general, short-lived.
A pigeon-house soon becomes very dirty, and has a most intolerable smell; it should, therefore, be cleaned out as often as practicable, taking care that the cleaning is always done in the morning before mid-day, as pigeons go to roost very early, and, if disturbed in the afternoon, they will very often take a sulky fit, and sit outside of the pigeon-house all night.
Pigeons should always be fed in the open air, with peas, small horse-beans, buck-wheat, and old tares, as new tares are said to be unwholesome. They should be supplied with abundance of water, some in a shallow vessel for them to wash in, and some in a wooden trough for them to drink; as they are very cleanly, and will not drink the same water that they have washed in, though they require more water to drink than any of the other inhabitants of the poultry-yard. They require to have access to gravel or sand, and it is customary to supply them with a heap of lime rubbish, over which salt and water has been poured; and in some cases this is put into an earthenware vessel with holes in it, called a salt cat; in other cases a little salt is thrown over a heap of sifted gravel. When pigeons are put in a new house, it is customary to give them cummin seed or asafœtida, as they are so fond of these strong-smelling substances, that they soon take a liking to any place where they are to be found.
Pigeons are very hardy, and are subject to very few diseases. The two eggs laid by the female pigeon generally produce a male and female bird; and, when this is the case, if by any chance one of them is killed, it is very difficult to provide the other with a mate. Pigeons are proverbial for their constancy, and the same pair will produce broods for several years in succession.
The diseases of poultry are very numerous and often fatal. The pip comes in the shape of a little blister on the tip of the tongue, which afterwards becomes a thickened membrane. If seen in its first state it should be pricked, and the fowl kept a day or two without food, but plenty of water should be given to it. If the membrane has formed, the fowl is thrown on its back, and, the beak being opened, the membrane is removed by passing the finger nail or a fine needle under it. The tongue is then moistened with a little oil, and the fowl for a few days is given very little to eat, but plenty of water to drink: some persons give fowls affected with this disease rue chopped fine and mixed with butter. It is a very common disease with young fowls, and generally attacks them, if the weather should be hot, in August and September. When fowls appear to suffer from immoderate thirst, it is a sign of fever, and they should be supplied with abundance of clear water, and only fed with a little soaked bread; and a similar mode of treatment is generally efficacious when the fowl appears to suffer from constipation. When a fowl is crop-sick, that is, suffers from indigestion, it is usual to put a piece of iron in some of the water given to it, but it should also have plenty of pure water. Pepper is often given, and no other food is allowed than mashed potatoes or boiled cabbage cut small, and both given warm. When fowls have a voracious appetite, and yet look out of condition, it probably arises from the fowl having too much acid on its stomach, and it should be fed with mashed potatoes mixed with chalk and given warm. In diarrhœa boiled rice is given, occasionally mixed with milk, taking care, however, that the milk is perfectly sweet; or chalk may be given, and the fowl fed on wheat, oats, or buck-wheat. The roup, or influenza, is, however, the most fatal of all the diseases which attack poultry. It begins with what is called the gapes; that is, the fowl, being unable to breathe through its nostrils, keeps its beak open, with a kind of convulsive yawn; the eyelids then become swelled and close, and there is an offensive discharge from the nostrils. As soon as any fowl is observed to be affected with this disease, it should be separated from the rest, as the disease is very infectious. The mouth and nostrils should be first washed with warm water and soap (which will make the creature sneeze and discharge a great quantity of the offensive matter), and then gently rubbed with a dry cloth. A grain of calomel made into a pill with bread may be given, and the fowl put into a rabbit-hutch near the fire, on a bed of soft warm hay. Some hours afterwards the head should be again washed in warm water and rubbed dry, and the fowl should be crammed with a few balls made of barley meal, flour, mustard, and grated ginger; and warm water with treacle in it should be given to drink. The hay should be changed twice a day, and warmed before it is given. The washing and feeding should be repeated several times a day, and in about a week a little more calomel should be given, and afterwards flowers of sulphur. This treatment will soon effect a cure.