Beeton's book of poultry and domestic animals - Thurman Lodge ...

THU POUTEK PIGEOS.
the side of the neck of the same colour with which he is pied
when this is wanting, he is called swallow-throated. The head,
neck, back, and" tail, should be uniform. A. blue-pied pigeon
should have two black streaks or bars, ncilr the end of both
wings ; if these be of a brown colour, the bird is not worth
nearly as much, and he is termed kite-barred. When the
pinion of the wing is speckled with wMte, in the form of a
rose, it is called a rose-pinion, and is highly esteemed; when
the pinion has a large dash of white on the outer edge of the
wing, he is said to be bishoped, or lawn-sleeved. They shovild
not be naked about the thighs nor spindle-shanked, but the
legs and thighs ought to be stout, straight, and well covered
with white, soft, downy feathers ; if the feathers of these parts
be of any other colour, the bird is much
less valuable. The nine larger wing-
feathers ought also to be white ;
if not, he
is called foul-flighted ; and if only some of
them are white, he is called sword-flighted."
The pouter is not a prolific bi'eeder, is
a bad nurse, and more likely to degenerate,
if not repeatedly crossed and recrossed with
fresh stock, than any other pigeon ; never-
theless, it is a useful bird to keep, especially
if yon are founding a new colony, as it is
much attached to its home, and little apt
to stray; consequently, it is calculated to
induce more, restless birds to settle down,
pouter pigeon.
and make themselves comfortable. If you wish to breed
pouters, you cannot do worse than entrust them with their
own eggs. They should be set under a dragon; but you
must be sure to supply the hen-pouter with other eggs, or
she wiU go on repeatedly laying, and so weaken her constitu-
tion as to kiU herself in a very short time.
The most common pouters are the blues, buflfs, and whites,
or an intermixture of all these various colours. I never saw
the experiment tried, but it is asserted, on good 3,uthority, that
if you pair a chestnut-coloured cock with a bh e hen, the result
wiU be a chestnut hen and a blue cock ; and vf this coupie are
again paired, the progeny will each take the colour of their
respective grand-parents.
If the pouter is kept too long from grain, the chances are
that, the first tiiae he has the opportunity, he will so gorge his
crop with it that some will mildew and decay before he has
;