Bava Basra Chapter 2, Mishnah 6. In the previous Mishnah we dealt with dovecotes and the raising of doves and pigeons, whereas our Mishnah digresses for a moment from the topic and returns to a matter learned in Tractate Bava Metzia - the laws of lost objects. The question under discussion: If someone finds a dove or pigeon chick that is not yet able to fly but just hops along the ground, is he permitted to take it for himself?
The rule explained in Tractate Bava Metzia is simple: If there is no way to identify who the object belongs to, the finder may keep it for himself; but if it is possible to identify where it came from or who it belongs to, the mitzvah of returning a lost object applies.
The Rule of Fifty Amos:
Our Mishnah establishes that small chicks only hop in the immediate vicinity, and they do not stray further than fifty amos from the dovecote from which they emerged. Therefore, a chick found within fifty amos of a dovecote - we assume it came from there and return it to its owner. If it is found at a distance greater than this - we assume that someone dropped it there or the like, and the finder may keep it for himself.
Two Dovecotes Within Fifty Amos:
What is the law when two dovecotes stand within fifty amos of the place where the hopping chick is found? Here the halachah adopts a specific order for deciding the matter:
Rov (Majority): The first guiding principle. The Mishnah does not mention this explicitly, but such is the halachah - "kol d'parish meruba parish", meaning anything that separated from its place, we assume it separated from the majority group. Therefore, if one is a large dovecote, containing many doves, and the second is small, containing few, we assume that the chick found on the ground belongs to the larger group, and we return it to the owner of the large dovecote.
Karov (Proximity): If the two dovecotes are equal in size, and each has a hundred birds for example, the majority principle no longer helps us, and we move on to the secondary criterion - proximity. The two words sound similar, rov and karov, but there is no etymological connection between them: rov means majority, and karov means closeness. Therefore, if the chick is found closer to one dovecote, and the dovecotes are equal in the number of birds they contain, we give it to the owner of the closer dovecote.
Machtzah Al Machtzah (Half and Half): If the situation is completely balanced - the dovecotes are equal in the number of doves, which is the primary factor, and the chick is found at an equal distance from both of them, which is the secondary factor - they divide its value between the two owners, as we have no way to determine where this dove came from.
The Text of the Mishnah:
"Nipol hanimtza besoch chamishim amah - harei hu shel ba'al hashovach" - A chick that cannot fly and is hopping on the ground near the dovecotes, and is found within fifty amos of the dovecote, we assume that it belongs to the owner of the dovecote, since where else could it have come from? Therefore, we return it to him.
"Chutz michamishim amah - harei hu shel motzo" - If it is found at a distance exceeding fifty amos from any dovecote, the finder acquires it for himself, since the one who lost it has no hope of getting it back. There is yei'ush be'alim (owner's despair) here, and there is no obligation to return the lost object.
"Nimtza bein shenei shovachos - karov l'zeh shelo, karov l'zeh shelo" - When the two dovecotes stand within fifty amos from the place of finding and they are equal in size in the number of birds, the owner of the closer dovecote is the one who acquires the found chick.
"Machtzah al machtzah - sheneihem yachaloku" - If it is found exactly in the middle between the two dovecotes, and both have an equal number of doves, the two owners divide its value equally between them.
In summary: In this Mishnah we return to the laws of lost objects. A chick that cannot fly and is found within fifty amos of a dovecote - belongs to the owner of the dovecote; further than fifty amos - belongs to its finder due to the owner's despair. If it was found between two dovecotes, we decide first according to majority ("kol d'parish meruba parish"), and then according to proximity, and in a case of complete balance - the two of them divide it.