There are a number of benefits of why you too should raise pigeons.
- They can be domesticated very easily.
- You can raise pigeons in your small yard of even on the roof top.
- When they are six months they will start producing an average of 2 baby pigeons each month.
- It takes about 18 days for a baby pigeon to hatch out from the egg.
- They start laying eggs at the early age of 5 to 6 months.
- A baby pigeon is suitable for consumption only after 3 to 4 weeks.
- Pigeon meat is high in demand because it is very tasty and has a lot of nutrients.
- By just investing a little capital and just a little of your time you can profit from them.
- You don’t need a lot of investment to build a pigeon house.
- The food doesn’t cost much as well and they can find food on their own.
- These type of birds are very immune to diseases.
- Their closet is very good to be used as manure.
- The feathers of the pigeon can be used to making different kinds of toys.
- Since pigeons enjoy eating different kinds of insects they are helping the environment.
The life cycle of the pigeon:
In general pigeons should be raised in pairs of two. Each pair consists of one male one female and live together for the rest of their life’s. They can live for about 12 to 15 years. When living out in the wild in order to build a house for themselves they both go around collecting straw.
The female pigeon can start laying some eggs at the age of five to six months, can lay about 2 eggs on each occasion and have a breeding power for about five years. The eggs are incubated by both the male and female.
The baby pigeons hatch out of the egg around 17 to 28 days of them being layed. For the first 4 days they eat crop milk which is in the parent’s stomachs, then after that the female pigeons feeds them for ten days through the lip. After that they start eating supplementary food on their own. When they are about 26 days old they can be suitable for consumption.
The different types of breeds:
You can find around three hundred kinds of pigeon breeds which fall between two kinds.
- Entertaining: shirazi, fantail, moyurponkhi, lohore, modena, frillback, jacobin, trumpeter, mukhi, trubit, templar, lotal, giribaz.
- Meat production: texona, gola, white king, silver king, lokha.
In general, the main reason why a lot of folks raise pigeons is for meat production. The younger the pigeon is the more soft and juicy the meat is.
The housing of the pigeon:
When raising pigeons proper housing is very important. Below are some factors to consider when it comes to housing.
- To protect the birds from predators such as dogs, mice and cats you must build the houses in a high location.
- The shelter must be designed to allow huge air flow and light.
- It should be kept dry and prevent any rain water entering.
- You can build the house using thin tin or wood, some packing boxes or bamboo.
- The shelter should be large enough to accommodate both birds which means about 60 cm long, 60 cm height and 60 cm wide space.
- The door to the house should be about 10×10 cm.
- The house should be cleaned once or twice a month and should be kept dry.
- Food and water have to be kept next to the house.
- Pigeons like cleaning themselves so keep some water nearby so they can bath.
The right pigeon feed:
In general pigeons eat rice, wheat, paddy, enamel, maize, legume, aestivus mustard, triticum, gram etc. To give them some feed you can just put the feed in front of the house and they will consume it on their own.
For them to grow healthy you have to give them the right balanced diet. The balanced feed you can provide for them is similar to the chicken diet. Each bird can consume about 35 to 50 grams of grainy feed each day and the feed should at least contain 15 to 16% protein.
To assist in baby pigeons growing faster you can feed them lime stone, oyster dust, bone dust, greet mixture, salt and mineral mixture. This will also add some nutrients in their regular feed. Some green vegetables can be fed to them as well.
Baby pigeon feed:
The baby pigeon which is also known as a SQUAB does not require extra feed for about five to seven days. They take crop milk from their parent’s stomach. Some people consume this ‘pigeon milk’. Both parents feed the baby pigeons this way for about 10 days. After 10 days they are then able to fly and search for their own food. To make it easily for them you should keep fresh feed plus water near to their house.
Water supply:
Pigeons will need some clean water to drink and clean themselves. So you must put a water pot near the house, the water pot should have clean water daily to serve the birds clean water always.
Egg production:
In general, male and female pigeons stay together as a family. When it’s the egg laying period they both go out to find some straw to make a small nest. If you have to supply an artificial nest then go ahead and do so. A female pigeon can begin laying eggs at the age of five to six months, they lay 2 eggs per month. The eggs are incubated by both parents. Since the eggs are small it is wise to sell them for profits than eat them.
Pigeon diseases:
Pigeons are very resistant to lots of diseases compared to other domestic birds. They usually suffer from paratyphoid, pox, TB, influenza, cholera, newcastle etc. Below are some remedy methods to deal with these diseases.
- When your birds are not well get advice from a veterinarian.
- Do what the veterinarian tells you to do.
- Make it a point that the pigeon house is kept clean at all times.
- When some birds are sick separate them from the healthy birds.
- Always vaccinate them on time.
- Make sure they are free from worms.
- In order to prevent malnutritious diseases feed them well balanced food.
