How to breed and keep pigeons at home

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It's no secret that pigeons are one of the most beautiful and graceful birds. The birds of the world, as they are also called, are not hostile, and the snow-white plumage of some fascinates with incredible beauty. The winged ones evoke admiration and surprise. That is why, for many poultry farmers, breeding pigeons is not just a hobby, but a matter of life, despite the fact that it is quite painstaking and demanding work.

Breeding and keeping pigeons at home

If you decide that such a business suits you and you are ready to provide the birds with full-fledged content, remove pigeon droppings and find understanding with such individuals as pigeons, then keeping and breeding pigeons at home will bear fruit. Keeping pigeons at home is within the power of even a novice poultry farmer, but you need to have resources, know where to keep birds, what breed to choose, what and how to feed.

Legislation and first costs

The bird house is called a dovecote. In the apartment, maintenance is impossible, since the birds will be cramped there, as a result, conflicts and fights will occur between them. Even decorative individuals need a full-fledged room for growing and breeding. In order not to have problems with the law, you need permission from the state to breed pigeons at home at a cost of about 20 thousand rubles. The conclusion from the veterinarian will cost 200 rubles per individual. After the novice pigeon breeder cope with the documents, his next task will be the construction and equipment of a dwelling for birds.

Breeding pigeons involves a quality room that meets all standards. It is not possible to keep a pigeon on the balcony in winter or summer. You need to think carefully about this, and then make every effort to create a comfortable and convenient room for the life of pets, because in bad conditions no birds will breed.

It is especially worth considering the dwelling of pigeons in the winter. Although these birds are not migratory, winter can have a rather bad effect on their health. In winter, all processes in the body slow down significantly. The keeping of all pigeons in the cold season should be carried out strictly in a special room, where it is warm and dry. A person must comply with all sanitary standards, rules and features of care if he wants to properly breed pigeons.

Basic rules for the construction of a dovecote

• The dovecote should stand in a calm, quiet place at a great distance from roads, high fences, trees, houses (pigeons are very shy creatures, and tall buildings prevent them from flying).It is also worth protecting birds from radiation from power lines and communication towers, as well as chemical fumes from various enterprises.
• The minimum building height is 2 meters.
• A dovecote should contain not only nests, but also feeders and drinkers. The nests should be spaced apart to keep the couples at ease.
• The room should be well lit. Light must come from the east and south for growth and immunity.
• The dovecote should be protected from unwanted drafts from the north and east, frost and dampness, but well ventilated. During cold weather, the concrete floor must be insulated with a bed of hay or straw, which is changed several times a quarter.
• The walls are built of wood or brick, and then plastered or whitewashed.
• The temperature in winter should be 10 ° C. Additional insulation can be plywood, polyethylene, warm bedspreads, polystyrene or drywall.
• Optionally, you can make 2 entrances: one with a restrictive fence, the second for departure.

There are many variations in the design of pigeon houses.

• Suspension. The simplest solution for a small number of pairs of outbred species, such a dwelling, unfortunately, will not be able to protect its inhabitants from weather and other animals.
• Tower. A round tower with several floors starting at 4 m high, expensive to build, but providing comfort and excellent protection.
• Attic. The dovecote is located in the attic, where a section for walking is attached.
• Aviary. It is a metal wire enclosure.

After the construction of the dovecote, it will need to be cleaned, disinfected with dissolved potassium permanganate, special preparations or other means every 6 months, and protected from rodents carrying the danger of disease. Wash out the food and water containers at least once a week. All these preventive methods will help keep pigeons healthy and save yours from coccidiosis, swirling, pseudo-plague, trichomoniasis and other dangerous ailments.

Choosing the right breed of pigeons for breeding

The choice of the breed of pigeons must be approached with special care, since the amount of time and labor spent on care depends on it. If you choose the right breed of birds, it will be easy to keep pigeons. First you need to decide which pigeons to breed: domestic or wild. Mainly in demand is the breeding of decorative pigeons at home. Poultry for that and domestic, which does not require much effort and expense.

Any person, before starting such a business, must decide for himself what goal he wants to achieve and what are these birds for? Staying in a cage (albeit the most comfortable one) for birds will not be such a heavy blow as for wild brethren, so it is better for novice poultry breeders to try their hand at first and get the first experience with them. But which breed to choose? After all, there are so many of them, and they are all different in size, characteristics of feathers, tasks and other qualities.

Several breeds, whose ancestor is a rock dove

• Meat. The earliest breeds in history were of this type. Now meat breeds are becoming less popular, but in most European and American countries, pigeon meat is considered a valuable delicacy. They can surprise you with their huge size compared to other breeds, as they have a stronger and more fleshy body structure and quickly gain weight. To breed them, you need a special quality certificate.
• Sports (former postal). Today they are bred specifically for pigeon competitions, where the fastest and most enduring win.
• Flight (racing). They are distinguished by a particularly beautiful flight pattern.
• Decorative. They are quite picky about the conditions of detention, since they have a poorly developed food system, but very beautiful and magnificent plumage, which causes delight. It is the pigeons of decorative breeds that are valued at exhibitions.To surprise people with the beauty of your pets, you need to be guided by the world standards of their appearance.

Before choosing a breed for breeding, it is worth studying all the details and rules of bird care, because each breed has its own requirements. When buying, you should pay attention to the condition of the birds: if the eyes are clouded, breathing jumps, plumage is sloppy, injuries or bruises are visible, and the bird itself is inactive and sluggish, it should not be taken in any case. Don't be afraid to inspect animals. It is advisable to buy the same number of males and females so that no one is alone.

Proper nutrition and treatment of pigeon diseases

Many diseases in birds arise precisely because of improper or poor care, where sanitary standards are not observed and even the elementary droppings are not removed. Such individuals more often than others are exposed to various diseases. Most pigeon breeds are not very picky about what they eat, but they still need a balanced and wholesome diet for good growth and normal health. High-quality nutrition is the key to health for pigeons of any breed. The main amount of organic nutrients needed by birds is found in cereals. You can enrich the diet with pumpkin, rapeseed or sunflower seeds, which have a lot of vegetable fats - good helpers in the fight against diseases.

You can feed with different products, but a kind of salad, which includes cabbage and grated carrots, would be an excellent solution. The necessary minerals are obtained from different feedings: eggshell, limestone, chalk, bone meal, or specially created combined feedings (they even come in the form of drops or small pebbles, and pigeons love them). You can also buy some kind of compound feed, already balanced and full of nutrients. It is also necessary to change the water in the drinkers.

Breeding any pigeons must necessarily include a specially formulated diet, regardless of the purpose for which the birds are raised. If at least one manifestation of the disease has become noticeable, an urgent need to consult a veterinarian. If you do not have time, then a small sore can turn into a real pandemic that can kill all birds. It is advisable to do seasonal medical examinations, carry out prophylaxis, poison parasites and block all possible routes of infection.

Selection of pairs for breeding

How to breed pigeons correctly? The time for reproduction in pigeons, like in other animals or birds, begins with the arrival of spring (March-April). Experienced pigeon breeders prepare for this in advance. Breeding a domestic pigeon is impossible without a suitable partner. Of course, the birds should choose a partner themselves, but if you need to get the desired color of feathers for the exhibition or specifically group stronger individuals to get an even better livestock, then you should intervene and create pairs with your own hands.

The manual pairing method will also provide an opportunity to experiment, creating new and unique breeds for example. A pair should be made up of 2 individuals similar in behavior and strength. Slow - with slow, energetic - with energetic.

How to find a pigeon in a flock

Males from females can be distinguished by the following features:

• they are more massive than females (the head is larger, the neck and beak are wider);
• when stroking down the sternum, they pull the legs closer to the body, if held by the wings;
• they are the first to start courting, trying to hug the dove, catch up with her, clean the beak and feathers, attract attention with an inflated goiter, tail with loose feathers and mating dance.

You should not look for a female that is too fat or thin: the first will be inconvenient to hatch eggs due to its weight, while most of the eggs will be unfertilized, while the second will not be able to hatch at all due to its small body size. The middle ground rule works best in this case.After the selection of a male and a female, they must be placed for some time in the "steam box", where they will get to know each other better and understand whether they fit together or not. Usually one night is enough. The "steam box" can be either one structure, divided into sectors, or a separate cell. If successful, the new couple will always be together.

Caring for pigeons during nesting

Caring for pigeons during nesting is very important, the main task is to make living conditions as natural as possible. Domestic birds love to weave their nests in tree hollows, not on branches or under rooftops. To replace the hollows, baskets or boxes made of natural and environmentally friendly materials are suitable. The larger the size of the individuals, the larger the size of their nest, because the approach to each bird is specific.

Boxes and boxes must be placed at some distance so that solitary couples feel calm, and foreign odors do not interfere. Further, it is worth making sure that the birds do not have to search for material for a long time. For this, small sticks and branches, dry grass, leaves scattered around the pigeon house will do. It remains only not to interfere with the couple to work on the creation of a dwelling and carefully look from afar at how the pigeon brings twigs, and the dove gradually folds a nest out of them.

Incubation period

One week after mating, you can judge the effectiveness of the process. The hatching time is different for each breed, it is important to keep an eye on how many eggs the female is hatching at the same time. The best option for the health of future chicks is to incubate 2 eggs at the same time. If the dove has laid one egg, you need to carefully pick it up without damaging it and transfer it to a warm place without light, while replacing it with a fake one or received from another pair. Immediately after the appearance of the second egg, the first must be returned to the dove with the same care.

On day 3-4, a small dark dot with red veins will appear, which can be seen by enlightening the egg. To do this, you do not need to take it away from your parents. If it is too hot, then for 15-20 days you should moisten the nest from below with water so that the shell becomes less hard and it is easier to break it. If a heap of shells is lying near the nest, it's time to rejoice for the couple and its offspring, for which they have so made room.

Proper bird care

Newborn pigeons are completely helpless. Without plumage and the ability to see, the chances of survival are very small. But now you can be calm, because parents will take care of their children. They will feed already suitable food, and will look after. After 7-8 days, it is worth teaching the kids to use the feeder by bringing them to it. It is extremely important from the very beginning of a full life of pigeons to give them a full set of vitamins and microelements, supplied with a varied and healthy food 2 times a day.

In no case should the feeders be left without feed, and the drinkers should not be left without clean and fresh water. Little creatures eat more than their parents, this helps them grow. Here is such a long way to the birth of pigeons. It remains only to repeat it cyclically: take care of the birds and their homes, take care of safety and health.