Everyone is familiar with pigeons. It was fashionable in the Soviet Union to breed these birds. Now the goals of breeders are different, there are more opportunities. Therefore, breeding these birds often becomes a lifelong business that brings pleasure and profit.
Requirements for keeping birds
In order for the breeding of pigeons to bring pleasure and delight with the results, you should responsibly approach the organization of the whole process:
- build a pigeon house and an aviary convenient for birds;
- prepare balanced feed, mineral supplements and vitamins;
- carry out constant care and control of the condition of the birds.
These are the basic commandments for a breeder. Neglecting at least one will inevitably lead to the death of pigeons.
Preparation of the pigeon house
At the initial stage, you can do without a structure specially built for birds. Any warm room is suitable for a dovecote, in which the temperature in winter will not drop below 10 ° C. It is better to play it safe and think over a heating system. Fence the dovecote with a rigid net to prevent rodents and other animals that could harm the flock. In addition, the nets will prevent the birds from flying away.
To prevent dampness from pulling off the floor, make the flooring about 0.3 m above the ground, taking care that the birds are not disturbed by drafts. Do not make the lighting in the room bright - pigeons love twilight. Build perches and perches that you can paint in different colors.
Place boxes for each bird along the walls, and they should be fixed with the bottom to the wall. The cells should be 20 cm long and 40 cm high. Keep in mind that the aviary should be spacious.
In the dovecote, be sure to organize a quarantine section where sick birds will be. Here you will also identify new pigeons for a week, before they are assigned to the general flock.
Sanitation standards
The location of the pigeon house should be away from sewers and cesspools, sedimentation tanks and pigsties. Otherwise, the birds will often get sick. Perform regular cleaning activities and cleaning of boxes and cubicles. Treat the space with anti-parasites and antiseptics. Make sure that no rodents are in the dovecote.
How to keep pigeons in a house / apartment is described here.
Feeding
Pigeons should receive a certain amount of balanced nutrition. Do not feed the birds in excess of the ration, but do not save on it either.
There are approximate food standards for birds.
Type of food | Percentage |
Cereals | no more than 70 |
Legumes | no more than 40 |
Plant green food | no more than 25 |
Oilseeds | no more than 5 |
Mineral supplements | no more than 5 |
Vitamin complex | no more than 5 |
Vegetables and root vegetables | no more than 5 |
When drawing up a diet, the help of a veterinarian will not be superfluous. It will help to optimally determine the norms, taking into account the sex, age, breed and condition of the pigeons. It is better to use ready-made cereal mixtures and mixed feed for feeding birds, adding fruits, boiled vegetables, chopped chalk and shells to the diet.
The aviary must contain a container with clean drinking water for birds. It must be changed daily. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to use a decoction of chamomile, thyme and string for drinking.
Do not use ice and snow as a source of water for pigeons. This is fraught with hypothermia and illness for birds.
Winter maintenance
In winter, when formulating a diet for pigeons, it is important to minimize the amount of protein. This is necessary to reduce the sexual activity of birds and prevent offspring in the cold season. Chicks simply will not survive in such conditions. To do this, exclude from the diet:
- wheat;
- legumes;
- bread and bakery products;
- dairy and sour milk products, cheese;
- citrus;
- fats;
- products from meat and fish.
To compensate for the lack of grains and legumes, increase the proportion of oats and barley in the diet.
We recommend reading the article on how to keep and what to feed pigeons in the winter.
Summer content
Summer is the time for mating and breeding. The nutrition of pigeons undergoes important changes - the amount of protein and minerals is increased in order to activate sexual activity. Legumes during this period should take up to 40% of the total diet. They have the maximum protein content. Peas are especially useful.
What breed of pigeons to choose for breeding?
To choose a breed of pigeons, it is important to determine the ultimate goal of the breeding process itself.
Pigeon meat breeds
Such birds are bred for the purpose of eating their meat. It is dietary, but superior in nutritional properties to chicken meat. Pigeons of meat breeds are larger, more massive in comparison with flying and decorative individuals.
This category includes breeds:
- King;
- English modena, etc.
breed of pigeons "King"
breed of pigeons "English Modena"
Decorative breeds
Such pigeons participate in exhibitions, decorate events and make up circus acts. Birds of this breed are put up for sale, getting quite decent money. They do not require special conditions of detention.
Decorative breeds:
- Saxon Priest;
- Curly;
- Peacocks, etc.
breed "Saxon priest"
breed "Curly"
breed "Peacock"
Sport breeds
Pigeons of sports breeds are participants in sports competitions among their own kind, they are perfectly oriented in space and find their way back from different distances. Keeping such birds is possible with increased attention and responsibility to them.
This type of breed includes:
- English pigeon;
- Belgian postal;
- Russian pigeon, etc.
English pigeon
Belgian carrier pigeon
Russian pigeon
Flying breeds
They are high-flying and rotating. This emphasizes the character and style of their flights. From this breed, pigeons were chosen to send mail.
This species includes breeds:
- Berlin Short-billed Tumbler;
- German monk;
- Nikolaev pigeon, etc.
breed "Berlin short-billed turman"
breed "German monk"
breed "Nikolaev pigeon"
Arrangement of an aviary for couples
The aviary should be sufficient in area and volume so that couples do not interfere with each other and do not fight for territory. Be guided that 1 pair requires about 1 sq. m of space.
It is important to prepare nests for couples. They can be made from boxes, baskets and other suitable containers. For a perfect nest, you just need to craft blanks. To do this, assemble a square frame from wooden elements. It is advisable to make the bottom of a lattice to provide ventilation. Lay straw or hay inside so that the eggs do not break and freeze. Paint each box with a different color. This will help the birds choose a nest and remember the path to it. You also need to lay straw, hay on the floor of the dovecote, throw a few small twigs and leaves.
If there are several pairs, hang the nests at the maximum distance from each other at a height of at least 50 cm from the floor. For pigeons, intimacy and a calm atmosphere are important during this period.
There should be several more nests in a dovecote than pairs of pigeons in order to minimize bird competition.
If the pigeons have chosen a box for themselves, then it cannot be moved!
Choosing a pair for breeding
For procreation, you need to choose healthy, mature birds. They must be from different litters of the same breed. Do not take young individuals. Their reproductive system is not yet fully formed, therefore, in a pair, a large percentage of unfertilized eggs or weak, painful offspring are possible. The optimal age for birds is 3-6 years. After this age, the reproduction of pigeons decreases.
Mating types
It is important for the breeder that the mating process takes place as soon as possible. The time of appearance of pigeons depends on this. There are two types of mating:
- Forced... In this case, the process of pairing takes place under the strict control of the person. The breeder himself chooses the female and the male. Leaving them in the same cage for a day, he allows the birds to show sympathy for each other. If this happened and a pair was formed, then the pigeons in the flock behave differently. When they are released to the rest of the birds, they will spend most of their time together, showing attention to their partner.
- Natural... This type of pigeon pair formation has a better chance of quick emergence of chicks. Mating often happens the first time. As in a free life in nature, the male chooses an object for himself to express sympathy, and begins active courtship. Inflating feathers and puffing up the goiter to appear larger, he makes circles around the dove, making characteristic sounds. If the female accepts courtship, she falls to the ground and bows to the pigeon. The couple starts to coo, treats each other with tenderness.
Nesting
After mating, the nesting period begins. In prepared boxes, the couple builds a nest using straw and litter branches on the floor of the dovecote. The dove is engaged in direct construction, and the male only brings her building material. After formation, the female insulates the nest with her fluff. The period for preparing and arranging the box can be from 7 to 14 days.
Incubation period
When the nest is finished, the female lays eggs. This can take up to 3 days. At this time, the female becomes quiet, does not leave the nest. It happens that after laying the first egg, the dove leaves the house, and returns only when the second egg is released. The difference between the appearance of chicks will be a couple of days.
Incubation of the offspring takes 20 days. So that everything goes well, optimize the conditions of detention by adjusting the temperature and lighting in the dovecote.
During this crucial period for the couple, the male helps the dove. Twice a day, he replaces her in the clutch so that the female can go out to eat. The bluefish tirelessly monitors the state of the eggs, periodically turning them over. This is necessary so that they warm up evenly.
Spray the bottom of the nest with warm water 2-3 days before the date of expected hatching. Moisture will make the shell less dry, which will help the chicks break the shell during hatching. Discard trash and accumulated droppings from the bin.
Checking eggs and hatched chicks
The first 5-7 days after planting the dove on the clutch, it is better not to disturb it.
For about 8-10 days, slowly, so as not to disturb the pigeons, check the eggs for the presence of an embryo in them. This can be done with an ovoscope, or simply hold the egg under very bright light. When the egg is fertilized, you will see a dark spot with a network of diverging blood vessels. This is the embryo. If the egg is transparent without spots inside, it is removed, replaced with a dummy.
Chicks are born weak, without feathers and blind. The couple warms them up and feeds them for the first time in a couple of hours. If the first feeding is delayed for more than a day, the pigeons will die.
The breeder should check whether the offspring are healthy. This is determined by the condition of the yolk sac. If it is not fully retracted, the chick dies.
Examination of chicks for defects
When the offspring are born, it is advisable to check them for defects. These can be both visible physical deformities and disturbances in the work of internal organs, manifested in cyanosis of the skin, irregular heart rhythm, etc. If there are obvious deviations in development, remove the chick from the nest. The second piglet will receive more nutrition and a chance to mature. Such measures are necessary to maintain the health of the pack in the future, to preserve the "purity" of the breed.
If a pair of pigeons has not the first litter of chicks with defects, then do not allow them to nest anymore.
Feeding hatched pigeons
The first 10-12 days from birth, the female feeds pigeons with milk secreted by special glands in the mother's goiter. By the second week, the dove leaves several grains in such milk to soak and become soft. So she gradually accustom the chicks to solid food. The duration of feeding with goitre milk has a positive effect on the health of the offspring.
If the parents die or abandon the pigeons, try putting them on another pair or rearing the chicks yourself. Instead of goitre milk, a warmed egg yolk is suitable. You will have to feed the babies 6 times a day. It is convenient to do this with a syringe and pipette. When the chick is full, its goiter will be puffy and hard.
From the age of 14 days, add chopped grains and vegetables to the diet. By the age of three months, young animals switch to the usual diet of the entire flock.
Breeding pigeons is quite difficult, but interesting and profitable. In order to achieve its goals, a bird breeder needs to organize and implement a number of care and breeding measures. And knowledge and experience will help you in this.