Microlivestock Little-Known Small Animals with a Promising Economic Future (1991) / Chapter Skim
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10 Pigeon
10 Pigeon
Pages 137-146
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From page 137... ...
There are, for example, pigeon farms in the United States with up to 35,000 pairs of breeding birds. Pigeon production may never rise enough to compete with commercial poultry as a major source of food, but for Third World villages these birds could become a significant addition to the diet as well as a source for substantial supplemental income.
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From page 138... ...
They produce squab that grow quicker and have larger breasts than unselected birds. DISTRIBUTION The wild ancestor of the common pigeon-domestic, wild, or feralis thought to be the rock pigeon or rock dove of Europe and Asia.
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From page 139... ...
Feral pigeons consume a wide array of materials, including insects, bread, meat scraps, weed seeds, and many kinds of spilled grains at mills, wharves, railway yards, grain elevators, and farm fields. For the first four or five days of life, the young are fed "crop milk." This substance, common to pigeons and doves,2 is composed of cells from the lining of the crop and is very high in fats and nutritional energy.
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From page 140... ...
Instead, they prefer nesting shelves, of which there should be two for each breeding pair. The shelves are usually placed in dark corners and are fitted with low walls to keep eggs from rolling out.
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From page 142... ...
In many parts of the Third World, in particular, there are remote areas with no phones and with hilly, rough terrain where delivering messages can take hours of strenuous travel. Some locations are subject to unexpected isolation by natural calamities or military or terrorist actions.
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From page 143... ...
The service becomes particularly valuable during the summer tourist rush, when travelers flock to the seashore to visit nearby Mont Saint Michel, crowding the small country roads and increasing the risk of traffic accidents. The birds' average flight time between the hospitals of Avranches and Granville, for example, a distance of about 27 krn, is 20 minutes, including the time for harnessing up.
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From page 144... ...
Orphan squab can be fed egg yolk until old enough to consume adult feeds. Like all poultry, confined pigeons must be provided enough supplemental feed to ensure a balanced diet.
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From page 145... ...
They are already an important food source for many subsistence farmed s arid shifting cultivators, and with solve dovecote management could provide a greater, more dependable source of food and ~rcorne. The potential for domesticating local pigeon species, especially those suited to the tropics, deserves exploration.
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