Detailed Explanation of Artificial Incubation and Brooding Techniques in Meat Pigeon Farming

For raising meat pigeons, purebred King Pigeons and Silver King Pigeons, two kinds of meat-type King Pigeons, are generally selected. The rearing method can adopt indoor three-tier single-cage paired production. The eggs laid by breeding pigeons are placed in batches into a small incubator for hatching. Because pigeon eggs are small, the egg rack for chicken eggs should be modified into an egg rack suitable for holding pigeon eggs.

Temperature application and humidity control

Pigeon eggs are small with thin shells, sensitive to temperature, smooth in shell surface, with a tough and fine shell structure, poor air permeability, slow water evaporation, and closely resemble Muscovy duck eggs. However, internally, pigeon egg albumen accounts for as much as 74%, and it is gelatinous and transparent, which determines that the early-stage thermal conductivity of pigeon eggs is relatively poor. The incubation temperature is controlled at 37.8-38.3 degrees C. The suitable humidity for artificial pigeon incubation is about 10% lower than that for chicken incubation, with a relative humidity of 55%-65%, and attention should be paid to ensuring humidity is not too high. However, it should also avoid affecting hatching due to the incubator being too empty, the fan being too large, and the humidity being too dry. Candling is carried out three times: the 1st time on the 5th day after setting, to remove infertile eggs and dead germ eggs; the 2nd time on the 10th day, and the 3rd time on the 16th day, after which dead embryo eggs are removed and the eggs are transferred to the hatcher, and on the 17th and 18th days the squabs begin to break out of the shell.

Improvement measures

1. Cracked egg repair: use latex, egg white, or adhesive tape (medical roll type) on cracked pigeon eggs whose contents have not leaked out, and set them for incubation after coating and sealing or patching. This single measure alone can increase the output of squabs by about 3%.

2. Statistics on infertile and dead embryo eggs: keep detailed records and files of the infertile and dead embryo eggs identified by candling, and promptly handle and adjust the pigeon flock. This plays a very important role in increasing the fertilization and hatching rate.

3. Cooling eggs outside the incubator: for pigeon eggs with old embryos that have been incubated for more than 12 days, pull out the egg trays and cool the eggs outside the incubator, while the newly set eggs in the original incubator continue to be incubated as usual. This method can solve the difficulties in constant-temperature incubation and can greatly increase the hatching rate and the rate of healthy squabs.

Artificial brooding

After the squabs hatch, a better method is to use foster pigeons to feed them on their behalf, that is, as soon as the squabs hatch, they are brooded by foster pigeons. Generally, foster pigeons selected are medium-sized, free of disease, in good mental condition, and are either currently brooding 1-2-day-old squabs or parent pigeons that have already incubated eggs for 17-18 days. One pair of parent pigeons can feed 2-3 squabs, and at the same time, artificially synthesized pigeon milk is added once a day.

Artificial brooding methods: within 3 days of age, use a 20 ml syringe with the needle removed and a small-hole soft rubber tube fitted on. The amount fed each time must not be too much, fed 4 times a day; at 4-6 days of age, use a small hanging-bucket type feeder for feeding, 4 times a day; squabs after 7 days of age are separated from the parent pigeons and completely fed artificially, with the squabs placed in brooding cages.