Methods for Selecting Breeding Pigeons and Analysis of the Causes of the Broken-Egg Phenomenon

In recent years, meat pigeon farming in China has developed rapidly and has gradually become a major project in the rare-bird farming industry, bringing considerable benefits to farmers. The selection of breeding pigeons is very critical and affects the development of all subsequent management work. In addition, breeding pigeons often show the broken-egg phenomenon. What is the cause?

1. How are breeding pigeons selected?

1. When selecting excellent breeding pigeons, you should look at the bloodline. In fact, for a line of pigeons from one family, if there are certain characteristics, they will not change much. So if a pigeon with a relatively good bloodline has achieved very good results in competition, then such a breeding pigeon is generally more suitable to be kept. The importance of bloodline is self-evident. Although many pigeon fanciers say that a pigeon flying well is the real test, do not deny that bloodline pigeons bred by many fanciers have a higher chance of flying well. This is true whether the pigeons are bred by domestic or foreign fanciers.

2. When selecting excellent breeding pigeons, look at the competition situation. Many pigeon fanciers are very simple and direct when choosing pigeons: if a pigeon looks good, they want to keep it; if a pigeon flies very well, they want to keep it. If it were that simple and direct, then the selection of breeding pigeons would be very easy. In fact, when a pigeon achieves an excellent result, besides the result itself, there is also the influence of luck. Of course, more importantly, flying well does not necessarily mean it is suitable for breeding. Therefore, we prefer those pigeons that perform steadily in every stage and also fly very well.

3. When selecting breeding pigeons, you will certainly encounter some that the fancier himself is relatively uncertain about, and these may very likely be kept for breeding. Then just keep them and give them a try. After trying, as long as they are not suitable for breeding, then no matter how good the pigeon's results are, do not waste any more time on them.

2. What are the causes of broken eggs in breeding pigeons?

1. Feed stress

Poor feed quality can easily cause laying pigeons to become ill, resulting in the breeding eggs they lay being easily broken; an insufficient feeding amount can easily cause laying pigeons to peck eggs because of hunger; feeding laying pigeons too much can easily cause the pigeons' physique to become too fat, making it easy for them to crush the breeding eggs. In addition, uneven mixing of feed ingredients can also easily cause laying pigeons to suffer poisoning due to eating too much of a certain ingredient.

2. Environmental stress

If the temperature, humidity, ventilation and other conditions of the pigeon house are unsuitable, the health status of laying pigeons will decline, causing an increase in broken breeding eggs among those laid. Therefore, attention should usually be paid to cooling, preventing drafts and preventing dust. In addition, loud noise around the pigeon house, pests, rodents and disturbances from other animals can also cause an increase in broken breeding eggs. Furthermore, turning on lights at night or too strong light can also cause laying pigeons to be unaccustomed or unable to rest well, thereby lowering the quality of the breeding eggs.

3. Improper pairing of male and female breeding pigeons

This situation often causes breeding pigeons to fight each other, resulting in broken eggs. It is worth mentioning that some laying pigeons have the habit of breaking eggs or pecking at eggs, so adjustments should be made according to the situation or they should be culled.