Techniques for Improving the Efficiency of Meat Pigeon Breeding, Scientific Feeding Is the Key

1. Bathing. Give meat pigeons a water bath 2 to 3 times a month, choosing a warm sunny midday. Adding a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution to the bath water keeps the flock both clean and hygienic and full of vitality.

2. Wing clipping. 4 to 5 hours after hatching, use sharp scissors to cut the wings 0.5 cm from the base, and quickly use a red-hot branding iron to cauterize the wound to stop the bleeding, then put them back in the cage to raise (keep quiet to avoid frightening them), which can speed up weight gain. According to experiments, under the same feeding and management conditions, young pigeons that had their wings clipped right after hatching averaged 750 grams each after 28 days, with the heaviest reaching 940 grams, already reaching the maximum weight of an adult meat pigeon; while meat pigeons raised without wing clipping after hatching averaged around 600 grams after 28 days, with the heaviest at 720 grams, which is 150 grams and 220 grams less respectively than the wing-clipped meat pigeons.

3. Pine needle bedding. Using fresh pine needles as pigeon house bedding and replacing them frequently can serve a hygienic and health-care function and effectively prevent the occurrence of pigeon pox and pigeon feather lice.

4. Feed less, more often. Pigeons have an obvious characteristic when eating: the more feed is given, the more serious the waste. The traditional practice of feeding twice a day precisely causes this waste. In response to this phenomenon, the method of "feeding less, more often" can be adopted, feeding the pigeons 3 to 4 times a day, with less feed each time than before, which can effectively prevent feed waste and thereby reduce costs.

5. Feeding rhubarb sodium bicarbonate tablets. Mixing an appropriate amount of mung beans into the feed and regularly administering heat-clearing and heat-relieving Chinese herbal medicines such as rhubarb sodium bicarbonate tablets (1 tablet each time) can effectively prevent heatstroke.