What exactly is the breeding prospect for fancy pigeons?

Fancy pigeons are pigeons kept specifically for people to admire. Their history is very long, and after thousands of years of variation and selection, there are now as many as more than 600 breeds worldwide. In recent years, fancy pigeon breeding has begun to flourish. Judging from the market, more and more people are keeping fancy pigeons, breeds are constantly increasing, and prices have begun to rise, but the number of buyers has also increased quite a bit. Among these pigeons, some are racing pigeons that are also fancy pigeons, and some are meat pigeons that are also fancy pigeons. In short, these fancy pigeons all have something likable about them, and some have been preserved as ancient pigeon breeds, while others have become extinct.

Among fancy pigeons, some are admired for their feather color, some for their body posture, and some for both feather color and body posture. The main breeds are as follows: blue-bar pigeons, red pigeons, checker pigeons, black pigeons, white pigeons, tiger pigeons (mottled), frill pigeons, butterfly pigeons, white-flight pigeons, magpie pigeons, four-sided white pigeons, black-capped pigeons, two-headed black pigeons, Jacobin pigeons, fantail pigeons, lady pigeons, hibiscus pigeons, and black-ringed pigeons, among others. Some of these pigeons have both the function of racing pigeons and ornamental value.

Pigeons reproduce and are raised on their own. Usually, a pair of pigeons can breed 8 to 10 pairs of squabs in a year, and they can lay eggs and raise young throughout all four seasons. One reproductive cycle runs from one mating and egg laying through hatching and the end of brooding, about 50 days. Fancy pigeons, however, can generally lay eggs again on the 15th to 20th day of brooding, so the two successive reproductive cycles overlap, and the reproductive cycle is shortened to about 40 days.

At present, because the number of fancy pigeons in China is scarce while market demand has greatly increased, breeding fancy pigeons offers extremely high market returns. Raising three pairs of high-quality fancy pigeons is equivalent to the returns from raising one dairy cow or two pigs, yet raising pigeons is far less complicated than raising dairy cows and pigs. A pair of fancy pigeons hatches 8 to 10 pairs per year. Pigeons of fine breeds currently sell for about 1000 yuan per pair in markets and pet shops, so 8 pairs of pigeons would be 8000 yuan. A pair of fancy pigeons consumes 36 jin of feed per year, costing 40 yuan, and 8 pairs of young pigeons together need 30 jin of feed (if sold at two months), costing 33 yuan. Actual breeding costs will not exceed 100 yuan, so raising one pair of high-quality fancy pigeons actually creates more than 7000 yuan in benefits per year. Even raising twenty pairs of ordinary fancy pigeons will earn at least around 8000 yuan a year.