What are the prospects for meat pigeon farming in 2017?
The meat pigeon industry is an emerging special poultry industry, included by the state in the Spark Program, and ranks first among the 35 projects that the Ministry of Agriculture of China focuses on promoting. Among poultry, it was the first to be certified as "green food" by the China Green Food Development Center. It has the characteristics of low cost, quick results, easy rearing, and stable returns, with one-time investment and six years of income. Market research and surveys show that domestic sales of meat pigeons have been in short supply for 10 consecutive years. The prospects for developing the pigeon industry are broad and the potential is unlimited, making it a good path to wealth through labor.
According to modern scientific research, pigeons, especially squabs, not only have delicate and delicious meat, but also have very high nutritional value. Their protein and energy rank first among meat foods. They are a natural high-grade nutritional product and tonic. Squabs have long been known as a delicacy among poultry. Pigeon eggs are a traditional precious tonic and the main raw material for artificial bird's nest. Modern medicine has proven that pigeon eggs have the functions of beautifying the skin, nourishing yin and strengthening yang, and anti-aging. Therefore, meat pigeon products are quite favored by people, and sales are increasing day by day.
In recent years, with the improvement of people's material living standards and the growing development of foreign trade and tourism, the consumption of squabs and pigeon eggs has increased year by year. According to relevant data, the annual demand for squabs in major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Guangzhou had already reached more than 1 to 3 million birds around 1996. In recent years, the demand for squabs has grown rapidly, with annual demand increasing from the original 3 million birds to more than 100 million birds last year. It is predicted that in the future, the southeast coastal areas will purchase as many as several hundred million pairs of squabs from the interior each year. Therefore, developing meat pigeons has great market potential. At present, market demand for meat pigeons, especially squabs, is large, and prices are relatively good. Each squab can sell for about 20 yuan in Guangzhou and other places. Therefore, all localities can, according to market demand, actively and systematically develop meat pigeon (especially squab) farming at the appropriate time.
Meat pigeon farming has the following 4 characteristics
1. Easy to rear: Pigeons originate from the wild, so they have strong disease resistance. Meat pigeons can adapt to temperatures (-40 degrees to 40 degrees), so they can be raised everywhere in our country. Pigeon houses and pigeon sheds can be built using idle old rooms. The breeding equipment is simple, the investment is small, and the technology is simple and easy to learn.
2. Quick results: Pigeon eggs hatch after 17 to 18 days, and after about 20 days the squabs can grow to more than 500 grams and can be sold on the market. It is one of the fastest-growing birds in the early stage.
3. Low cost: A pair of chickens can be used for 1 to 2 years, while a pair of breeding pigeons can reproduce for 6 years, so the cost is low. Meat pigeons can be raised on a large scale in three-dimensional cages, occupying little space. Pigeons eat raw grains such as corn and wheat, with a meat-to-feed ratio of 2:1. A pair of breeding pigeons consumes about 70 grams of grain per day, and each squab requires only 1.1 kg from hatching to sale, so the feed cost is low.
4. Stable returns: Each pair of breeding pigeons produces more than 16 meat pigeons per year. An ordinary farmer raising 100 pairs of breeding pigeons can reach an annual net income of ten thousand yuan. A family raising 1,000 pairs can earn more than 100,000 yuan per year. Moreover, the Tiancheng King Pigeon, crossbred and self-bred by Tiancheng Pigeon Industry, has the potential to self-breed more than 24 squabs per pair of breeding pigeons per year, an increase of 31.5% over ordinary breeding pigeons.
In addition, according to the practical breeding experience of Tiancheng Pigeon Industry, pigeons have strong disease resistance, rarely suffer from plagues, have a high survival rate, and are easy to raise. At present, the Tiancheng King Pigeon crossbred and self-bred by our company has high breeding economic benefits. Each pair of breeding pigeons can produce more than 12 pairs of young per year. For every 100 pairs of breeding pigeons raised, the average monthly profit can reach about 800 yuan, and the annual profit can reach about 10,000 yuan. In addition, it is worth mentioning that meat pigeons mainly eat raw and miscellaneous grains such as corn, wheat, and sorghum. Nowadays, the prices of these raw and miscellaneous grains are very low. Developing meat pigeon farming can exchange low cost for high output.
In short, meat pigeons are tender and delicious, ranking first among poultry. They are an ideal food with high protein and low fat, and are also a high-grade tonic and nutritional product, combining food and medicinal uses. The meat pigeon farming industry is also one of the special breeding industries that have emerged in recent years. With advantages such as being easy to raise, having a short production cycle, requiring little investment, and yielding quick results, it has become a new way to develop the local economy and help farmers become prosperous, with very broad market prospects.