How to Choose Pigeon Breeding Equipment? A Complete Guide to Selection Methods
During pigeon breeding, how should breeders choose pigeon breeding equipment? Pigeon breeding equipment and supplies mainly include pigeon cages, nest chambers, nest bowls, feed troughs, waterers, health sand cups and perches.
Pigeon Cages
1. Pigeon cage materials: For cage-based pigeon housing, pigeon cages are generally made of bamboo, wood and wire mesh. Large pigeon farms mostly use cabinet-style multi-tier pigeon cages.
2. Specifications of pigeon cages: Large pigeon farms use cabinet-style multi-tier pigeon cages (size: 45 cm high, 50 cm wide, 70 cm deep). There are many models, but the most commonly used is a 4-tier, 8-cage type, which can house 8 pairs of breeding pigeons. Individual breeders or specialized households generally build bamboo pigeon cages according to local conditions or make frames from wooden strips, with the surrounding and top and bottom enclosed with small bamboo strips to form the cage; some frames are made of rebar, then enclosed with wire mesh to form the cage.
Nest Chambers
1. Requirements for nest chambers: They should be of wooden structure and be able to be assembled and disassembled for easy moving.
2. Specifications of nest chambers: Each nest chamber is divided into 5 tiers, with each pair of breeding pigeons occupying one tier. The area is 0.86 sq m, divided into front and rear parts. The front part is the resting area for the breeding pigeons (about 0.12 sq m), and the rear part is the production area (occupying 0.24 sq m), with the middle divided equally into two compartments by a movable board, serving as the 2 nests for the breeding pigeons. The back of each nest chamber is fixed with a board, and the wooden boards on both sides can be pulled out and inserted in layers. If multiple nest chambers need to be combined, the extra side partition can simply be pulled out.
Nest Bowls
1. Function of nest bowls: Nest bowls are the utensils for breeding pigeons to lay eggs, sit on nests and brood chicks. Choosing reasonable nest bowls plays a certain role in reducing damage to pigeon eggs and increasing the hatching rate and the survival rate of squabs.
2. Making nest bowls: Commonly used nest bowls are made of plastic, gypsum or wood, or made from bamboo sieves or tile pots, and straw nest bowls woven from rice straw or wheat straw can also be used.
3. Requirements for nest bowls: The diameter of the nest bowl is 22—26 cm, and the depth is 8—10 cm. The nest bowl is best hung within the nest, making it like a hammock. It is best to place soft, warm and moisture-absorbing bedding material in the nest bowl, such as wood shavings, rice straw, plastic sponge foam sheets, etc. This not only facilitates cleaning and disinfection, warmth and ventilation, but also makes pigeon eggs less likely to break, increasing the hatching rate.
Feed Troughs
Feed troughs are also called feed troughs. They should allow pigeons to eat easily, waste little feed, stay clean for a long time, cost little, and be convenient to manage and operate.
1. Making feed troughs: They can be made from bamboo tubes, zinc-coated iron sheets, plastic, fiberboard or wooden boards. The 3 commonly used types are bamboo feed troughs, wooden feed troughs and iron-sheet feed troughs.
2. Specifications of feed troughs: The trough is generally 40 cm long, 10 cm wide and 8 cm deep. 1/4 of the trough length holds health sand and 3/4 holds feed. It is hung flat on the cage wall outside the cage, straddling between 2 pigeon cages, for use by 2 adjacent pairs of breeding pigeons.
If it is a feed trough for group-raised meat pigeons, it should be placed on the floor of the pigeon house for collective use by the pigeons.
Waterers (Water Troughs)
1. Requirements for waterers
① Keep the drinking water clean and sufficient in quantity, and prevent the pigeons' feet or bodies from entering the waterer, and prevent pigeons and waste from contaminating the drinking water.
② Maintain a certain depth of drinking water (generally about 2.5 cm, enough to submerge the pigeons' cere), and make adding water convenient.
2. Waterers for caged breeding pigeons: There are 3 types: cup-type, trough-type and water-pipe waterers. The commonly used one is the trough-type waterer, which is a long water trough. The water trough can be made of iron sheet, about 5 cm high, 6 cm wide at the mouth and 4 cm wide at the bottom, with a length the same as the length of the cage house. This kind of water trough is mostly used by medium and large pigeon farms. It can be used for single-row and double-row pigeon cages, and this water trough can also be welded from plastic pipes with a diameter of 5—7 cm.
3. Waterers for group-raised breeding pigeons and young pigeons: This kind of waterer can ensure that pigeons continuously drink water, and can also prevent pigeons from stepping into the waterer, so their droppings and feathers do not easily fall into the water. At present, plastic waterers are often used, which can hold 2500—5000 ml of water at a time, are convenient to use, and can often keep the drinking water clean.
Health Sand Cups
Health sand, also called salt soil, is an indispensable feed additive for the survival of pigeons. The container holding health sand is best made of ceramic, wood or plastic products. Metal products should be avoided, because metal products easily undergo chemical changes with health sand. Commonly used ones are plastic drinking cups or round tubes, with an upper opening diameter of 6 cm and a depth not exceeding 8 cm. A small amount of health sand is placed inside and hung on the outside of the cage, as long as the pigeons can eat it. A simple method is to partition off 1/4 of the feed trough and place health sand there for the pigeons to eat.
Perches
Perches must be provided in group-raised pigeon houses, for pigeons to use at night, during the day and on rainy days. Making perches is very simple: nail several bamboo poles onto 2 wooden sticks, with each bamboo pole about 20—30 cm apart, and the lowest bamboo pole is required to be 40 cm above the ground to prevent dampness.