Pigeon farming puts Luzhuang Village in Juye County, Shandong on the road to prosperity
In the depths of winter, cheerful cooing drifts from a pigeon farm in Luzhuang Village, Taiping Town, Juye County. This is villager Kong Xiuqin's pigeon farm. In this village, when Kong Xiuqin's name comes up, everyone says the same two words in unison: "pigeon fanatic." In recent years, Kong Xiuqin has ridden pigeon farming onto the road to prosperity, and today her pigeon farm holds more than 5,000 pairs, with annual returns of over 100,000 yuan.
Stepping into the pigeon farm, rows upon rows of neatly arranged pigeon cages meet the eye. White, gray and brown pigeons scramble to peck at the pigeon feed in the troughs, and over ten thousand pigeons coo "gu gu." The whole family pitches in to feed the pigeons, clean the cages and inject vaccines into the squabs. "For a pair of pigeons, conservatively speaking, the eggs they produce in a year are worth more than 100 yuan." Kong Xiuqin told reporters that when the market is good, it is not unusual for one pair of pigeons to bring in 150 yuan a year.
Pigeon farming is the same trade for everyone, yet some lose money and some make it, while Kong Xiuqin has sailed smoothly along the pigeon-farming road, only profiting and never losing. Why is that? Pointing to the cards hanging on the pigeon cages, Kong Xiuqin told reporters about the pigeon-farming "code" she invented herself: "Let the pigeons fall in love freely. If two pigeons feed each other, the pairing has succeeded, so put them in one cage and mark it No. 1; if they fight each other, that proves they are both male pigeons, so mark it No. 2; if a pigeon cage produces 2 eggs every day, then they are both female pigeons, so mark it No. 3." Kong Xiuqin told reporters that following this farming "code" makes it easy to distinguish female from male pigeons, so that culling can be done with precision.
Beyond that, Kong Xiuqin is especially attentive in raising her pigeons. By consulting fellow farmers and reading books, she worked out a scientific feeding method on her own. "The health meals I mix myself contain shell powder, grain, salt and Chinese herbal medicine, and they help maintain health, aid digestion and boost immunity." Kong Xiuqin told reporters that as people's living standards rise, demand for pigeon eggs keeps growing, so selling egg pigeons is naturally no worry. "They are mainly sold to major southern cities like Wenzhou, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and local dealers come by to buy them every two or three days."
After seeing Kong Xiuqin prosper through pigeon farming, many people came to her for advice, and Kong Xiuqin always shares her pigeon-farming insights and management methods without holding anything back. In the future, she also plans to lead more rural women to farm pigeons and prosper together. "Bring the nearby villagers along, especially women, who find it inconvenient to go out with children. Raising pigeons at home takes little investment and shows quick results, and it is a good path to prosperity!" Kong Xiuqin said that as the scale expands, the pigeon farm will help more impoverished households find employment and increase their incomes.