Pigeon King's Experience in Making a Fortune from Raising Pigeons

Rows of pigeon cages are neatly arranged, water dispensers and feed mixers run in an orderly manner, and more than 3,000 plump pigeons “coo coo coo” happily call out as they peck at the grain in the troughs……

Guo Liangya, a farmer in Guozhuang Village, Qilin Town, Juye County, earns a considerable income not only from selling meat pigeons but also from pigeon eggs, and raising pigeons has set him on the road to wealth.

“Meat pigeons have strong adaptability and strong disease resistance, and they basically do not get sick. Pigeon meat and pigeon eggs are highly nutritious.” When a reporter recently asked him why he raised pigeons, Guo Liangya said that by chance he heard that raising meat pigeons was quite profitable, so he became interested. He first bought more than 200 pairs of pigeons and thus embarked on the path of breeding.

However, misfortune can strike unexpectedly, and the first batch of pigeons kept dying. Watching the number of pigeons decline every day, Guo Liangya was very anxious. Should he give up or persist? In the end, unwilling to admit defeat, he chose to “lose only with a clear understanding,” and was determined to find out where the problem lay.

During that period, Guo Liangya ate and slept at the pigeon breeding base, sleeping only a few hours a day, and spent most of his time observing the condition of the pigeons. In the end, he found that the pigeons were dying because disease prevention techniques were inadequate and they had contracted avian influenza. While consulting experts, he also bought a large number of breeding books to teach himself pigeon-raising techniques. In the end, Guo Liangya, who had started out as a latecomer to the trade, became an expert in meat pigeon breeding.

Guo Liangya told the reporter that a pair of breeding pigeons can hatch and raise squabs for 5 to 6 years, and can hatch and raise 18 squabs a year. Squabs break out of their shells after 17 to 18 days of incubation. After about 1 month of feeding, he puts the pigeons into a free-range shed and lets them forage freely and grow freely. “Free-range pigeons can promote their physical development, make the meat chewier, and give it higher nutritional value.”

After several years of breeding, Guo Liangya's pigeon farm now has an ever-growing number of pigeons, having developed to more than 3,000. In addition to selling meat pigeons, pigeon eggs are also a major part of Guo Liangya's income. At present, his annual profit can reach 100,000 yuan.