Special poultry farming covers a diverse range of species and is a distinctive segment of the livestock and poultry industry.

Special poultry farming refers to the production activity of artificially raising and breeding birds other than conventional poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese that have relatively high economic or ornamental value. Common species include pheasants, quail, meat pigeons, turkeys, guinea fowl, ostriches, blue peafowl and others. These birds each have value in terms of meat flavor, egg nutrition, feather utilization and ornamental leisure use, and they are gradually becoming a distinctive segment of the livestock and poultry industry.

Compared with ordinary poultry, special poultry differ considerably in their biological characteristics. Many special poultry retain strong wildness and activity capacity, and have special requirements for temperature, humidity, light and rearing space. Therefore, house construction, feed formulation and daily management should be arranged flexibly according to the characteristics of each species, and it is not advisable to simply copy the farming model used for conventional poultry.

Divided by purpose, special poultry can roughly be categorized into meat-type, egg-type and ornamental-type groups. Meat-type birds such as pheasants, turkeys and meat pigeons are valued for their meat flavor; egg-type birds such as quail have good egg-laying performance; ornamental-type birds such as blue peafowl are often combined with sightseeing agriculture and leisure farms. Special poultry products are mostly aimed at the mid-to-high-end consumer market, and prices are noticeably affected by demand and season. Before starting farming, market research and site planning should be done well.

It should be noted that some special poultry are wildlife species under state protection, and relevant permits must be obtained in accordance with the law before carrying out artificial domestication, breeding and commercial utilization. Do not introduce species blindly. In daily production, disease prevention and disinfection as well as manure treatment should also be done well, healthy rearing should be maintained, reliance on antibiotics should be reduced, and the spread of disease and environmental pollution should be prevented, so as to promote the standardized and sustainable development of special poultry farming.