Meat breeds of pigeons

Meat pigeons are a variety of domestic pigeons that are grown for the purpose of eating. There are about 50 breeds of meat pigeons. In many countries, farms for breeding this species of birds are open. Meat pigeons are shown in the photo.

Do they eat pigeons

Meat pigeon breeding in Our Country is not widespread. Perhaps this is due to the fact that pigeons in our country were bred only as flying and decorative ones. Those single individuals brought by amateurs cannot serve as a full-fledged base for breeding meat breeds.

In the countries of the Mediterranean, where the meat direction of pigeon breeding originated, these birds were eaten. Even Avicenna greatly appreciated the nutritional properties of this meat and recommended it for use by weakened patients. In the Roman Empire, it was served to the table of aristocrats as a delicacy. Later, meat pigeon breeding began to be carried away in European countries and in the USA. Pigeons of meat breeds can be seen on the video:

Today, meat breeds are divided into 3 categories: gigantic (giant pigeons), chicken and meat.

What pigeons do they eat

Meat breeds of pigeons, grown in purity, with the right diet, timely vaccination, have tender meat, with the best taste properties. Individuals no older than two months of age are sent for slaughter. Their meat is considered the most valuable in terms of nutritional qualities, it can and should be eaten.

As for urban birds, they are not only unsuitable for food, but can also be dangerous to human health. Due to the poor diet and habitat in the city’s garbage dumps, wild pigeons are prone to infections. In addition, their meat has nothing to do with the juicy, tender meat of poultry.

Wild pigeons are less susceptible to infections, but the possibility of infection during the preparation and use of their meat cannot be completely excluded. For hunters, a wild pigeon is a great trophy that is suitable for cooking on a fire and soups. The best taste qualities of the meat of turtledoves and pigeons.

Meat breeds of giant pigeons

Giant pigeons (another name – giants) differ from other categories of meat breeds in appearance. They have a more massive body, short plumage, widely spaced legs, they resemble domestic chickens. The body is stocky, flight qualities are practically not developed. The most prolific of all breeds of meat direction. Meat pigeons are presented in the photo by variety.

Roman meat pigeons

Roman birds are classified as giants, but they are kept as decorative. Previously, they became breeding material for the creation of other large breeds of pigeons.

Roman pigeons do not have flight characteristics, are not very active, have low reproductive qualities, but are very resistant to diseases.

The body of the birds is powerful, elongated, with thick, dense plumage. Feathers on the tail and wings are long. The weight of an adult is from 900 to 1300 g. The color is varied: gray-gray, silver, with transverse black stripes on the wings and tail. Black individuals may have white blotches on the head, beige birds may have brown. There are individuals of fawn, white and brick color.

Meat breed pigeons king

The breed is bred as meat and ornamental. Representatives of this breed are quite massive birds – up to 800 g, exhibition ones – up to 1,5 kg. The plumage color is predominantly white, but there are silvery and beige shades.

Breed features:

• well-formed thoracic region;
• small eyes, in birds with white plumage – black, in dark birds – yellow;
• strong, slightly curved beak;
• short wings with a small span;
• legs are strong, devoid of plumage;
• short tail;
• wide back.

Kings have a rather aggressive character, especially males.

Representatives of the breed are unpretentious in care, contain them in an aviary way with the possibility of walking. Like all representatives of meat pigeons, kings are very caring parents. They diligently sit on the eggs and feed the chicks. The breeder needs to build nesting sites that are not too high, as kings are not able to fly.

Meat pigeons of modena

Modena pigeons come from the city of Modena (Northern Italy). The breed was known even before the First World War. It is considered the only pigeon that was not bred with Asian birds. Today there are two main varieties – English modena (shitti) and German (gazzi).

Description of meat Modena pigeons:

• a wide palette of shades (there are more than 200 colors);
• a small head on a thick, short neck;
• small brown eyes;
• the beak is medium in size, slightly rounded;
• the body is powerful, the breast is wide;
• wings tightly pressed to the body;
• the tail is slightly raised.

The weight of an adult bird reaches 1,1 kg. Modens have a very strong immune system. Grow and gain body weight quickly. Due to this characteristic, the breed is often used for crossbreeding.

meat pigeons

They were bred in Germany. The breed is divided into German, Austrian and Czech Strassers.

The weight of this breed of meat pigeons reaches 1 kg. Birds have a large body, a powerful head and a sloping forehead. The wide protruding chest is a real decoration of the bird. They have a short back, it is completely covered by the wings. The legs are devoid of plumage, strong, widely spaced.

The color of the strassers is varied. Common birds with a stripe on the wings and tail. There are individuals with completely white wings.

They have high performance. One parent pair of Strassers brings up to 12 chicks per year. They give good performance in purebred crosses. They are somewhat aggressive. The flying qualities of this breed are not developed.

texans

The country of origin of these pigeons is the state of Texas (USA). Representatives of the breed are highly productive. A pair of texans can breed up to 22 chicks per year. Gaining weight fairly quickly.

Characteristics of the breed:

• powerful body;
• the plumage is dense;
• the head is small, rounded;
• the chest is wide, protruding forward;
• limbs are short, without plumage.

Body weight up to 1 kg. One of the features: by the color of the plumage of the chicks, you can accurately determine the sex. Texans are unpretentious in content and have a calm disposition. Quickly adapt to the environment. Like other pigeons of the meat direction, Texans practically do not fly.

Hungarian gigantic

Hungarian pigeons were bred in Hungary as economic birds (meat). Their weight reaches 1200 g. They have a rather powerful body with well-feathered legs. They are quite prolific – a couple breeds up to 10 chicks per year. The breast is wide, rounded head, beak is large. The back is short, completely covered by long wings.

The plumage color is usually one-color: white, black, yellow, blue, and there are also individuals with patches.

Polish lynxes

The breed was bred in Poland in the 8th century. Immediately gained popularity in Europe, including in Our Country, as they have high fertility – up to XNUMX broods per year.

Polish lynxes are birds with interesting feather coloration. They can be one-color with a beautiful metallic sheen. All representatives of the breed have two belts on the wings.

They fly extremely poorly, but in general they are active and able to independently obtain food for themselves. They have a calm disposition.

Carnot

Carnot are pigeons of French origin. The body weight of the bird is about 600 g, it can be grown in aviaries. The best breed in terms of productivity and average daily weight gain. A pair brings up to 16 chicks per year. These birds have a strong immune system and many pigeon breeders do not vaccinate their livestock. Chicks have a high survival rate.

The appearance is not particularly attractive, so the carnot is not used as a decorative bird. The plumage is most often variegated.

Biological features of meat pigeons

Meat pigeons have valuable meat in terms of nutritional properties. It contains about 22% protein and 10-18% fat. The taste of pigeon meat is tender and juicy, it is recommended by experts as a dietary product.

In some countries, meat pigeon breeding has switched to industrial forms of production. Many subsidiary farms and specialized farms are engaged in the cultivation and breeding of meat breeds.

One of the best representatives of meat breeds are the Strassers – the largest meat pigeons. Pigeons of this breed have a high live weight, good fertility and precocity. Strasser meat with fine fibers and high protein content.

Birds are sent for slaughter at 30 days of age. By this time, the live weight of the bird reaches 650 g, and gutted – 500 g. In a well-organized farm, up to 6 kg of meat is obtained from one parental pair.

Thus, under proper housing conditions and the right feeding ration, meat pigeons can be raised year-round, picking up pairs from strong, healthy individuals.

Breeding methods for meat pigeons

Meat pigeon breeding has not become widespread in our country, although in the 70s there were attempts to open workshops for the production of pigeon meat in the Odessa region. However, they were not successful.

In European countries, in particular in Hungary, where meat pigeon breeding is well developed, several breeding methods are used. Among them: extensive, intensive cultivation and combined (economic and decorative).

Extensive method

This breeding method is considered quite expensive. But for breeders living in regions with a warm climate and having free access to green fodder, the method is quite applicable. Birds have the opportunity to independently get their own food in the summer, and the breeder feeds the pigeons once a day. On the one hand, this is a rather economical breeding method, but on the other hand, the difficulties are associated with the fact that pigeons need to be protected from predators, wild birds, which can be carriers of infectious diseases. The main thing is that there is no guarantee that pigeons will have time to gain a certain mass in the allotted time period.

intensive method

The intensive breeding method is characterized by regular feeding, which is aimed at a rapid increase in mass. For this method, breeds such as Texans, Kings are most suitable. They are able to increase weight in a month. In addition, these breeds are prolific and are able to make about 5-10 clutches per year.

Selected meat pigeons are put in cages and force-fed with a porridge-like mixture 4 times a day at a certain time. Each individual absorbs about 50-60 g of this mixture per day. For 2-3 weeks, pigeons gain up to 800 g.

Of the minuses of such content: there is a risk of developing some pathologies, since the bird is in limited conditions of detention. The meat of these birds contains a high percentage of fat.

Combined method

Most common among lovers of meat breeds. Represents a cross between intensive and extensive breeding method. Suitable for those breeders whose main purpose of breeding is to make a profit.

Breeding pigeons of meat breeds at home

Before you start breeding meat pigeons at home, you need to decide on the desired breed with which you will need to work in the future. To do this, you should pay attention to the area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe room for breeding birds. Small birds with a calm disposition will fit a small room, large and active ones will need more space with many feeders and drinkers. For couples hatching chicks, a separate aviary will be required.

For breeding birds with the subsequent sale of meat, pigeons with high fecundity will be required. If meat pigeons are bred for their needs, less prolific individuals are quite suitable.

Meat pigeons can be bred in cages and aviaries. The room must be cleaned and aired daily. Aviaries will need to be insulated for a period of cold weather. It is better to make the floor wooden or with a special coating so that the birds do not freeze their paws. The enclosure should be equipped with a variety of perches and ladders. Nesting places can be made next to them. Also, the breeder will need to take measures to protect their birds from animals.

Nutrition is the basis in keeping and breeding meat pigeons. The mass of meat obtained depends on a well-composed diet. Food should be plentiful and high in calories. It should include barley, millet, oats. The ratio is selected based on the needs of the breed. Vaccinations, vitamin and mineral supplements to strengthen the immune system cannot be ignored.

Since birds produce a large amount of droppings every day, in addition to daily cleaning of the premises and cleaning the feeders, cleaning should be carried out every week with the addition of disinfectants.

The breeder should inspect pigeons daily for disease. A bird with suspected poor health should be isolated.

Birds should be slaughtered before the age of 35 days. During this period, pigeons have the most valuable and nutritious meat. Before slaughter, sesame, anise and dill seeds are added to the diet of birds, and the day before slaughter they give milk with salt. In older individuals, the meat does not taste so tender, so females aged 1-2 years are kept for breeding.

Meat pigeons and meat pigeon breeding have their drawbacks. The disadvantages include high demands on the conditions of detention and feeding. In addition, even large breeds of meat pigeons are much smaller in size than chickens. Thus, in order to have enough meat, more pigeons must be sent for slaughter.

Pigeons of meat breeds are shown on the video:

Breeding pigeons for meat as a business

Before you start developing this line of business, you need to properly familiarize yourself with this area of ​​uXNUMXbuXNUMXbactivity, calculate profitability, take into account payback periods and draw up a detailed business plan. In addition, you need to study all the possible nuances of competent breeding of pigeons, keeping, feeding.

After a thorough study of the issue of breeding pigeons, you can choose a breed. For the proper organization of the business, only young individuals should be selected. Bird health is also an important factor. To make the right choice, you must have certain knowledge and skills in the field of pigeon breeding. It may be necessary for beginners to seek help from more experienced pigeon breeders. Since pigeons are monogamous birds, it is better to choose a pair at once. It is not difficult to identify a couple among the flock, as a rule, they coo with each other, birds of the same sex behave somewhat aggressively.

For breeding pigeons, young individuals will be required. The life expectancy of pigeons is about 16-20 years, but after 10 years they gradually lose their reproductive properties, and possible offspring will not be viable. Determine the age of the bird by paws and wax. At the age of five months, the pigeons reach sexual maturity and the cere turns white. Then it increases in size, which is typical for 3-4 years.

Reproduction methods can be different:

• natural mating, in which the birds themselves pick up a mate;
• mating of birds that are similar in appearance;
• line breeding – accurate determination of the qualities of the bird after mating;
• inbreeding – mating of related pigeons to improve the breed.

Each of the methods has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The main costs that a novice pigeon breeder faces are the purchase of highly productive, healthy pigeons. The cost is determined by the breed of meat pigeons. Profit will depend on many factors. First of all, it will be necessary to establish a distribution channel for products, otherwise all breeding and cultivation efforts will be in vain. Perhaps it will be an online resource or ads for sale. This will help you find customers, establish sales and make a profit.

Conclusion

Meat pigeons are more and more in demand and are of interest to breeders. The benefits of pigeon meat, its dietary properties are beyond doubt. The advantages include a high rate of weight gain and the unique resistance of birds to infectious diseases. Of the minuses, the inability to automate the feeding process is noted. Therefore, breeds of meat pigeons with good fertility are the most profitable.