Pigeon Rearing - An Investment Analysis for Secondary Income Generation to Farm Women, Landless, Marginal and Small Farmers

Abstract

Pigeon rearing not yet been considered in relation to the contribution of livestock sub-sector, though the pigeons rearing provide alternative source of animal protein. In India, majority of Hindu people believe that it brings happiness to their house. Female pigeons reach sexual maturity at about 5-7 months, laid eggs within 8–12 days after mating, the eggs hatch after 18 days of incubation. The breeding cycle in pigeons is about 2 months, when the cycle finished another breeding cycle begins consecutively. The body weight of mature brooding pigeon (male/female) ranges from 287 g to 290 g depends on the type of breed. Mortality rate of pigeon ranges from 5-15%. The Study was conducted in 4 villages of Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. 40 no. of respondents who were engaged in pigeon rearing are selected purposively. Data were collected through well design structure interviewed schedule and collected data was analyzed. The results revealed that pigeon rearing needs low investment, less care, low feed and low housing cost. The finding shows that benefit cost ratio is 8.72 at 10% of discounting rate for 12 years. Finding implied that it is an easy and economic husbandry practices which have short reproduction cycle and less disease occurrence. On an average, entrepreneur sale their squab at the rate of ₹ 240 per pair. Increasing the rate of pigeon farming may enhance the rate of reducing the gap of requirement of animal protein deficiency, increase income generation and may improve the socio-economic status of the rural poor community. From the findings it shows that pigeon rearing is require less initial investment and provides high income. Hence pigeon farming may be an easy, profitable, sustainable and reliable source of additional employment generation, opportunity for family labour utilization during their leisure time and way of earning quick cash income.

Comparative morphological study of the oropharyngeal floor of squabs and adult domestic pigeons (Columba liviadomestica)

“…Domestic pigeons have been domesticated from the rock pigeon (Gilbert & Shapiro, 2014) as an alternative source of animal protein, racing, and commercial purposes (Maity, Das, Ganguly, & Pradhan, 2020). Additionally, domestic pigeon is used as an experimental model to study the parasite–host relationship (Mineo et al, 2009) and the evolution of avian and vertebrate species (Shapiro & Domyan, 2013).…”

Drug resistance patterns and genotype associations of Trichomonas gallinae in meat pigeons (Columba livia): insights from Guangdong Province, China

“…The pigeon industry has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, emerging as a thriving and economically significant sector. Pigeon breeding, in particular, has gained recognition as a valuable means of generating cash income, especially for vulnerable populations, such as impoverished women and educated unemployed youth, during challenging times ( 1 ). The demand for pigeon meat, renowned for its delicacy and nutritional value ( 2 ), has surged, prompting widespread commercial breeding in economically developed and developing countries across the globe, such as Australia ( 3 ), Spain ( 4 ), Italy ( 5 ), China ( 6 ), India ( 7 ), Bangladesh ( 8 ), Sri Lanka ( 9 ), and Egypt ( 10 ).…”

Evaluation of Meat Quality of Local Pigeon Varieties in China

“…In the past, pigeons were kept for emotional, religious, and cultural reasons, but were mainly used for sending messages [ 2 ]. When fresh meat was in short supply, pigeons were also kept by many households as a source of meat [ 3 ]. Egypt was the first country in the world to domesticate and breed pigeons and treat their meat as a delicacy [ 4 ].…”