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Introduction
The Insider
How to raise squabs
Azhar Bokhari (2002)For centuries, young pigeons, known as squab, have been high on the list of delicacies enjoyed by people around the world. Today the unique taste and texture of squab meat is sought by an increasing number of discerning people who appreciate excellence in dining, whether at home or away from home.Best way to startWhile squabbing pigeons are prolific, there is a limit to their abilities. Some people over-estimate the number of squabs they can raise and the rapidity with which a flock can be increased, and then are disappointed because their expectations were not realized.
A loft of good squabbing pigeons may double itself in number every three months or so. Anything more is possible only on large scale operations will super efficiency and care.
A modest beginning with a squab business is a successful beginning. Organizing and planning the character and scope of the work to be followed is of paramount importance. Ultimate success will depend largely upon the right start. A modest beginning is likely to bring much quicker results than a start on a larger scale.Success in squab business
The tendency too often is for the beginner to lay a foundation beyond his/her experience.Many mistakes and disappointments can be avoided by taking a little longer time for development, and to allow the business to rest on safe and sound principles. Such a course is better than to begin with the handicap of too many breeders and too little experience. Mistakes are even made by those who have had years of experience in the squab business as well as by the amateur.
Many instances may be cited wherein squab breeders, even with years of experience, have taken false steps in the way of increasing their operation, in changing their methods or in reorganization. Such examples help to prove the advisability of a modest start followed by a normal development each year until the maximum efficiency of an enterprise is reached.
So many factors are to be considered that it will be almost impossible to foretell the exact extent to which a business can be safely developed until careful trials and comparisons have been made. There is perhaps no other business, which requires more unremitting attention to detail and conscientious thought and action than squab breeding.
The first requisite for a successful squab producer is that of sound common sense (“pigeon sense”). Many situations will arise where no previous action or condition can guide, and where quick, correct decisions will mean the avoidance of mistakes. One must also be capable of planning well and carefully so as to figure probable success and chances of failure very minutely. Not only must one plan well, but also one must be capable of carrying out plans, for without that faculty, the other means very little.Mated PairsOne should be methodical so as to develop a careful system in all details of work as well as be alert and capable of seeing an opportunity when it offers itself. These qualities should be combined with business knowledge of financing, record keeping and the marketing end of the enterprise. Be clear about your goals. This is important in the squab business because there are so many varying beliefs regarding raising squabs for market, that only careful decision making and full application of those decisions will lead to the accomplishment of goals that have been set for your particular enterprise.
When we say mated pairs we do not mean simply an equal number of birds of opposite sex. We mean pairs that have been properly mated and banded and are ready to go to work and raise squabs. Pigeons mate in pairs and remain together for life. When a pair has gone through the courting stages and have mated, ready to nest and hatch young, they remain true to each other for life or as long as they are allowed to remain together. If a pair is broken by death or separation the birds can be mated again to other birds.Selection of good breedersBreeders must be selected that produce heavy squabs, full breasted, plump and meaty with light colored flesh. The beginner who secures the right kind of stock has made the first giant step to success as a squab producer. Buy only from a well known breeder who is thoroughly experienced and is himself a successful squab producer.Pigeon breeding cycleMated pairs of a prolific and fast producing breed give the best results. Avoid bargains in old birds. They may look well, but in reality they may be worn out. Young mated birds may cost twice as much as three or four-year-old birds, but they are usually worth the difference because their period of highest productivity is still ahead of them. Do not hesitate to pay the price for good breeding stock, because poor breeding stock means failure and loss in the end.
Having determined the variety or varieties one desires to breed for squabs, the first thing to do is to have convenient units to keep them in. Buy the breeders properly mated and banded with number bands, each pair with the same number. Unmated birds will cause a lot of trouble in the loft. When raising your own breeding stock, or purchasing young, unmated and un-banded birds, place an even number of males and females of the same age (3-5 months) into the breeding pen. Once they have selected their mates, catch them and put their number bands on.
Pigeons usually lay two eggs, whereby the second egg is deposited precisely forty hours after the first. They generally lay the first egg of a clutch at 5 p.m. Three hours later, at 8 p.m. a new ovulation occurs and the sperm penetrate the eggs at about the same time. Pigeon eggs generally hatch on day 17 of incubation. The nestling period lasts about 21-35 days.During breeding cycleThe squabs undergo a period of fast growth as a result of being fed crop milk by both parents. The juvenile pigeons are rather timid and inactive. The first aggressive behavior appears just prior to the breaking of the voice. At the age of seven to eight weeks, the vocal break occurs while the pitch drops and the peeping/begging calls transform into the adult “whoo” calls. Immediately after the breaking of the voice, the display coo begins to appear, but it is rarely heard. Both sexes undergo the vocal break.
Pine needles or other nesting material should be kept in the breeding pens at all times and the birds will soon learn to make their nests and get to work. The pair usually has two eggs, one day elapsing between eggs. The cock sits on the eggs in the day and the hen sits on the eggs at night. It takes seventeen days to hatch, at which time they are helpless and blind. Both parents begin nursing their young squab about three or four hours after hatching.Sexing birdsThe squab is fed crop milk for the first 7-10 days and predigested food until they are able to digest their own food. Fresh water and a balanced diet must be provided for the parents at all times during the breeding season. They grow slowly until about the fourth day. Then they become stronger and gain very fast. By the seventh day, the pinfeathers will appear and the yellow down disappears. Often after ten days they are quite large and the pinfeathers partially broken.
By four weeks, the youngsters are able to stand up. At this age, the squab is very fat; this is a good time to ship them to the market. Some take them out early (25-26 days) while others leave them until five weeks (30-32 days). Some breeders produce squabs at four weeks that weigh well over one pound.
Do not keep ready-to-market squab unnecessarily in your loft. Sometimes squab are fat but not feathered out properly under the wings and on the sides of the body under the wings. These squabs are not ready for the market and should be kept for a few days. If killed in this condition, they will be very hard to dress.
Always keep records of squab growth, especially days to market. Keep records of all the squabbing pigeons producing the slow growing squabs and plan to faze them out. There are lots of things producer must do, which will be discussed in the squab newsletter from time to time.
It is impossible to distinguish between the sexes when they are young. The males are usually larger and more coarse looking, with broader skulls, thicker neck, etc. but even then, the best of pigeon producers will make mistakes at times, for there are masculine appearing hens and feminine looking cocks.Breeding/mating seasonThere is no one season of breeding and mating for pigeons. They will raise young squabs every month of the year. There will be birds in one's flock that will have young at all times, although all birds at times will take a short rest while going through molt (shedding of the feathers).Stocking densityAbout 5 square feet of floor space is necessary for each pair of birds in order not to crowd them too much. Four square feet can be gotten by on but not less than that.Production performanceWith good birds, one can safely count on marketing 12 squabs per pair yearly. Many will go over that amount, but with a few infertile eggs to be expected and some youngsters dropping off before marketing age, it is not safe to estimate one's profit above that figure.Market age for squabsFrom 25 to 30 days of age, or when under normal growth, the feathers beneath the wings have become long enough to be easily plucked without the aid of a knife.Dressed weight of squabsThere are different sizes of squab but exceedingly large size squabs are not very desirable. Dressed weight from 14 to 16 ounces is about right for the market. That means they should weigh about 1.25 to 1.40 pounds alive at market time.Squabbing pigeon body sizeOld birds should weigh from 26 to 30 ounces and young birds should weigh from 24 to 26 ounces (both sexes).Cop milkCrop milk is produced in the pigeons in response to a hormone (prolactin) secretion, which is triggered by brooding in both sexes. Around the eighth day of brooding the first sign of thickening of the crop inner lining (epithelium) is discernible. On day 13, the epithelium thickens considerably to a multiple of its original width, and blood vessels grow into the epithelium. By the 14th day, crop milk is produced. At the time of hatching on the 18th day of brooding, reddish bulging folds are visible in the crop, which start to disappear after about a week.Eating & drinking by pigeonsCrop milk consists of cells loaded with fat. It contains 75-77 percent water, 11-13 percent protein, 5-7 percent fat and 1.2 to 1.8 percent minerals. There are essentially no carbohydrates. When feeding, the young insert their beak into their parent's mouth and the parent regurgitates the crop content into the offspring's beak. In adaptation to this feeding behavior, the feathers of the forehead and chin of the squab are last to grow out.
Pigeon feeding occurs in bouts, which are interrupted by other activities. Under normal conditions, up to 35,000 food directed pecking responses have been observed by some researchers. All pecking is followed by “mandibulation,” then followed by swallowing. This is commonly known as the “slide-and-glue” method. In eating, the grain is repositioned between the tips of the beak and moved backward by lingual protraction after having been ‘glued’ to the tongue.Feed & water intakeUnlike most birds that dip their beaks into water, lift their heads and let the drops run down their throats by gravity, pigeons immerse their beaks in water up to their nostrils, and drink actively without raising their heads. Basic to the drinking behavior is the cyclic aeration of areas of low pressure, first in the mouth and then in the pharynx; this causes suction of water into the mouth and transports the water over the glottis and ventral pharyngeal valves into the esophagus. This manner of drinking is known as the “vacuum pump” method.
A pigeon weighing about a pound will consume approximately 0.85 oz. (27 grams) of feed and 1.5 oz. (44 grams) of water. Assuming the dry matter content of feed to be approximately 90 percent, this is close to the ratio of 2:1 of water intake to dry matter consumed which has been the case with chickens also. On the average, a pair of squabbing pigeons will consume about 100-125 pounds of feed per year.Nutrient needs for pigeonsPigeons require sources of energy, protein, minerals, vitamins and water. The requirement for energy can be partitioned into the needs for basal energy expenditure, the activity increment, and depending on the status of the individual bird, the needs of growth or reproduction. A major source of energy for pigeons and other grainivorous birds is starch, which is mainly stored in grains. Fats as well as protein can satisfy part of the energy requirement, almost completely in crop milk fed squabs.Feeding CostThe need for protein is better described as a need for a number of essential amino acids plus a source of amino groups for the synthesis of non-essential amino acids. The pattern of amino acid requirement is almost similar to chickens and other birds. The macro mineral and vitamin requirement of pigeons should be at least the same as required for all vertebrate life. Unfortunately, there is no data available showing the exact requirement of all nutrients for pigeons.
That depends upon the price of feed and grit. A pair of birds with their young counted in until marketing age (25-30 days) will consume about 125 pounds of feed and grit per year. Feed varies greatly according to location and mix. For comparison, telephone a few feed stores, ask the feed prices and then compute the feed cost by multiplying the price of feed, to average the feed consumption per pair per year.Squab production is a serious businessRaising squabs on a commercial scale is a serious business, requiring business sense of the highest order. Profitable squab farms are those operated on the most progressive and efficient business principles. And even for them, it is sometimes difficult to maintain profitability because of depressed demand or a glutted market due to over-production. The scope of the squab market is still very limited, and a slight overproduction can reduce returns in a hurry. It is necessary to give full attention to the financial end of the business including, but not limited to, the best place to purchase feed and other supplies and the best place to market your commodity.Record keepingUndoubtedly, the most important financial item on the squab producer's list, in addition to fixed capital investment in land, equipment, pigeon housing, and breeding stock, is the cost of feed. It is about 60-75 percent of the total operating cost. If one can buy quality feed or feed ingredients at a fairly low price, then one of the most pressing problems is solved. The squab farm must be operated and managed with the lowest overhead costs and yet turn out a quality product in a minimum of time. To accomplish such efficiency, a thorough knowledge based on research of pigeon husbandry is required. Unfortunately, due to lack of extensive research in this field, the information available on husbandry practices is very scanty and many times less than reliable.
Like any other business, a record should be kept of the costs and sales. Unless one has a large business, it may not be necessary to keep a full, detailed set of books, but a record sufficient to furnish the necessary information as to the cost of running and maintaining the business and the proceeds derived should be kept.Culling breedersA simple method of bookkeeping is entering in one column money spent for housing, equipment, breeding stock, feed and other expenses. In the other column, enter the sales and money taken in for squabs or breeders. But if one expects to go into the squab business extensively or wants to know the extent of profit or loss, one should keep a more complete record by keeping account of the cost of each article used and each item of expense. This way, at any time or at the end of the year, you would know just what it costs for feed, labor, general upkeep of the business, etc.
This would help you manage more efficiently and by having such information at hand, you can economize and manage the business in such a way that greater profits can be made than could be with a business running haphazardly and without a knowledge of the costs of different components of production. With a large business, about 5-7 percent of the pigeon housing and equipment costs for depreciation and about 20-25 percent of the annual cost of breeders as breeder replacement cost (the useful life of a breeder may not be more than 4-5 years) should be charged to the enterprise.
Accurate records must be kept of each pair of breeders so that those, which fall repeatedly below the set standard of production, may be culled before they have had time to eat up considerable profit. Rigorous and constant culling is the rule with successful squab production. When a pair of birds fails to produce adequately over a given period of time, it is split up and re-mated or else discarded. Since increasing age inactivates breeders appreciably, their keeper must band all his stock so as to be able to tell the age of each bird readily at any time. Some breeds and strains produce well for three years, others for four, five and six years.Pigeon loftsMuch of the essential knowledge of squab production comes only from extensive experience. The fine points of profitable squab raising can no more be learned in a few months time than can those of any other enterprise. Moreover, the birds must be kept in good health. The producer must know how to keep them free from diseases and how to care for them satisfactorily, but with the least waste of time, effort and money. On commercial squab farms, each important function is performed in the quickest and most practicable way.
The style of the pigeon loft is usually governed by the thickness of the owner's pocket book, but beware of lofts too small. Endeavor to have space enough, even if style is sacrificed, for the danger of overcrowding a loft is hard to estimate. It has been said that pigeons are gentle and amiable, but let a poor squab stray out of its nest and into another and see how soon it will be picked to death. Cocks too close to each other, and even hens, will get to fighting and the eggs or young will be pushed out on the floor. It is always best to build a pigeon loft facing the south. Pigeons, no mater how hardy they may appear, are very susceptible to the cold.Pigeon house sanitationThe pigeon house should be kept clean and well painted both inside and out. The inside of the units should be kept whitewashed or painted. In regards to keeping the nest clean, some people think that also the pigeons should be kept clean. It may seem strange when some others suggest that the nests should not be kept clean. They believe that squabbing pigeons do not like to have their nests disturbed. The manure, which accumulates in the nests, helps keep the squab warm. The dry manure has no odor and thus should be left in the nest. They recommend that nest cleaning should be limited to once a year.Keep your pigeon loft DryThe pigeons must have a dry loft or they will fall victim to diseases. A damp pigeon house is an ideal place for all kinds of organisms to grow. It is necessary to keep the loft dry and clean. Some breeders advocate cleaning them every week but others think a good cleaning out once a month will do. One can rake up loose feathers and keep the sand on the floors clean once a week but give a thorough cleaning once a month. Every time the lofts are cleaned the birds must be disturbed more or less, and this results in some losses, so the matter of cleanliness should not be carried to the extreme.Suggestions forEverybody likes to see clean pigeon houses but common sense must be used in this respect. If the lofts are clean and dry, the droppings will dry up quickly and will not become offensive. From the foregoing, it will be seen that the matter of housing is not very complicated, as wide latitude of action is allowed. Some producers even allow their birds to fly free, but this practice is not widely accepted. In the first place, the birds do not produce as many squabs as they would when under confinement. Also, they are liable to accidents and these mishaps cause the owner to loose squabs, which such birds have in the nests. It is best to keep the birds under strict confinement.
Keeping Your Pigeons Health & HappyBuild pigeon nest boxes about 20 inches off the floor. Don't build the top nests so high that inside of the nests cannot be seen when standing on the floor. Always use double nest box system. Don't fail to use safe and effective insecticides in the nests rior to putting the breeders in. Clean the pigeon house periodically. Don't allow dirty water to stand in the drinking trough or other watering system. Always clean the feeders and drinkers at least once a week.Always catch birds with a net, unless you are fully trained to catch by hands using proper technique. Keep nests and scattered grain off the floor. Never hold pigeon by one foot or one wing. Never allow a draft to blow through the squab house near the floor. Never save poor or inferior squab for breeding; always dispose of inferior breeding pigeons. Disease prevention is much better than any other health care program. Never let down guards against disease hazards. Don't buy from a pigeon house where canker is prevalent. Under any circumstances, do not introduce newly acquired birds directly into the existing pen.
Keep them in a separate isolation pen for at least 4-6 weeks before allowing them into the established pens and only if they are in perfect health. Don't buy a bird just because it is cheap, for the best is none too good, especially for a foundation. Don't starve your pigeons and expect good results. Don't take advantage of amateurs in the business. Just give a thought to the Golden Rule, and the fact that you, too, were once a beginner. Avoid advertise anything that is not true about your pigeons. Always be sure you can deliver what you promised.
