What are the characteristics of meat pigeons? Introduction of meat pigeon varieties and varieties

What are the characteristics of meat pigeons? Meat pigeons, also called young pigeons, refer to young pigeons within 4 weeks. It is characterized by large size, rich nutrition and high medicinal value, and it is an advanced nourishing nutrition. The meat is tender and delicious, which is the first of its kind. Meat pigeon is a new type of special poultry industry, which has the advantages of low cost, quick effect, easy feeding and stable benefit. The development of meat pigeon industry has broad prospects and unlimited potential, and it is a good way to get rich through labor.

Physical characteristics of meat pigeons

The head shape has a broad forehead, a full back, a straight, short and thick neck, thin and shiny neck feathers, a broad chest, a flat tail bundle on the back, a long and curved keel, seamless pubic closure and a short distance between them. Symmetrical fastening is better for nose type; Feathers cling to muscles, muscles tighten bones and bones are solid and compact. The eyes are bright and transparent, and the pupils need to be oval. If they are stained with ink, the sunlight will contract no matter what. The edges of the pupils are wavy, and the periphery of the corners of the eyes is serrated.

Streamlined body, flying life. The body surface is covered with feathers, the forelimbs are winged and the pectoral muscles are developed; Short rectum, large appetite and fast digestion, that is, the digestive system is developed, which helps to lose weight and fly; The heart has two atria and two ventricles, and the heart beats very fast. Body temperature is constant. In addition to the lungs, the respiratory organs also have air bags protruding from the lung wall to help the lungs perform double breathing. When laying eggs, the body temperature is high, usually 42℃. Pigeons have well-developed keel processes on their sternum, and their bones are hollow and expansive, which is the skeletal structural feature of pigeons to adapt to flying life.

Pigeons are feathered bipedal vertebrates that lay eggs at constant temperature. Pigeon feathers are divided into normal feathers (mainly used for flying) and down feathers (mainly used for heat preservation). The forelimbs evolved into wings with hard beaks (pigeon mouths).

Pigeons like to eat stones, which is related to their special digestive system. Pigeons have no teeth, so food is swallowed directly into the esophagus and stored in a muscular stomach. Pigeon's muscular stomach is very tough, its stomach wall is muscular, there is a layer of horny membrane on the inner wall, and stones are stored in the stomach cavity. After the food enters the muscular stomach, the muscles of the stomach wall contract, and the horny membrane, stones and food rub against each other to grind the food. Therefore, stones are equivalent to teeth, so pigeons must constantly swallow stones to digest food. Pigeons generally can only digest 60% of food, and the rest is excreted with feces.

reproductive capacity

Pigeons lay eggs, hatch and brood all year round. Sexual maturity is about 6 months old, incubation period is 18 days, and lactation period is 30 days. Usually, a pair of production pigeons breed 5-7 pairs of young pigeons every year. Pigeons breed in monogamy. The mother pigeon lays 2 eggs in each nest, that is, after laying one egg on the first day, she lays another egg on the second day and then hatches. During the incubation process, male and female pigeons take turns to build nests. Every day, the male pigeon works in the day shift (from 9: 00 to 16), while the female pigeon nests from 16 to 9: 00 the next day. In the process of hatching, eggs should be picked manually. Generally, after 4 ~ 5 days of incubation, sperm-free eggs and dead embryo eggs should be checked and taken out in time. After hatching to 10, the eggs are illuminated again and the dead embryos are removed. When a pigeon eggs hatches, it should nest in time.

Growth and reproduction

Pigeons have early sexual maturity, fast reproduction and fast growth. Pigeons can breed in pairs when they are 5 ~ 6 months old. Each pair of breeding pigeons can produce 8 ~ 12 pairs of young pigeons every year, and the young pigeons can be sold after 25 ~ 30 days, and the weight can reach 500 ~ 750 grams. The pigeon breeding cycle is short, the turnover is fast, the investment is small and the effect is quick. The houses and equipment needed for raising meat pigeons are simple, the scale can be large or small, and the feed consumption is low. The daily feed intake of each pigeon does not exceed 65,438+000g, mainly corn and other raw grains, which are cheap, convenient and easy to obtain, and the feeding cost is low. You can see the benefits in the month when you buy breeding pigeons. Pigeons have good adaptability, few diseases, simple breeding management technology, high breeding income, stable income and low risk.

Nutrition and feed

The daily water consumption of each pair of adult pigeons is120 ~ 300ml. The feed contains crude protein, which is suitable for young pigeons and stillborn pigeons at 12% ~ 15%, and the breeding period is 15% ~ 18%. The fat content is 3% ~ 5%, and various vitamins and minerals are supplemented. Feed is fresh and high quality, and inferior and moldy feed is prohibited.

nutritive value

Rich in nutrition and high in medicinal value, it is an advanced nourishing nutrition. The meat is tender and delicious, which is the first of its kind. According to the determination, young pigeons contain more than 17 kinds of amino acids, the total amount of amino acids is as high as 53.9%, and they also contain more than 10 kinds of trace elements and vitamins. Therefore, pigeon meat is an ideal food with high protein and low fat. Pigeons have good medicinal value, and their bones and meat can be used as medicine, which can regulate the heart, nourish blood, invigorate qi, prevent diseases, eliminate fatigue and stimulate appetite.

Living habits

1. The spousal nature of monogamy. Adult pigeons can choose a mate. Once they get married, the male and female pigeons always live closely together, bearing the responsibility of building nests, incubating eggs, feeding young pigeons and guarding the nests. After pairing, if one of them is lost or dead, it will take a long time for the other to find a new spouse.

2. Pigeons are late birds. The newly hatched young pigeon (also called squab) is weak and can't open its eyes. It only has some newborn fluff, so it can't walk and eat. Parent pigeons feed young pigeons with pigeon milk in crops, and they need to be fed for one month to live independently.

3. Plant seeds are the staple food. Pigeons mainly eat corn, rice, wheat, peas, mung beans and sorghum, and generally have no habit of eating cooked food. Under the condition of artificial feeding, the feed can be made into complete compound feed according to its nutritional needs, and granular feed with a diameter of 3 ~ 5 mm can be made with "healthy sand" (also known as nutritional mud) as additive and some vitamins. Pigeons can adapt to and make good use of this feed.

4. Pigeons are halophilic. The ancestors of pigeons lived by the sea for a long time and often drank seawater, so they formed the habit of eating salt. If the food of pigeons is short of salt for a long time, it will lead to physiological disorders such as pigeon laying eggs. Each adult pigeon needs 0.2 grams of salt every day, and too much salt can also cause poisoning.

5. Love the habit of clean and high habitat. Pigeons don't like to touch feces and dirt, but like to perch on perches, windowsills and nests with a certain height. Pigeons like bathing very much, especially in hot weather.

6. Strong adaptability and alertness. Pigeons are distributed in tropical, subtropical, temperate and cold regions. They can live at a temperature of 50℃, with strong resistance to adversity and strong adaptability to surrounding environment and living conditions. Pigeons are very alert. If they are disturbed by natural enemies (eagle, cat, weasel, mouse, snake, etc.). ), they will be frightened and try their best to escape from the cage. After escaping, they will not return to their cages to live. At night, any abnormal noise in the pigeon house will also lead to panic and riots of pigeons.

7. Have a strong memory and belonging. Pigeons have a strong memory, especially the ability to recognize each other's position, nest box and young pigeons. Even after years of separation, they can tell the direction, fly back to their original place, and identify their partners among pigeons. Pigeons can also establish a certain conditioned reflex to the frequent contact with the breeder, especially to the sound and tools used by the breeder every time they feed. After a while, pigeons can gather around the feeder and wait for food. On the contrary, if the keeper is rude, after a while, the pigeons will run away as soon as they see the keeper.

8. Have the habit of controlling his wife. After the pigeons built the nest, the male pigeons began to force the female pigeons to lay eggs in the nest. If the female pigeons leave the nest, the male pigeons will chase them desperately, peck the female pigeons and return to the nest, and never stop until they reach their goal. The intensity of this wife-controlling behavior is closely related to its fertility.

sexism

Pigeon recognition

(1) Anal identification method Young pigeons hatch for 4 ~ 5 days, and the upper anal edge of male pigeons covers the lower anal edge, slightly protruding; The lower edge of the mother pigeon protrudes to cover the upper edge.

(2) Feeding identification method Among pigeons in the same nest, most of them are male pigeons fed by their parents first, and vice versa.

(3) Behavior recognition method: the male pigeon grows faster and the female pigeon grows slower; When touching the head of the young pigeon, the male pigeon is sensitive, his feathers stand up and he is aggressive. On the contrary, most of them are female pigeons.

Pigeon recognition

(1) From the appearance, the male pigeon has a large head, a large and short mouth, a large and prominent nasal tumor and a large and thick tibia. The female pigeon has a compact figure, a round head, a small nose tumor, a long and narrow mouth, a thin and soft neck and a short and thin tibia.

(2) When catching young pigeons, the male pigeons are good at resisting and can make a "goo goo" cry; The mother pigeon is very gentle.

(3) Touching the abdomen and pelvis, the male pigeon keel process is thick and long, the pubic space is narrow and tight, and the tibia is thick and round; The pubic space of female pigeons is wide (about 4 ~ 5 cm), the keel process is slightly short, and the tibia is thin and flat.

(4) Anal examination: The anus of the male pigeon protrudes outward when it is closed, and it is slightly hexagonal when it is opened; The female pigeon's anus is concave inward when it is closed and cauliflower-like when it is opened.

(5) Wool observation shows that the feathers of male pigeons are shiny, and the tips of main wings are sharp; The gloss of female pigeon feathers is poor, and the end of main wing feathers is blunt.

Adult pigeon recognition

(1) The male pigeon often chases the female pigeon. The air bag in the male pigeon's neck expands, the neck feathers and back feathers expand, and the tail feathers unfold like a fan. Female pigeons are more gentle and often accept the courtship of male pigeons.

(2) Due to courtship and mating between male and female pigeons, the tail feathers of male pigeons are dirty, while the back feathers of female pigeons are dirty.

(3) When kissing, the male pigeon opens his mouth, and the female pigeon puts the cry into the male pigeon's mouth. After kissing, the female pigeon naturally squats and accepts the mating of the male pigeon.

(4) The incubation period is different. The incubation time of male pigeons is mostly from 10 to 16 every day, and other times are hatched by female pigeons.