The expression "coo like doves" was coined for a reason. The pigeon is so devoted to its partner that if they part, they will remain faithful for many years. Home pigeons saved the lives of many people during the war. Man learned not only to breed these birds at home, but also to train them.
Wild pigeon breeding
The nesting period begins, usually in early spring. The female is engaged in the construction of the nest, and the male brings her the necessary materials. When the nest is ready, the female can safely lay eggs. Almost the entire period the female hatches eggs, but sometimes the male replaces her.
Young and inexperienced couples can throw their nests, the same applies to old pigeons. Since pigeons mate repeatedly throughout the year, they need good nutrition and a supply of fat. But in the wild, finding food is a problem, so every clutch is at risk.
Features of breeding pigeons
Domestic pigeons have become popular for quite some time. Dovecote can be found in every city and area. Some breed these birds for themselves, some train them and earn money. Everyone knows the tradition of releasing a pair of pigeons at a wedding or at the last bell in school. It is quite important to breed meat pigeons, which are eaten. Keeping the dovecote is a pretty painstaking job. You need to monitor cleanliness, feed pigeons on time, and also mate properly.
Mating domestic pigeons
Experienced breeders who breed purebred pigeons carefully approach this process. Before choosing a pair, you should make sure that there are no kinship between the pigeons. To do this, before buying pigeons, you need to find out their pedigree.
Since pigeons mate under the supervision of a breeder, his task is to choose the right pair. The optimal age for the first mating is older than a year, by this time the pigeons should be moderately well-fed. Do not allow to breed obese and old pigeons. The best mating season is spring. Wild pigeons have the right to choose a mate for themselves, they are quite responsive to this issue. But the choice of a pair for poultry is the care of the pigeon breeder.
Training
Before mating, you need to prepare an aviary. It must be disinfected, laid fresh straw, hang shelves for nests. There should be more places for nests than the number of pairs to avoid fights and conflicts. This issue should be taken quite seriously, because each species of pigeons has its own type of nesting. It is necessary to prepare the landscape, bushes, hollows - all that is needed to recreate how pigeons of this breed breed in nature. At the beginning of winter, females and males are best planted, this will help birds gain weight and not worry in the presence of the opposite sex.
You need to feed a balanced diet, adding vitamins and minerals. It is also necessary to introduce plant foods into the diet. This is all done so that the birds are prepared and able to produce strong offspring. Calcium supplementation is especially important for females, it will strengthen future eggs and protect them from cracking. All these nuances must be taken into account when breeding domestic pigeons. Preparing pigeons for mating is the most crucial moment in this matter. Indeed, a strong and strong offspring is the key to the success of the pigeon breeder.
Couple selection
First you need to determine the floor of the pigeon. This is not as easy to do as it seems at first glance. As a rule, females are smaller than males, graceful and graceful. Their beak and paws are not as powerful as those of males. Everything seems to be clear, but there are times when females grow larger or, conversely, males are smaller than usual.
If two males are in the same mating cage, then this will result in a fight. And if there are two females in the cage, then they behave quite calmly, but in rare cases they can mate. An active female takes on the role of a male. Since pigeons mate of the same sex, they will not have offspring. Both females will lay eggs, but they will not be fertilized. The breeder recognizes his mistake only when the time comes to hatch to the chicks. But such cases are extremely rare. The main criterion for choosing a pair is a similar temperament. This, again, will protect a couple from conflicts. If the pair was matched correctly and the pairing was successful, the pigeons will begin to build a nest together. Pigeon growers try to keep couples throughout their lives.
Masonry
The formed couple carefully chooses a place for the future nest. The male carefully removes the materials, and the female weaves the materials in a way convenient for her. If the final stage was mating and masonry, the pigeon parking was successful. Females lay two eggs with an interval of forty hours. After all the eggs have been laid, hatching begins. An interesting fact is that the male is directly involved in this.
This process takes up to twenty days, after which the chicks hatch. At this time, it is important to observe the temperature and light conditions. Since pigeons mate in the warm season, there may be problems with the nestling of chicks. It is allowed a couple of days before this moment to sprinkle the masonry with warm water. Inexperienced doves, having laid the first egg, begin to hatch it, without waiting for the second. This can lead to the fact that one chick hatches earlier and will develop faster, and the second will be weaker and younger. In such cases, pigeon breeders make egg changes.
Meat breeds
Since the ancient times of the Romans and Egyptians, pigeon meat was considered a delicacy. Even then, whole farms were created where pigeons were not grown for beauty. Nowadays, there are about 70 breeds of meat pigeons. These specially bred birds can reach a weight of 1.5 kg per month. As a rule, pairing, breeding pigeons of meat breeds is not a laborious process. A breeder with good care can receive up to 10 egg laying a year. A special diet, which includes all the necessary nutrients, is a guarantee of the growth of meat pigeon.
Mating meat pigeons
Meat pigeons breed almost in the same way as ordinary domestic pigeons. To facilitate the work, pigeon breeders have an equal number of females and males. This will allow the birds themselves to choose a partner. It is worth considering the large weight that meat pigeons have. Mating should take place in prepared enclosures, only places for nesting are lower than usual.
A female pigeon lays up to three eggs, with an interval of more than a day. These birds hatch their chicks from two weeks to a month, depending on the breed, also changing each other. For the first two weeks, the dove feeds the chicks with goiter milk, and after that the breeder introduces special food for them.
Breeding new breeds
A large number of breeders are breeding new breeds of pigeons. This is a rather interesting thing, because how pigeons breed at home is a fascinating sight. Sometimes crossing existing breeds leads to unusual results. Carefully selected individuals that lead among the rest to obtain even better offspring. Breeding and breeding ideal pigeons is the dream of every pigeon breeder.