How to domesticate homing pigeons?

I. Selection and Construction of dovecote

The selection and construction of pigeon house is the first step of carrier pigeon breeding. The location and direction of dovecote, the size of dovecote, etc. All of them are well solved, which is very beneficial to future breeding.

Pigeonhouses should be located in the south direction, and the terrain should be high. The sun is shining and the air is circulating. Pigeons need dry shelter and dry air. They are not afraid of cold and do not need a warm environment, but a warmer environment is conducive to the development of pigeons. A reasonable pigeon house should be: no matter how hot or cold the temperature outside the pigeon house is, it is always more comfortable inside the pigeon house than outside. Whether it is raining or wet outside, pigeon feathers should not change with the climate.

Of course, not every dove can do this. But this doesn't mean that the pigeon house built on the ground can't be improved at all, at least it can be improved to some extent and change some environments that are not conducive to the health of pigeons. The following points should be paid attention to when building a pigeon house on the ground:

First, the pigeon house should not be built directly on the ground, but half a meter away from the ground, so that the water in the pigeon house will be less.

Second, the pigeon house should be ventilated, sunny (facing south), and cover a large area, not too high (the room height is about two meters).

Third, the doors and windows of the pigeon house should be safe, and animals such as weasels, wild cats or snakes should not be allowed to invade. Whether it is a pigeon house in the attic or a pigeon house on the ground, it is necessary to grasp that strong winds cannot be blown directly, and the air must pass through the pigeon house softly. Therefore, never build a pigeon house in a box with no ventilation and no windows. If pigeons are as big as dovecote, they should have properly ventilated windows. Of course, the window of the pigeon house should not be too wide.

The materials used to build the pigeon house should not be sloppy. Regardless of the roof and surrounding walls of the pigeon house, attention should be paid to quality and durability.

The pigeon nest in dovecote should be built on the wall around dovecote. The number of pigeon nests depends on the number of pigeons. The pigeon's nest can be made into two squares, up, down, left and right. In addition, some "perches" can be made on the middle wall of the pigeon house, which is a place where some unpaired pigeons stand and rest.

There should be pigeon entrances and exits, movable doors, observation platforms, electric bells, windows, nests, perches, food troughs, saline soil troughs, drinking fountains and breeders' entrances and exits in the pigeon house.

Second, provide adequate and reasonable nutrition.

Food is the main material basis for homing pigeons to survive. In order to keep strong physique and good race results, homing pigeons should be fed with feed with complete nutrients such as energy and protein according to different growth stages.

For example, in order to ensure the growth and development of pigeons' bodies and bones and prevent obesity and precocity, mung beans or fish meal are added to the diet to increase the content of protein; During the training period, homing pigeons consume a lot of energy, so they should supplement high-energy feed such as corn and wheat. Pigeons in the brooding period should be given a diet rich in protein, energy, minerals and vitamins, especially protein, and the daily intake of each pigeon must be about 18g. In addition, the drinking water of homing pigeons should be kept clean to ensure the supply of sanitary sand.

The breeding of homing pigeons should also follow the timing, fixed point and quantification, and quickly strengthen the homing performance of homing pigeons. The breeder feeds the homing pigeons regularly and quantitatively every day, and fixes the position of the trough, so that the homing pigeons can develop the habit of returning to their nests on time and feeding at fixed points. In order to make homing pigeons return to their nests immediately after flying, we can take measures such as flying on an empty stomach and giving them water and food as "rewards" in time after returning to their nests, or giving less food before flying and more food after returning to their nests to induce homing pigeons to return to their nests, so as to avoid rushing back to their nests because they are not hungry, and staying outside will delay their homing time. After the conditioned reflex is formed, homing pigeons will enter the house immediately every time they fly or return from the game.

Carrier pigeons like to eat barnyard grass, such as buckwheat, rice, wheat, peas, sorghum and corn. When feeding, you should always change varieties to increase your appetite. During training and competition, eat more corn and peas to make up for its physical exertion. Put some yellow sand, yellow mud, aged lime, coal dust, broken clam shell powder and bone powder near the pigeon house, and let them feed on their own to help digestion. Feed mung beans in summer and cut vegetables in peacetime. There must be a fixed water tank and water must be changed twice a day. Once the water quality is polluted, it must be replaced immediately. Take a bath 1 ~ 2 times a month except in summer. After each training, feed the water first and then feed it.

Third, several methods to identify the health status of pigeons.

1, healthy pigeon, flexible. The sick pigeon will move very tired. If you bomb it, it will move slowly. Sick pigeons are also easy to find, that is, squatting in the corner of dovecote, listless.

2. Healthy pigeons like to eat, while sick pigeons don't eat or tolerate food.

3. Bright feathers indicate that healthy feathers are dirty, and loss of luster indicates illness.

4. Pigeons are caught in their hands, and there is a lot of powder on their feathers, which makes the master's hands stained with white powder. This is a healthy pigeon; On the contrary, it is sick.

5. Pigeons have big eyes and have gods, which is a sign of health. They are often sleepy and half-closed, indicating that they are sick. Tears-like fluid from the eyes indicates unhealthy.

6. There is a lot of white powder on the healthy pigeon nasal tumor, and the diseased pigeon nasal tumor is not clean.

7, you can also find out whether it is healthy from the feces. Soft as clay, forming small balls with white parts on the surface, which is a sign of health; The feces are slimy or watery, or there is blood, which indicates illness.

8, anal edge clean, no dirt that health; If the hair near the anus is sticky with feces or dirt, it means that it is sick.

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Open the pigeon's mouth with your hand, and there are small pimples, film or mucus and bad smell in your mouth, indicating that you are ill. Touch the crops, there is food in them, ok; If it is empty, it is full of liquid things, and it is a sign of illness when feeding.

10, often spread the wings of pigeons, and check whether there is any abnormality or damage in joints and pigeon lice on feathers.

Fourth, carrier pigeon training.

Training homing pigeons to fly can be divided into morning and noon twice. Let the squab out in the morning, install a movable door that can't get in, and let it go home to drink water and eat two hours later. At noon 1, it can be released at 2 o'clock, and then fed with water and feed. There is also training in the evening, so the pigeon house should be equipped with electric lights. Over time, homing pigeons will develop perfect night flying skills.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) carrier pigeons' cleanliness and hygiene

Let homing pigeons bathe in clean water. Carrier pigeons should be released every day. Bathing can not only keep their feathers clean, but also prevent ectoparasites from parasitizing. Take a bath at noon on sunny days, 5-7 times a week in summer and 1-2 times in winter. A small amount of iodine or 0. 1% potassium permanganate can be added to the bath water.

Sixth, carrier pigeons are healthy.

Observe their appetite and behavior for abnormal feces, find homing pigeons with pathological signs in time and take corresponding measures in time.