Pigeon Farming Catching On Big Time

Pigeon Farming Catching On Big Time LIVESTOCK Exotic Animals Looking for a sideline business? How about raising pigeons?
    Pigeon King International Inc based in Waterloo Ontario says its 10-year pigeon breeding contracts are an excellent way to make money from otherwise empty older barns grain bins mobile homes and other buildings
    Pigeon King s founder and CEO Arlan Galbraith is looking for large-scale breeders all across North America due to an expanding market for Homer racing pigeons and the smaller High Flyer pigeons
    Homers are used in distance racing at speeds of up to 50 mph flying 500 miles in a day and High Flyers are used in endurance flying where fanciers compete to see how long their bird will remain airborne
    The sport of pigeon racing is gaining popularity around the world according to Galbraith Huge prize money beckons competitive pigeon racers and proven high performance birds can be worth up to $100 000 each
    There s also a large market for pigeon meat squab in a variety of ethnic markets Galbraith points out
    Even with hundreds of farms currently contracted across Canada and the U S with flocks sizes ranging from 100 to 2 000 pairs Pigeon King International Inc can t currently produce enough birds to meet the American market - and there are significant market opportunities in Europe and other parts of the world as well
    Galbraith says the company has numerous holding and shipping barns in Ontario Manitoba Pennsylvania Ohio Indiana Iowa and Missouri In addition to his contract flocks Galbraith also owns and operates several U S breeding flocks which range from 400 to 1 600 pairs
    Pigeon King offers a variety of investment options with 10-year contracts: Clients may choose to invest $200 per young breeding pair which guarantees they ll be paid $25 per healthy bird they produce Based on an average annual production of 10 offspring per pair per year a 100-pair flock could earn $25 000 per year on the initial $20 000 investment
    If clients choose to invest $500 per breeding pair the company guarantees payment of $50 per healthy bird produced or $50 000 annually
    If clients choose to invest in squabing breeding stock they pay $100 per pair and are then paid $10 per young healthy bird produced
     We also have a sub contracting program whereby an investor can purchase breeding stock from us and then sub contract them to individual farmers with no investment for stock by the farmer We pay the sub contractor for all offspring at $50 per bird The sub contractor then pays the farmer $25 or some other agreed amount per bird Galbraith says This way the farmer gets a good income without having to invest in the breeding stock He simply sets up his barn and supplies feed and labor This program is profitable for everyone involved and the sub contractor makes an excellent income on his investment without a lot of work
    New pigeon breeders need to invest money in either new or modified facilities to meet bird accommodation requirements              Breeding pairs should have access to a large wire mesh porch attached to the sunny side of the barn so they can get outside They love to sit outside whether it s sunny rainy or snowy Galbraith says
    In addition to basic feeders and waterers the birds housing must have plywood nesting boxes and perches with mesh screens below for catching droppings
     It may seem expensive to get set up but you have your money back after a year or two of production says Galbraith There s no quota or large equipment to purchase like there is in other farming enterprises like chickens or dairy and all healthy young birds are picked up at your farm once per month free of charge
    The breeding stock supplied by Pigeon King comes with 20 percent additional breeding pairs at no extra charge to as an easy method of providing a one-year warranty You get to sell all of the extra young from the free pairs in addition to the pairs you pay for so if you lose a few birds they re already replaced he explains However if you lose a large number of birds more than 20 percent we ll still replace them
At 20 weeks of age all healthy offspring are ready to be sold back to Pigeon King and moved to a large holding facility from where they re either sold as breeding stock or trained for several months before being sent to another barn for racing
We re the second largest supplier of breeding stock in the world and routinely ship birds in both directions across the U S border We ve also shipped birds as far overseas as Malaysia he says
Pigeons can take extreme heat or cold better than chickens and need 16 hours of light per day for maximum production Galbraith says You can get good results from a naturally ventilated barn or you can go to an insulated barn with small fans and some heat in the winter if you prefer
Pigeons diet is simple and pelleted rations can be purchased at a feed mill that meet dietary needs of laying birds or young growing birds
Galbraith has been breeding flying and marketing pigeons for 54 years and says his Manitoba holding barn is the world s largest pigeon barn under one roof at 40 000 sq ft He s been contracting breeding flocks with individual family farmers for the past five years
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Pigeon King International Inc Arlan Galbraith Unit 4 200 Northfield Dr E Waterloo Ont Canada N2K 4H2 ph 800 985-6132; pigeonking@yossman net; www thepigeonflyer com

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