Raising Pigeons For Meat: Raising Pigeons for Squabs Book 1 (Volume 1) (Paperback)This special re-print edition of E.H. Rice’s “National Standard Squab Book” from 1915 includes everything a person needs to know about how to raise pigeons for meat purposes. At over 400 pages, this book contains a mountain of practical information on how to raise your own steady supply of quality pigeon meat in your own backyard from only a very moderate investment. Included is everything the beginner needs to know about raising pigeons for squabs, including how to house them, how to set your own pigeon loft up, their feeding requirements, how to cure basic pigeon diseases, how to select breeders and how to process your own squabs. Also included are hundreds of letters from turn of the century breeders who raised their own squabs for the kitchen table, as well as for market purposes, who shared their own practical experiences on how they raised their own meat pigeons, along with hundreds of economic shortcuts on low cost housing, feeders, watering systems and other tips. Also included are expert answers to common and uncommon questions on the subject. This treasure trove of information is lavishly illustrated with period photographs. Note: This edition is a perfect facsimile of the original edition and is not set in a modern typeface. As a result, some type characters and images might suffer from slight imperfections or minor shadows in the page background.
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Most people are quite familiar with the image of a pigeon, a bird commonly seen in the courtyards and barnyards across the globe. But did you know that young pigeons, or squab, are considered a delicacy by millions of people? Or that squab farming in the backyard or on the rooftop may be more common than you might think?
And oh by the way, just what exactly is a “utility pigeon”?
A good place to begin an investigation is with the origin of the word pigeon. It is “pijon” in old french, meaning “young dove”, and “pipio” in Latin, or “young chirping bird”. Another clue can be found in the definition of utility, which means useful, beneficial, or profitable. Our good friend the pigeon is all of that, and more, and can certainly meet those basic requirements.
Utility Pigeon is a general term that is broadly applied to describe any breed of domestic pigeon that is kept primarily for the production of meat. Sometimes referred to as “working birds”, they are capable of producing an adequate number of young, or squabs, of suitable weight and quality to justify their production costs.
By their nature, some breeds of pigeons are more productive, and profitable, than others. Pigeons in general have been intensively and selectively bred for many centuries, with many breeds falling in and out of favor along with the whims of the times and other developments.
The standards today include the King Pigeon of various colors, the Red Carneau, and the French and Swiss Mondaines, to name just a few. All can make excellent squabbing pigeons, though the White King seems to be preferred by many commercial breeders.
In fact, careful and judicial breeding with productivity in mind is the story of the Utility Pigeon. Notice that the very origin of the word pigeon emphasizes the young bird, or squab, which gives us some true insight into what the originators were thinking all along. Utility pigeons produce squabs, lots and lots of squabs, to our everlasting epicurean delight. They are the steady workhorses of the pigeon world. They work to live, and live to work. It’s what they do, without apology, nor complaint.
They are indeed a most useful and utilitarian bird.
Food Freedom – Raise A Squab Today!
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