Production of Local Pigeons by Small Holders in the River Nile State, Sudan
Abstract
A questionnaire was conducted in Atbara town (March 2002), the
River Nile State, Sudan, to collect primary information on manage-ment and rearing of local pigeons. In this study the average flock size
was 18 pairs per household. The sources of the initial flock were the
market (64%), relatives (20%) and friends (16%). The reasons for
keeping pigeons varied. The majority of the respondents (76%) kept
pigeons as resource of income. The semi- intensive system is the main(96%) production system used for raising the local pigeons. Owners offer the birds grains, some leguminous seeds and occasion-ally drinking water and left them to roam during the day and kept at night in elevated brick houses. The respondents technical information on various management aspects, such as frequency of breeding, feeding, housing and disease control, were quite fair. It could be concluded that raising pigeons in town is mainly for income increase and consumption
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