Our Correspondent :
Pigeon farming has been a part of the hobby of rural people in this country since ancient times. There were many stories about rearing pigeon as a pastime. Pigeons were used as letter carriers. It was customary to feed pigeon meat to guests in people’s homes. But pigeons were not cultivated commercially.
In the course of time, pigeon rearing has become profitable and people have started commercial pigeon farming. Pigeon farming was a hobby at one time. But this hobby has now taken a commercial form. Many people are now benefiting from pigeon farming. So making hobby pigeon farms has now taken the form of commercial farms.
Such is the picture of AFM Zahirul Islam, a resident of Hossainpur Upazila Sadar in Kishoreganj district. He has set up a commercial pigeon farm. He has also benefited a lot from this farm.
Prosperity has come to his family. He is quite happy about it. Many are also expressing interest in seeing his farm.
Zahirul Islam is the founder of Anwar School and College in Hossainpur Upazila Sadar. 4 years ago, he started keeping pigeons at home with only 5 amateur pigeons. From that pigeon has now become a full-fledged farm. There are 600 pigeons in his farm including local and foreign ones.
There are different breeds of native pigeons including Mayuri, Siraj, Humar, Shotpich, Helmet, Brondil, Mukhi Halud, Mukhinil, Kingsada, Kinghalud, Owl, Jacobing, Giribaj.
Going to the ground, you can see rows of cages in two rooms of the house. These pigeons are kept in a total of one hundred cages.
The whole house is buzzing with pigeon calls. The call of the pigeon can be heard near the house. In some cages there are eggs, in some cages there are freshly hatched chicks and in some cages there are small pigeon chicks. Mother pigeons are busy feeding their own food as well as babies.
Zahirul said, the farm is very profitable now. He has invested 15 lakh rupees in this farm. Daily cost including pigeon meal is 8 shataka. Excluding all expenses, there is a profit of at least 50 thousand rupees per month. With which he is running the family. His wife Mansoor also assisted in this work.
Regarding pigeons, Zahirul said, wheat, maize, hinti, mustard, lentils etc. are given to pigeons in their daily diet. He said that it will be difficult to sustain this business now as the price of pigeon food has gone up.
Pigeon lovers from different parts of the area including neighbors come to see this pigeon farm. After hearing about the commercial benefits of Zahirul, many of them expressed their desire to set up their own farms.
Upazila Animal Resources Officer BA Mannan said that the amateur pigeon farm is a very lucrative business.
Through this, prosperity can come to anyone’s family. The Livestock Department will provide all the assistance including various suggestions to build a farm for the interested people.
