Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
C
HARLES KELLOGG
is your typical poultry person with a passion. At age five, curi-
ous about the pigeons in the barn loft, he convinced his mother to climb to the top
of the barn and rescue two young squabs, and that started his lifelong poultry hobby.
The first two pigeons were not a success, so he went on to chickens but returned to
his first love, pigeons, before the age of 10. Now some 50 years later he is still an
avid fancier with a vast array of pigeons in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
I first met Charles when he called me to find a home for a very rare breed of chick-
en. Arriving at his farm to pick up the chickens, I was awestruck by his collection
of pigeon breeds, their colors and body shapes far more diverse than I had ever ima-
gined. The friendliness of some breeds and the stand-offishness of others were sim-
ilar to the diversity among chickens, ducks, and other poultry. I saw after only a few
minutes that a pigeon is not “just a pigeon.” I was so impressed by these creatures'
diversity and Charles's knowledge of their unique traits that I left the farm ready to
start another project.
Charles's collection is rather large, but as he says, it is nothing compared to what
is out there. He has breeds from all over the world, such as his Rehani Syrian Dew-
laps, first imported from Syria in the 1940s and so rare that he has not been able to
find new blood in more than 20 years. This unique breed is auto-sexing, where the
hens are one color and the males another. I was also duly impressed by his Parlor
Rollers, which are unable to fly. When placed on the ground, they do something like
backflips as they roll, an amusing and unique sight that leaves one wondering even
more about the wonderful variety of species. Charles's concern, shared by many with
the passion, is that since so much genetic diversity is disappearing, some of these
unique birds will be lost forever.
Pigeons are birds that could be kept secretly in city backyards and still satisfy that
need for poultry when large fowl such as chickens are taboo.
It takes several years for peafowl to reach sexual maturity and attain their dazzling
color. Once the male reaches sexual maturity, usually by the age of two or three, you'll
be amazed by the amount of time he spends trying to impress his mates with his strut-
ting and flashy, gorgeous display. The hen is in total control; she decides if and when
she will allow him to mate with her.
Like turkeys, peafowl require a 5- to 6-foot (1.5-1.8 m) roost, a dry place to live, and
adequate ventilation. Feeding and rearing peafowl is similiar to feeding and rearing tur-
keys as their habits are closely related (see
chapter 12
,
Turkeys). If you raise and care
for them as if they were turkeys, you should do fine.
