Getting rich is different from other people in Son La, raising pigeons to give birth on stilts and clearly making a fortune

Mr. Bien used the rare remaining stilt house in the Thai village to raise pigeons. The story of Mr. Bien giving up raising pigs and chickens and switching to raising pigeons is also quite coincidental…

The funniest stilt house in the Northwest

“The funniest stilt house in the Northwest” is a title given to Mr. Bien’s family by Thai people. This place hears pigeons cooing all day long. That sound seemed to be amplified by the communication of hundreds of adult pigeons, making everyone passing by curious. The day we arrived, Mr. Bien was standing and watching the pigeons in the stilt house. Looking back from afar, no one would have thought that the house on stilts, several hundred square meters wide, made of precious wood, was the home of pigeons.

Following the stairs up to the stilt house to meet Mr. Bien, the sounds of the choral music became clearer. Mr. Bien went to see the pigeon nests leisurely like a retired teacher. No one thought that he was taking care of thousands of pigeons, large and small. In the cage, the pigeons saw strangers flying around. Mr. Bien looked at the pigeons, his voice indescribably happy: “I stay with them every day from morning to night. Taking care of them, I also become a member of this bird’s world.”

Seeing the boss’s shadow, the pigeons swooped down to ask for food. In the barn, Mr. Bien has dozens of feeding troughs and water bottles ready. The pigeons kept crowding around the feeding trough, just waiting for Mr. Bien to pour food in, then jostling and competing with each other to eat.

The stilt house is full of pigeons, and on the stilt house wall are countless cages. Inside, a group of pigeons that had just given birth were lying quietly. It seems that they also know that their parents can eat and it is almost their turn to eat. Each small box is divided very evenly by Mr. Bien. Young birds, egg-laying birds, and almost-adult birds are all in there. The large pigeon family seems to multiply very quickly.

At this rate, Mr. Bien’s flock of birds will soon reach tens of thousands. As if guessing the stranger’s thoughts, Mr. Bien shared: “After more than a month, I exported some baby birds. Only those I choose as breeders have to take care of them.” Accordingly, for the children that want to breed, Mr. Bien must separate them from their mother. Every day he becomes a “nanny” to feed and drink for their parents. Only by doing so will the birds later receive their owners. Otherwise, every time they breed, if the farmer comes close, they will destroy their eggs. This experience was gained thanks to the days Mr. Bien stayed in the pigeon coop to learn about them.

Having raised pigeons for 4 years, Mr. Bien has memorized the living characteristics of this bird. Mr. Bien must know exactly what day the female bird gives birth. Because after the female bird lays its eggs, after 4 days, Mr. Bien has to “scan” the eggs. You know which eggs can hatch, but which eggs don’t hatch will be eliminated immediately. Thanks to that, the mother birds will reproduce properly, without wasting any litter.

Mr. Bien also came up with a way to feed the birds with prepared food. According to Mr. Bien, vegetarian birds will grow and develop better than eating salty foods. Their food includes mashed corn and vegetables, which Mr. Bien puts into a pellet machine and then dries. He once tried feeding these birds industrial bran. At first they grow quickly, but after a few years each one becomes fat, round, and has a gizzard that is unable to reproduce.

From the initial pair of young birds into a large family of pigeons

The fate that brought Mr. Bien to pigeon farming was also very coincidental. Four years ago, his daughter-in-law became pregnant. His son bought a pair of young pigeons to give to his wife. Mr. Bien is the person responsible for bird meat. Looking at the pair of young birds that were not yet fully feathered and about to be put into the pot, Mr. Bien felt so sorry for him that he built a cage for them to live in. Unexpectedly, this led to a completely new profession of raising pigeons.

Fast forward a few months, and the day Mr. Bien’s daughter-in-law gave birth was also the day that the pair of pigeons hatched two chicks. Mr. Bien continued to take care of the birds. Every morning when he wakes up and hears the birds cooing, Mr. Bien feels happy. Just like that, after only 1 year, from the initial pair there were dozens of pigeons. “Every 40 days, pigeons give birth to a litter. They give birth consistently like a painting,” Mr. Bien shared.

The pigeons grew and reproduced so quickly that soon the small cage that Mr. Bien built for them was cramped. Having the stilt house that Mr. Bien used a few days ago to raise chickens, he immediately turned it into a pigeon. Soon the pigeons multiplied to hundreds of birds. Seeing them grow and develop well, Mr. Bien suddenly came to his senses: “Why don’t we raise pigeons right in this stilt house, instead of having to struggle with the geese and ducks for many years and always lose money…” .

Up to now, Mr. Bien has had up to 200 pairs of breeding pigeons. A pair of parents give birth to up to 9 litters each year. They don’t seem to get sick and raise their babies very well. With the current selling price of young birds being 130,000 VND/pair, on average a year, a pair of parent birds brings in an income of more than 1 million VND. Since switching to raising pigeons, his family has had a much more prosperous life.