A Brief Intro to Dovecotes and Raising Doves and Pigeons

A Dovecote at Oxwich Castle, Wales, United Kingdom - dating to mid 1500's

http://www.glamorganwalks.com/Dovecote_Oxwich.jpg

A dovecote (pronounced: “DOVE-coat”) is also known as a columbaria ("co-lum-BEAR-ee-uh") or pigeonaire ("pigeon-AIR").

 

 

A dovecote is simply a house for doves or pigeons. I have seen a few of these in person, but the only ones I ever saw that were currently in use were in Turkey. Historically, doves and pigeons were kept as primary food sources throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The earliest dovecotes are thought to be in Egypt and Iran. I am strongly considering adding a dovecote in my yard.

 

 

 Dovecote at La Providence Wine Farm, Franschhoek Valley, in South Africa's wine country.

http://southafricantraveldesk.com/accommodation/franschhoek/images/la_providence/mews_dovecote.jpg

So the big question is why would anyone want one? My three answers are Meat, Eggs, and Manure.

Meat

Young pigeon and dove meat is called “squab” in the culinary world. It is considered a delicacy. Moist and rich, squab is all dark meat. The skin is more fatty (like duck) than chicken, and the meat is less fatty (more lean) than domesticated chicken. I have had squab on a few occasions, and I have had friends who have eaten squab in many places around the world. I have not met anyone who has tried squab who has not really liked it. This is a great tasting bird!

Squab with Porcini Mushrooms... my mouth is watering!

Here's the recipe!

Eggs

Pigeon and Dove eggs can really vary in size. However, for rough size comparisons... a medium-large pigeon/dove egg is about half the size of a medium chicken egg and double the size of a quail egg. Pigeon eggs are not nearly as common as quail eggs, but could easily be substituted in any recipe. For any eggs calling for chicken eggs, pigeon/dove eggs could be used as a unique ingredient. I admit that I have not tasted pigeon/dove eggs... yet. I enjoy cooking and eating quail eggs, and I imagine that these eggs are quite similar, just larger.

The Scotch eggs use quail egg, but pigeon/dove eggs could easily be substituted.

Here's the recipe!

Manure
Pigeon manure has a long history of being collected for fertilizer and for use in making gunpowder. The only information I could find places pigeon/dove manure at a NPK ratio of 4:2:1. This was (roughly) consistent from multiple sources, so I will run with it. This compares fairly well to chicken manure. Just like chicken manure, pigeon/dove manure should be considered "hot" (i.e. high in nitrogen in too raw a form) and should age, perferably in a compost pile, for a few months before applying it to growing plants.

Some modern dovecote designs.

http://www.dovecotes.org/images/rivington4.jpg

Quick Facts:

• Pigeons and Doves belong to the Columbidae Family.
• The Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) is the “common” pigeon seen in cities.
• The Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica) was developed from the Rock Dove.
• There are many species of wild and many varieties of domestic doves and pigeons, each with different squab and egg sizes.
• Pigeons developed primarily for meat at called Utility Breeds.
• Common Utility Breeds are: King, American Giant Runt, French Mondain
• Pigeons and Doves form mating pairs (one male and one female), and they care for their young themselves - no human intervention required!
• A breeding pair can produce 10-15 squabs per year.
• Doves and Pigeons can live and produce young for over 10 years, there are some that have lived for over 30 years!
• If there are sufficient food sources surrounding the dovecote, there is no supplement feeding needed.
• Squabs reach adult size, but cannot yet fly, at about 4 weeks. This is when they are slaughtered.
• Weight at slaughter is about 0.5 pounds (0.2 kg) in a traditional (no supplement feeding) operation, but can increase up to 1.3 pounds (0.6 kg) in a high-input, industrial operation.

The King Pigeon is a common bred developed for meat.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/King_pigeons.jpg

Humanure How To

Due to the popularity of my previous post on Humanure, I wanted to share a few videos on the subject.  These videos make it clear just how easy it is to compost humanure.  I truly think we need to overcome our quite recently developed (in human history) fecophobia.  We need to be cautious that we properly handle human waste, but, as I have said previously, wasting clean drinking water and all the energy used to purify it just to flush away something that could easily and safely be recycled is a travesty.

Starting a New Humanure Compost Pile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BWc-RjuWbs

Emptying Humanure Toilet Receptacles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZTZTVv6kYs

Making a Humanure Compost Toilet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPg-n4czGE0

Book Review: The Humanure Handbook

 

  The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure

Now let's just dive in to the topic that is sitting right in front of us.  The topic no one wants to talk about, ever.  Poop.  Crap.  Stool.  Whatever you want to call it, everyone does it.  But no one ever wants to discuss it.  The Western world is very fecophobic.  No, I did not make up that word.  But the fear of our own poop, or someone else's, makes this a topic that most people would rather avoid.  Let's avoid, rather, the verbal constipation of this subject.  As a Family Medicine physician, I talk about bowel movements all the time, so this is not uncomfortable to me at all.

A quick definition for those who are a bit slow:  Humanure = Human Manure

Where to begin... I guess I'll start off with my impression of this book.  It was fantastic.  Never would I have thought that a book, a whole book, about composting human manure would be such a great read, and yet it was.  I kid you not.  Joseph Jenkins has given us a very well written book.  It combines history with biology with agriculture with up to date science, all in an interesting and fun to read format.

I firmly believe everyone should read this book.  Even if you have no desire to ever compost your own crap, this book will break down a lot of misconceptions about this normal body function.

For those who are ecologically minded, you may be shocked at the amount of environmental damage and waste of water we commit to by pooping in drinking water and flushing it away to be chemically treated and released.

For those who are interested in the concept, either out of curiosity or out of a desire to actually implement this, but who are fearful of disease and contamination, you will be delighted to know how safe and easy building and maintaining a humanure compost pile really can be.  You will read in the book who building a thermophilic compost pile will reach temperatures of over 160 F (71 C), and this is hot enough to kill all known human pathogens (diseases) within 24 hours.  But to ensure safety, the recommendation is to let the pile stand for a year before using it.  For those who are really paranoid, he recommends letting the pile stand for two years.  By the time you actually use the compost, the material is really just like a high fertility soil.  Another point to ponder for those who are fearful that they will die from some deadly disease because they composted their poop... if you are healthy (i.e. NOT SICK), then where are the deadly bacteria that will kill you going to come from?

For those who are just freaked out by the gross factor, this book causes you to challenge your personal biases against a normal human process.  I find it humorous that most gardeners jump at the chance to pay good money for composted, or even fresh, horse and cow manure, yet will stare at you as if you had a third arm growing out of your head when you mention composted humanure.

I will probably talk more about this topic in the future, since I truly think it will be a growing trend across the world, especially when the world starts to realize how little fresh water we have left on the Earth.  But I will save that for another day...

Let me end this post by listing some of the reviews about this book:

"This is a cult classic which might strike those without an outhouse as disgusting. But the methods outlined within have the potential to change the ecological fate of the world."

- New Yorker Magazine, May 22, 2009

"The handbook contains a lot of hard information taken from the author's humanure composting experience." "Jenkins provides a convincing case that human waste can and should be a safe composting material." 

- Mother Earth News

"We think the Humanure [Hand]Book ranks right up there with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring as one of the most important environmental exposes of all time." 

- HortIdeas

"...outrageous humor and brilliant, diligent research." "This is one book that could save the world!"

- Permaculture Drylands Journal

"...almost certain to become a classic in its field." "This book should be required reading...and not only for homesteaders." 

- Countryside Journal

"...a good read for anyone who is ready to entertain the possibility of more fully integrating him or herself into the ecosystem." "Replete with bad jokes, provocative queries, and practical suggestions."

- The Natural Farmer

Permaculture Projects: Attracting Bats

The Little Brown Bat.

The most common bat in North America.
3-4 inches long and less than 12 inch wingspan.

http://bigdogsbirdblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/little_brown_bat.jpg

Attracting bats?  Oh, yeah!  I love bats.  Hopefully, after reading this post, you will at least gain an appreciation for this much maligned denizen of the night.

In the last few weeks, there has been a huge increase in mosquitos where I live.  Last year at about this time, I could watch the bats hunting at night.  This year, I haven't seen any bats.  I am hoping that this is just temporary.  I have had to treat cellulitis from infected mosquito bites about five times in the last week alone.  I have never before had this many infected bites clustered in a short time like this.  There are real consequences to not having bats in your local area, and this is just one of them.

The beautiful Hoary Bat.

A common North American bat, and the only bat in Hawaii.

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/photos/05-15-07/eatonbat.jpg

Quick Bat Facts:

• Bats are the number one predator of insects.
• One bat can eat 2,000 - 6,000 insects... per night!  Reread that last sentence.  Wow!
• In one summer (let's say 90 days), that is over half a million insects... for one bat!
• Bats are the primary pollinator of the agave plant.  Tequila comes from agave.  No bats... no tequila!
• Vampire Bats do exist... not in North America, and they are quite rare.
• About half of all bats are endangered or threatened... primarily due to loss of habitat, pollution, and human persecution.
• Bats rarely contract rabies... less than 40 people have gotten rabies from a bat in the last 50 years.  Worldwide, over 50,000 people die each year from rabies, and the most common vector is dogs.
• Bats are not blind.
• Bats are not attracted to humans, and will avoid humans at all costs.
• Bat guano (manure) is a great fertilizer with a very high concentration of nitrogen.

Townsend's Big-Eared Bat.

Endangered in Eastern North America

http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/385263/530wm/Z9150013-Townsend_s_big-eared_bat-SPL.jpg

I have stood in a field both in Nigeria and in Turkey with bats swooping all around me.  They were feeding on the insects flying over the fields just after dusk.  I could feel the breeze a few times as they flew close, but they never touched me.  I am talking about dozens of bats in a small field, in the dark, with no collisions with me or each other while picking insects out of midair.  They are amazing flyers!

Installing a bat house!

http://www.batguys.com/resources/images/sbinsfull.JPG

Attracting Bats
How do you attract bats to your property?  Build bat houses!  This will keep insect populations down in your local area and will provide you with a source for great compost.

The Organization for Bat Conservation is a great resource for information on bats.  They also have free plans for building bat houses as well - click here for a link to their PDF download page.

Here is a great interview with the Rob Mies, the co-founder and director of The Organization for Bat Conservation.  Aired on The Survival Podcast.

Not all bat houses will be used.  If you live in a cool climate, they may stay in the bat house for the spring-fall, but will hibernate somewhere else.  Where you place the bat house is determined by where you live.  Again, The Organization for Bat Conservation has a great page explaining where to place your bat house.

The Spotted Bat

An elusive and little known bat of North America.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/learning/webcasts/caves/images/68_spotted_bat.jpg

So, I am a huge fan of bats.  They are a huge asset and, to me, an integral component of a well-designed Permaculture System.  Consider attracting bats to your property today!

Holy Shit... a book review

Holy Shit: Managing Manure To Save Mankind

Gene Logsdon is one of my favorite agricultural authors.  Yes, I have a few favorite agricultural authors.  Logsdon always has a way of saying things that at first glace seems a bit "country" and a bit far-fetched, but after pondered for a bit turns out to be genius. 

His latest book, Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind is a look at agricultural and human "waste" (yes, human manure), how it effects the environment, and how it can be effectively utilized.  There is a large focus on farming in this book, so it is less useful as a how-to manual for the average home gardener.  But if you have any livestock, then there is probably a chapter or two for you.  Also, this book focuses more on traditional farming methods - not entirely "traditional" since Logsdon is actually a pretty non-traditional farmer - but he is not quite at the level of enviromental or biological systems integration as some Permaculture practioners would strive to be.

However, what this book really does is show that when manure is managed properly, it can go from being a large,costly, and smelly liability to a precious, soil-building commodity worthy of your investment.  An entertaining and educational read, classic for Logsdon... and a title that is sure to catch people's attention and spark worthy conversation over a topic mostly people try to avoid.