Being a graduate in engineering Abraham has had many choices. But he was never caught in ‘dilemma’ on what next?
Instead, he focused on his years’ old passion of growing pigeons. The youth, in his early 20s, now has more than 40 varieties of pigeons in his collection which he is exhibiting at the ongoing International Aqua and Pet Show on Kanakakkunnu grounds.
“Rearing pigeons has turned out to be a craze for me rather than just a means of living,” says Abraham, who has housed the birds on the terrace of his house at Thirumala.
The King Pigeon, one of the varieties, with a hen’s nature is astonishing the crowd with its fat body weighing about 6 kilograms. For the youngster, the ‘Fantails’ breed of pigeons is the highest in demand this year. The long-tailed bird, with 32 feathers in one tail, is available in different colours at the show. The Ring Modena, Magpie, Swift and Hippie, some other breeds, impress people with their own unique features. The price of the pigeons ranges between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000.
Abraham was a little disappointed in the past few days as the summer showers were creating problems for his lovely ‘hot-blooded’ pigeons. When asked about the care he gives Abraham giggles and points out the way in which the pigeons take bath. “They have oil content at the end of their feathers which they use while taking bath,” he says. He also adds that proper medication and care should be provided for the livers of the birds since they are very sensitive.
Green peas and sprouted Bengal gram are the favourites of these birds. Each female pigeon lays two eggs every 20 days.
Though Abraham has more fancy pigeons in his collection he also has a few other varieties. ‘Parava’ is one among them which is used for racing in various tournaments.
“American Homers can travel almost 200 km and these were the ones which were used for carrying letters in the olden days,” he says.