Occupation:Part-time bird breeder and seller
See this cockatiel? Don’t worry, you can pet it as this one is tame. If it weren’t, it would have pecked the flesh off the skin of my palm by now. Look at this Nun pigeon; it’s a breed of fancy pigeon, isn’t she a beauty? This is a Black-headed Nun. The Nun is so named because of the raised feathers that form a kind of hood which covers the back of the neck and head.
As a kid, I was passionate about raising lovebirds as I found their chirping soothing. In those days, lovebirds were reasonably priced and I would buy them, raise them and sell them for pocket money.
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After my marriage, I started rearing them again in my home at Mangalapuram and started adding to my collection – javas, finches, cockatiels and varieties of pigeons. As an added income to my travel agency business, I started selling them at my tiny Photostat store at Vallakkadavu. I have a Persian cat that has given birth and I am now selling her kittens online. Look at the photos, aren’t they adorable? Would you like to buy one?
Rearing birds is now a trend amongst many homemakers, so I have quite a few customers. It’s a profitable business. Some do stop while driving by as they find them ‘cute’! They don’t know the work that goes into rearing them. We have to make sure the birds are comfortable. Just like babies, they need proper shelter, bedding and feed. The cages for the birds need to be spacious so that the birds can move freely. It is tough when the birds fall sick as most of the veterinarians are not familiar with the kind of diseases that befall these birds. The same goes with my Persian cats. I treat them myself when they fall ill by referring to various websites.
Did you know there is a competition for pigeons? It is called the national pigeon flying competition. I have participated in it a few times. Participants can register at the website and a referee comes home to judge. The trained pigeon is set free in the morning. The judge stays and clocks the number of hours the bird stays on air. The pigeon that flies for the maximum number of hours, wins. I haven’t won so far, although my pigeon managed to stay up in air for 13 hours straight.
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Just like me, my wife, Saji, and children, Aqmar, Binal and Abdullah are fond of animals too. My dream is to open a pet shop that specialises in varieties of birds one day.
(A weekly column on men and women who make Thiruvananthapuram what it is)