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Income takes off after farmers try squabs
27 Oct 2003
Former pig farmers Sue and Frank Phelan turned to squabs - young meat pigeons - to supplement their income when they realised their pig farm was going backwards. The couple started with 40 pairs of breeders and now has 650 breeding pairs and 1,700 birds. They hope eventually to have 2,000 breeding pairs, with about 400 squabs going to market each week.
Good breeders lay two eggs six or seven times a year. The squabs hatch after 16 days and are ready for market after a month, during which time they achieve dressed weights of 300 to 550 grams.
The Phelans now consign about 100 birds a week to the Queensland Squab Processors abattoir at Thangool. The abattoir pays an average price of $4.50 for product that fetches about $23 a plate in Melbourne and Sydney restaurants.
The Phelans are members of the Callide Dawson Squab Co-operative whose members send about 5,000 birds a week to Queensland Squab Processors.
The Courier-Mail, 25/10/03, page 17.
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