Mostofa started his pigeon collection as a hobby. Although it remains a hobby to this day, he has amassed over 700 pigeons, many of them rare breeds. Each pair can cost up to Tk.25,000. The owner Golam Mostofa is a handicrafts businessman by occupation and lives in the Custom Mor area of Kushtia.
He has been raising pigeons for the last 20 years on the roof of his house. He first started in 1976 with 12 pairs of pigeons in his rented house near the Kushtia bus terminal. He later built his own house at Custom Mor and started it on a larger scale. Mostofa said he does not do this for commercial purposes, nor does he expect any income from it. But according to him, anyone could start such a farm and make Tk.30,000- Tk.40,000 a month. On his farm there were pigeons of many different colors and breeds. Many of them were newborn. The pigeon farm is built inside a tin-shed situated on the roof of his house. Thin metal rods are used to create partitions.
Mostofa said he has 105 breeds of rare pigeons at his farm, including Benarash, Chuithal, Kagchi, Golkosha, Shobujgola, Khakigola, Khaiye, Shahanpuri, Kaldom, Musuldom, Shobujchaya and more. Many of them are collected from India and Pakistan. He also collected from all over Bangladesh. He owns a pair of Shobujchaya that currently have a market price of Tk. 25,000. Another pair of Khakigola is priced at Tk5,000. He said the price of a pigeon is determined according to its ability to fly.
Care and cost
His passion for his hobby costs Mostofa around Tk.15,000 every month. The food storage for the pigeons is right next to the farm. There he stores different kinds of food including wheat, corn, rice, mustard, and eggshells. The pigeons love to eat leaves and greens as well. Mostofa has a garden right next to his farm where he grows plants and vegetables. His pigeons feed on these greens as well.
Mostofa said his pigeons do not get sick often but show some signs of illness in winter. To counteract this, he feeds them calcium tablets and vitamin A and D mixed with water, as prescribed by the local veterinarian.
He wakes up at 5am every morning and starts tending to his pigeons. He works till 9am every morning to make sure each one is well fed and disease free. His wife, Rehana Parvin Parul, and granddaughter Humaira Farjana Chowa, help him in taking care of them. He said that if it were not for their help, he could not have handled the farm alone.
His wife says Mostofa spends all his free time on his hobby. Many people sell pigeons for money but her husband has never done that, she said.
Sometimes, Mostofa lets out all 700 of his pigeons together. When the sky fills up with his precious collection, his heart swells with pride and he feels truly satisfied.
