Squabs are young pigeons used for food.They are easily obtained by breeding a pair of pigeons.They are ready at twenty-four to twenty-eight  days of age.They will not be able to fly yet and still have their "baby featers".At this point the meat is very tender and still have flavor.

  Breeding is fairly easy.Just buy a proven pair of utility pigeons.Make sure you order utility,not fancy as fancies cost a little bit more and wouldn't it be sad if you had to destroy these yourself.Be sure to provide a large nesting box.Do not seperate the males and females because they are mates for life and share parenting roles.The typical amount of eggs is two.Incubation is 18 days and one will hatch a day or two after the other.

  There are very few good squabbing breeds,but  there are a few.My favorite would be the runt.They produce large young usually weighing in at three pounds.A more common breed is the Texan.These have very delectible meat.Another common choice is the large Kings.These are also large.The larger the breed the larger the young and amount of fertile eggs.Choose very carefully as the better the breed,the better the green.

A proper diet will ensure your breeders will lay the most amount of eggs as possible(a good hen will produce 10 to 12 eggs a year).Many folks tend to feed pigeons baccon lard to regurgitate to their young.This is never a good idea.The parents do eat some of it and is not healthy.Just go to a feed store and buy high quality pigeon food.Try to find diets consisting of grit,high protein,egg meal,and good calcium amounts.My special mix is a whole egg(shell and all),bread,mashed squash,squash seeds,and cuttle bone(ground).

  Here comes the sad part.Butchering.I have had some difficulty butchering my hard work.When I was younger,I refused to kill them.It was to sad to kill them while they are staring at you.Do it early on in the morning to make sure it has nothing in its stomach.Just carefully,but quickly cut of the entire neck and hang to bleed.Save the blood if the certain dish being made calls for it.After a minute or so of bleeding,pluck the feathers carefully to make sure you do not damage the skin and flesh.Do not scald the bird.Remove all the intestines and stomach without damaging them.Rupturing causes the release of harmful bacterias.Either freeze or refrigerate to prevent the squab from spoiling.You may choose to soak it in brine to help keep it moist and tender during the cooking process.

  You will need a whole squab,lime,olive oil,salt,pepper,olive oil,Moroccan herbs,brown rice,and chicken broth.Season your squab with salt,pepper,herbs,and olive oil and bake at 200 degrees for a minute.Then broil the squab in the broth until cooked.Then boil the rice in the remainder of the broth and add a capful of ollive oil once the liquid is reduced all the way.Stuff fresh Moroccan herbs in the cooked squab and then stuff it with the cooked rice.Sprinkle on some lime and bake it until it is golden brown.As strange and rare as this method is,it has proven useful.