Last year, each breeder saw their income rise by between 1,500 and 4,000 yuan on average, according to the village committee.

Turdi Mehmutul, who owns 200 pigeons, earned about 50,000 yuan last year by selling the birds and their eggs.

"Many people in the village made a profit by raising pigeons, so I decided to follow them in 2017. When I was 5, my parents and neighbors bred the birds for fun. I didn't see any value in them until I did some research and found that their meat is nutritious," he said.

The 60-year-old used to make a living through the fur trade, but the sector is increasingly insecure nowadays. "The business is not as profitable as before, so I must find another income source," Turdi said.

He began with 20 pigeons, but they all died. "I used the wrong breeding methods. After asking the experts, I learned that pigeons get ill when they eat too much or when the seasons change. By then, it is usually too late to give them medicine, so prevention is vital," he said.

Preventive measures include feeding the birds additive-free cereals and ensuring that their cages have adequate ventilation, he said.

Armed with this know-how, it takes Turdi less than an hour to feed his pigeons twice a day. He said he doesn't need to rely on his children now as he can earn a living on his own.

The only problem is that he needs to climb an iron ladder, about 2 meters high, to get to the pigeon cages on his roof.

Askar, the Party chief, said the village committee has established a pigeon-breeding cooperative that covers 5,000 square meters. Breeders purchase the chicks and the cooperative manages them as a whole. At the end of each year, the breeders get a slice of the profits.