No paltry matter for this breeder of exotic birds

Al Ain: With grease, paint, and dust on his hands and clothes, Mohammad Saleem was repairing a car at his Sanaiya garage which stands hidden behind his unusual hobby that once brought him international fame.

Saleem is a specialist in breeding exotic birds and he is waiting for yet another opportunity to set up his own bird farm.

The young Pakistani auto body repairer breeds birds using his own special techniques to produce fine-looking exotic birds for exhibitions, and people who love to keep them as pets.

Although Saleem is not widely known for his bird-breeding hobby, he said a number of American and Canadian associations listed him as an expert in breeding exotic birds, poultry, and bantam.

Birds were one Allahs' most beautiful creatures, he said.

"I simply want to live with them, feed them, and enjoy their innocent chirping sounds," he said.

"Birds are my obsession, and I cannot live without them."

Feeding his passion

Saleem said his hobby began when he was just six years old living in a remote village in the Sialkot district in Pakistan's Punjab province.

Since then his passion has taken him to many parts of the world including the USA, Canada, UK, and Japan.

He was even appointed as an international judge by the American Poultry Association.

However he cannot speak any language other than his native Punjabi and broken Arabic.

"I was just six years old when I first collected some hen eggs to breed chicks," he said.

"I cannot forget that experience when the chicks came out of them and started running around," he said.

This led him to collect information on poultry and other birds, which took him to different cities of Pakistan.

"My father supported me but my education suffered," he said.

Saleem said he was living and breathing birds day and night but never thought of turning his passion into a business.

"I used to sell birds when I find them difficult to manage or their number exceeded in the holds," he said.

Saleem said he had carried out a series of experiments with breeding birds, but had been limited by a shortage of funds.

"I had no money to buy an incubator but that could not stop me," he said.

"I studied the incubators and invented a machine with ordinary household items, using it successfully for breeding," he said.

Years later in Al Ain, when he was again under financial pressure, he made another of his incubators.

Saleem said he dropped out of school and had no money to keep his hobby alive.

However friends asked him to train and work at an auto body-repairs shop in Sialkot.

"I became a body repairer and painter to support to support the hobby," he said. "I can say that my entire life is driven by this hobby and I have no regrets at all," he added.

Saleem said over the years he had organised many bird exhibitions, winning countless prizes and international acclaim.

When he came to Al Ain in 1988, he established a small bird house within his garage in Sanaiya.

He said his customers were surprised to see a variety of parrots, hens, pigeons, pheasants, Ginny fowls, peacocks, and other birds at the premises.

"Once I had a rooster with 20 feet long tail and a large number of people, both Emiratis and expatriates use to come to see it and appreciate his hobby," he said.

Saleem said keeping birds was a time-consuming job as the creatures needed special attention.

Breeders needed to monitor birds' health and growth, give medicines, maintain a suitable environment, and know about feeds, breeding, and how to keep the birds happy.

Saleem said it had been hard to continue his hobby for the past few years, because he needed to relocate his business to much smaller premises.

"I don't have a sufficient place for the birds," he said.