How long till i can let them out?

[RareFeathers]

i picked up sone pigeons at an auction, a King, 2 fantails, a nun and a pair of doneks/gelentini rollers (i can't remember what they were). i keep them with my flock of chickens, which, what i normally do with them is open the door in the morning, and close it at night. i would like to be able to let the pigeonsout as well. i've had them since about 2 weeks ago, and they've been in the coop for a week now, except for the rollers, who have been since yesterday. how long 'till i can trust them to come back in?

thanks

james

 

[puredelite]

Two or three weeks should be enough time for them to get use to their new home. Whenever you do deside to let them out try to avoid scareing them into flying but just open the door and let them venture out on their own at their leisure. For the flying breeds(rollers, doneks, etc.) the risk is greater because if they take off flying they probably won't recognize their new home from the air. However, breeds that don't fly much(fantails) that will tend to just sit up on the roof of the loft will lure the flyers back down. Also let them out before feeding so you can call them back in with rattling the feed can. Hopes this helps...

 

[birdmandan]

I planned to let my birds out after they started breeding. Had 3 breeding pairs for a year already. One day, a bird escaped during cleaning and never came back!!! Now I'm too afraid to let the birds out due to this incident!!!