3 Young Birds out, wont go back into loft-

[DenverCityCat]

OK, Seems like I did so much wrong- I found a pigeon 3 months ago, (hes great) I built him a coop & decided to get a few friends for him, some Iranian guy on Craigslist was selling 6 young birds, 2 days later the guy called me & said the guy that was supposed to take the birds didnt. . . .So now I have 7 Birds total right, OK, I tried reading about pigeons, theres alot, I bought a couple books which didnt tell me that much, watched some youtube, I tried getting into a pigeon forum but it wouldnt let me in, said my address was a known spammer. . . . . . .

So, I didnt know you werent supposed to let them all out at once nor did I realize you needed to keep them in the loft longer then 1 month perhaps- These young ones were in my loft about a month, they flew around, the original one (Cooper) and 3 of the others came into my garage, but 3 stayed out & wouldnt go back into the loft- Their flying around my house, seemed to be staying around at least. . . .

I've taken the other 4 and their in my garage so I may keep the loft open maybe they'll fly back in- They have water now but were really thirsty considering it was 100 deg in Denver yesterday, no food though as Im hoping they will get hungry enough to go into the loft- (Oh, the 3 seem scare of me now which is horrible). Any ideas? I got them trained at least to this whistle, they seem to fly outta site but come back in 5-10 min to this whistle- Anyhow, my wonderful pigeon adventure seems to have hit a couple aweful snags- Any help or ideas anyone has Id be greatful-

Its been all night & am surprised they found their way back to tell you the truth considering all 3 seemed to be somewhere else- The 3 AMIGOS (The ones that are out) are still flying around my house, on my roof, everywhere except their loft which is wide open.

 

[biophiliac]

OK, Seems like I did so much wrong- I found a pigeon 3 months ago, (hes great) I built him a coop & decided to get a few friends for him, some Iranian guy on Craigslist was selling 6 young birds, 2 days later the guy called me & said the guy that was supposed to take the birds didnt. . . .So no I have 7 Birds total, (Sorry for the math hah) OK, I tried reading about pigeons, theres alot. . . . So, I didnt know you werent supposed to let them all out at once nor did I realize you needed to keep them in the loft longer then 1 month perhaps- These young ones were in this loft about a month, they flew around but 3 stayed out & wouldnt go back into the loft- Their flying around my house, seemed to be staying around at least. . . . I've taken the other 4 and their in my garage so I may keep the loft open maybe theyll fly back in- They have water, no food though as Im hoping they will get hungry enough to go into the loft- (Oh, the 3 seem scare of me now which is horrible). Any ideas? I got them trained at least to this whistle, they seem to fly outta site but come back in 5-10 min to this whistle- Anyhow, my wonderful pigeon adventure seems to have hit a couple snags- Any help or ideas anyone has Id be greatful- Its been all night & am surprised they found their way back to tell you the truth considering all 3 seemed to be somewhere else- Thanx again for any help- -Dave

First of all let me say you did a lot of things right, congratulations!
Do you have a trap like this on your loft?

I suggest you get your 'well behaved birds' back in their loft while we think of a way to attract/capture the naughty ones.

 

[biophiliac]

Point in your favor - they're hanging around your loft. I recently had two young birds refusing to return into the loft, they had other plans, lol.
Don't put out food for them outside the loft unless its bait in a trap.
They should get hungry enough in 2-3 days.

 

[biophiliac]

Just because your birds won't allow you to catch them doesn't mean they are afraid of you. Good on you for training them to a whistle. Are hawks a problem in your area?
I like to let mine out late, ~two hour before dark then call them in for a feed. I hope by late in the day the hawks have already found food and won't be as keen on my birds.
Are you flying them hungry?

 

[biophiliac]

Was it the first time you let them out? Did the others return on your whistle call? If so, and they were mine, I would let them out again. One or more of the others may join them on their return.
Keep in mind the saying- Never fly a bird you cannot bear to lose.
Even so, I do let mine fly. The joy of it for them and me is worth the risk.
I actually kept my first birds in way longer than necessary and let their offspring start flying before I let the parents out.

 

[backyard pigeons]

You have gotten the best advice possible! If you have any other questions, just ask. I would love to help! Good luck. By the way, we love pictures!

 

[biophiliac]

You have gotten the best advice possible! If you have any other questions, just ask. I would love to help! Good luck. By the way, we love pictures!

Your birds are much better trained than mine! City Cat would benefit from your tips on training from now on.

 

[DenverCityCat]

Was it the first time you let them out? Did the others return on your whistle call? If so, and they were mine, I would let them out again. One or more of the others may join them on their return.
Keep in mind the saying- Never fly a bird you cannot bear to lose.
Even so, I do let mine fly. The joy of it for them and me is worth the risk.
I actually kept my first birds in way longer than necessary and let their offspring start flying before I let the parents out.

Ya it was the 1st time I flew them, My best one (or him & his girlfriend I flew the day before with no problems) lol I couldnt bare not to see him fly either so I know what ya mean on that!

 

[DenverCityCat]

Just because your birds won't allow you to catch them doesn't mean they are afraid of you. Good on you for training them to a whistle. Are hawks a problem in your area?
I like to let mine out late, ~two hour before dark then call them in for a feed. I hope by late in the day the hawks have already found food and won't be as keen on my birds.
Are you flying them hungry?

Hah, no all my pets have alot of food! (Living a great life, heh) I live in the city but theres alot of wildlife in it- I'm only like 1/2 mile from a Wildlife refuge. I seen a hawk about 1 block away, same side. When I seen these 3 fly they went super high! I was thinking thats pretty high for them little birds.
Guess I'll try to back off the food a bit!

 

[backyard pigeons]

Here is some advice on training. These are just for loft flys, not tosses.

To start, they need to see all around the loft, and go thru the trap 20+ times. They should go inside without hesitation the first time. I put my birds in a cage to move all around the loft, for several hours at a time. Never feed them in the cage, as they then think they can find good on the ground when they should be flying. But do give them water!

Keep them hungry, so that they are motivated to come back home. You want to train them to a call, (like you did, great job!) And if you want them to fly for long periods in the air, always call them in while they are still flying. If you wait for them to land, it will train them that when they land, it is FOOD TIME! You want them to be hungry enough to come back within 30 seconds. This is helpful when Theres a hawk, storm, etc. When training to fly longer, fly at eight in the morning. As this assures them that they don't have to worry about roosting. Once flying for awhile, you can fly them later in the day if you want.

If you have any other questions, let us know. I love to help!