ACK!!!! Pigeons!

[Mary Of Exeter]

Parlor rollers and tumblers are used interchangeably around here. Didn't realize there was a difference. I thought there were just good quality ones that rolled a long way, and bad quality ones that didn't make any distance at all.

 

[laughingdog]

restricting muscle mass and keeping confined to tiny cages so cannot move around and "ruin" the grounded ones/parlors?, seems just like the battery hen farm excuse people and animal welfare grops are fighting against (just stating obvious but not really trying to fuss, and just asking question if get a lot of backlash for keeping them like that)? the only personal thing is, as assume probly like the fainting goats, is do they stop doing that, or is that the only way they can move, and do they injure themselves or live a very short lifespan? looks awsome though!!!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
No, they are kept in small cages to keep them safe. If they have plenty of room to roll they can seriously injure themselves, and they can't be kept in a flight pen/aviary since they cannot fly. The best housing for a pair of parlor rollers/tumblers is a 2'x3' raised cage. Eventually they do 'roll out' meaning they learn how not to roll, but they never learn how to fly. They can usually fly until about the age of 4-6 months then stop on their own. They can walk

ETA: As for flying rollers, you can keep them in an aviary, you just don't want to let them 'free fly' too often. You also want to restrict their diets. We had some that free-flew with some homers and they didn't roll in flight at all. Trying to keep up with the homers made them too strong.

 

[laughingdog]

oh, ok, so i was mistaken about all but keeping weak, but then again guess most pet doves live in small cages comfy anyway i see, and they seem healthy and better cared for then the wild ones and free flying maybe even....

 

[seminolewind]

Well the 2 babies are now out of the nest. First flight was yesterday. I took the bag down that they had lived in. Hopefully there won't be anymore nests (?)

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Ummm.....They've probably already started one

Pigeons usually start a new nest when the first set of squeekers are about 3 weeks old. If you don't offer them a nest they'll just lay their eggs wherever.

You can take their eggs away and give them some dummies, they'll sit on those and give up after a few weeks. This is better than just taking their eggs away, that way the hens won't get worn out from laying too much.

 

[chickenX]

congrats on that new hobby you got there . . .

 

[deerman]

the color of band will tell the yr they were hatch ....

Yes you can sell the babies at that age....they will home to the new home , not your untill you start flying them.....done all the time...the older birds will try to home to you.

 

[deerman]

Quote:
Squabs? LOL!

What are rollers?

Squabs are meat pigeons, squeakers are all other breeds babies.

You will get some mean looks calling a racer's pigeon squabs.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Seminolewind,

Did anyone tell you what kind of pigeons you've got? They look like Homing pigeons to me. Gray bars is the name for their color/pattern, I think. They look just like the ones I bought my husband. Some homers look different to me - have a different "bigger" shaped head but the homers I've had all had that more graceful look like yours.

My first homers, I bought at a poultry show - one hen and what I thought was a young male. The breeder said that if I didn't fly them for a few months (about three) that they'd home back to my place. Well....after 5 months, I flew them. They went home, alright. Just not to my home.

I didn't have the seller's contact info so was unable to get them back. Boy, I felt dumb. My neighbor, who apparently had homers his whole childhood just laughed at me when I told him.

However........I missed my birds so much. I really wanted more so, when we moved to the country and had a little more space, I bought my husband a "gift" of a homing flock. Hehe, yes, they were mostly for me. Shhhh, don't tell.

These were both adults and two fully feathered babes. The babes just had two or three yellow "whisps" on the backs of their necks left over from squab...hood (squeakerhook?). We did not plan to fly these until we have a new generation because we figured they'd go back to their original home like our others did.

Well, my husband started working long hours and decided he didn't have enough time for his pigeons. So, I gave his flock (all 15 of them) and their equipment for FREE to a fellow that lived over 100 miles away. I met him in the city one night to give him the pigeons and equipment. TWO WEEKS later three of those birds show up at our house.

First, I was shocked just to see them. Secondly, I was very surprised they came to MY house since we'd only really had them here for 4 months and I knew the man I got them from hadn't flown them in months, either. And, of course, I was very relieved that they were able to make the flight after NO flight time in 4 1/2 months! (not to mention getting past all the hawks, falcons and owls that are very abundant in my area)

So, two different groups of homers, two different experiences. The ones I had longer flew to their original home (I suspect). The ones we had for less time, came back here to their new home. Both groups had adults and youngsters in them. I'm not sure what to make of that but now, I know Homers *can* be rehomed.

P.S. We're keeping the three that made it back to us. The fellow we gave them to would not respond to my emails after they came home.

Anyway, just for the fun of it, here are pics of the Homers I lost - Snow Day and D'artagnan aka "Dart". My husbands current blue bar Homers look exactly like yours but I don't have pics.