ACK!!!! Pigeons!

[Mary Of Exeter]

Yeah they are around 2 weeks old. Big beak, big eyes, big feet - they grow into all of it

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Squabs? LOL!

What are rollers?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Squabs? LOL!

What are rollers?

Birmingham (flying) rollers:

Parlor (non-flying) rollers:

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
Squabs? LOL!

What are rollers?

Birmingham (flying) rollers:

Parlor (non-flying) rollers:

just my personal opinion but i think that is awful! i've never paid attention to the Rollers before , i could barely watch them b/c it looked so ...abnormal.....like a bird with brain damage.

 

[puredelite]

mhwc56, I don't know if you were referring to the parlor rollers or the flying rollers or both in general and of course everyone is entitled to their very own opinion but... As far as the flying Birmingham roller pigeon there are literally thousands of breeders world-wide that would differ with you. These birds are truly the "acrobats" of the pigeon world and have been 'specially bred for years and years for their abilities. They must be culled and trained to fly in formation ( a kit) and spin together and then catch back up with the group. Hardly any different than any other athletic sport. Actually it is quite awesome and entertaining to watch a well trained "kit" perform. Of course, this is just my opinion...

 

[mhwc56]

oh i understand about the great following they have etc. and as i said, it's just MY personal opinion about the way Rollers look . I'm not saying anything against anyones' love of the breed...they just look abnormal . sorry ,there was no offense intended...

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Squabs? LOL!

What are rollers?

Birmingham (flying) rollers:

Parlor (non-flying) rollers:

Thanks, that's the first time I've seen that! The flying ones look great, the Parlor ones, well, not sure what to think. How do you stop them from rolling when you are done for the day?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Just put them in a pen where they don't have enough room to fly/roll

The parlors are easy though you do have to make sure they don't have too big of a cage or they can seriously injure themselves. Parlor rollers are cool, we had a couple but lost them last winter when we had a serious rat problem.

 

[Mary Of Exeter]

I LOVE rollers! They are so much fun to watch in the air

They only do that when you let them out to fly, and it is by their choice. They don't roll when they are flying around in the loft, or from ground to roof, etc. Only when they are up above the trees.
Parlor tumblers roll when you put them out on the ground. I think they are kind of like fainting goats though. Sometimes they don't roll until you clap or something, and then they get rolling. They are kept in low cages, either on the ground or up on legs (like a rabbit hutch, for example). They can fly, but only if they are raising in a large loft where they have a reason and room to get up more than a foot or two.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
Parlor tumblers and parlor rollers are 2 different types. I'm not too familiar with parlor tumblers but parlor rollers can and do roll in their pens. They cannot fly after 4-6 months of age, some never do. When they try to fly, they roll instead.

If they get startled they roll. So it's best to keep parlor rollers/tumblers in small cages so they can't roll too much. Rollers are the ones that go hundreds of feet. Parlor tumblers jump into the air and flip, then land back where they started. They only flip 2-3 times usually. The 2 I had, one could fly about 1' up to a roost, the other one slept on the floor.

I believe we had one roller (slept on the ground) and one tumbler.

ETA: It's best to keep flying rollers in small pens so they don't build up too much muscle. If left to free-fly they get too strong and thus stop rolling in flight.