Found a banded pigeon! Connecticut!

[backyard pigeons]

I don't have a dog crate myself but know that friends brooded chicks in one recently. I will be there tomorrow (we are in same quarantine bubble and right down the street, so basically eachother's only social interaction) and will suggest moving to dog crate.

this is random,, but I youtuber I watch recently found a bird lost, that was from Pennsylvania, so they must have had a rough race.

 

[black_cat]

Ah ha! Potential loft located! It's an old rabbit hutch, basically built like a prefab chicken coop. only 25$! Needs a little modification, though.

and obviously a new coat of paint.

 

[black_cat]

this is random,, but I youtuber I watch recently found a bird lost, that was from Pennsylvania, so they must have had a rough race.

I"d love to sympathize and relate to this but I understand about two components of that sentence:
-youtuber found a lost bird
-bird was in Pennsylvania
Parts I don't understand:
-what is bad about Pennsylvania?
-how do pigeon races actually work? I know it involves them flying places, but I'm not that informed lol

 

[backyard pigeons]

Ah ha! Potential loft located! It's an old rabbit hutch, basically built like a prefab chicken coop. only 25$! Needs a little modification, though.
View attachment 2297877
and obviously a new coat of paint.

nice! That could work! do it!

I"d love to sympathize and relate to this but I understand about two components of that sentence:
-youtuber found a lost bird
-bird was in Pennsylvania
Parts I don't understand:
-what is bad about Pennsylvania?
-how do pigeon races actually work? I know it involves them flying places, but I'm not that informed lol

i am so silly! I was thinking YOU were from Pennsylvania as well, so I was thinking the two birds were likely from the same club...

Sorry, I wasnt saying anything bad about either state.

pigeon racing,,, it is where yoh take your homing pigeons away from their loft, and let them fly back home. some don't make it, but most do. there is a computer that calculates in the distance between lofts, and announced the race winners. does that make sense? It's a VERY short version, but it gives you a brief explanation.

 

[black_cat]

nice! That could work! do it!
i am so silly! I was thinking YOU were from Pennsylvania as well, so I was thinking the two birds were likely from the same club...

Sorry, I wasnt saying anything bad about either state.

pigeon racing,,, it is where yoh take your homing pigeons away from their loft, and let them fly back home. some don't make it, but most do. there is a computer that calculates in the distance between lofts, and announced the race winners. does that make sense? It's a VERY short version, but it gives you a brief explanation.

Ah, ok. That makes more sense.
That makes much more sense with the racing! It must be very scary to just let your pigeons fly away without knowing what will happen (by that i mean along the journey, not where they'll fly lol)

 

[black_cat]

Wow I regret making another thread lol. Should we move the entire discussion to this thread, or the other one, or just leave it be?

 

[biophiliac]

Ah ha! Potential loft located! It's an old rabbit hutch, basically built like a prefab chicken coop. only 25$! Needs a little modification, though.
View attachment 2297877
and obviously a new coat of paint.

 

[backyard pigeons]

That makes much more sense with the racing! It must be very scary to just let your pigeons fly away without knowing what will happen (by that i mean along the journey, not where they'll fly lol)

it can be, but the return outweighs the risk. (I don't recommend you flying a small number of birds. They will be content in the cage you are making. )

I have my birds trained to fly home from 100 miles so far. I don't get nervous much any more, as they rarely don't make it.

Wow I regret making another thread lol. Should we move the entire discussion to this thread, or the other one, or just leave it be?

Haha! Whatever works. There is quite the active small cummunity in the pigeon group. We may be few in number, but we get the job done!

 

[black_cat]

it can be, but the return outweighs the risk. (I don't recommend you flying a small number of birds. They will be content in the cage you are making. )

I have my birds trained to fly home from 100 miles so far. I don't get nervous much any more, as they rarely don't make it.

Haha! Whatever works. There is quite the active small cummunity in the pigeon group. We may be few in number, but we get the job done!

Don't worry, I don't plan on flying mine, waaaaaaaay too scary for me! I would be interested to know how the training works, though.

 

[backyard pigeons]

Don't worry, I don't plan on flying mine, waaaaaaaay too scary for me! I would be interested to know how the training works, though.

So, I will give you a brief explanation. I don't want to write a book...

First, you want to let the pigeons see the area by putting them outside in a cage. Do this for several days. Then, train them to use a one-way-door. These are called traps. During this time, every time you feed them, make a certain sound such as a whistle, clapping, etc. They will then know that is the sound for food, and when free flying come in on command. so, after they know the area and how to come in, as well as when, you open the door! It then takes a lot more training to get them flying for 2+ hours, which is what I try to get mine to do.