Getting a pigeon- Training

[MonkeyZero]

So
my parents agreed to getting me a pair of pigeons/doves(which ever)(but only 1-2, 3 if im lucky)
I have a big cage thing ready for them.

Now my question is
I recently went to a wedding and a man flew a pair out, and they flew around the man and took up into the sky. a short while after, they came back.
I asked him how its done and he said its a secret. GRRRR!
But its understandable. Of course, I wont do this for money, but for leisure, and the simple joy of it.

I REALLY want to do this with my pigeons
SO how do I do this? how much hard work is it(cause i am very willing
How old should they be?
ANd what breed?
Any other input on this?
Thanks

 

[NewHopePoultry]

The ones used in weddings, etc are white homing pigeons.
Im not very good at training them, sorry

 

[MonkeyZero]

Homing pigeons
I see
Thanks
That answers one part

Is it possible to relese them and have it come to you (like if im at school?)

 

[deerman]

those are white racing homers.....and you want ones from parents that have home from 150 mile or farther.

They will want to go back home when release , not back to the person who release them.


If you hand feed one that was only about a week old they will imprint on human.

 

[MonkeyZero]

I will definatley be on the look out for em
Whats the training process behind this?

 

[Hoss1975]

If they were homing pigeons they would have flown back to the loft they were raised in,he probably had rollers that he trained out of a kit box.

 

[MonkeyZero]

So rollers probably?
As long as they come back home or to the box I'll be fine.

Does anyone have tips for training them to do so


And thanks for the answers so far, you guys are an amazing help

 

[cowgirl11]

He probably didn't use rollers for a wedding release, he would have used white racing homers.
Homers can be trained to be taken miles away and they will come home..
Rollers can be let out to fly from the loft but you can't take them far from home or they will get lost. They don't have a strong homing instinct like homers do.

To train them to come back to the loft I have a trap door on the cage with a landing board.. I put them in a settling cage on the landing board for about an hour before feed time and then I unlock the trap door, use my feed call (a whistle), and put food down. So they know the feed call means time to come in to eat.. I also put them in the settling cage and let them watch me pour feed while using my feed call, then I take them about a foot away from the landing board and release them.. Eventually moving back little by little from the landing board until they have to fly a bit of ways to reach the landing board.
Hope this made sense!