High rate of losses this year--anybody else have similar experiences?

[LamarshFish]

Apparently I'm not the only one experiencing a high rate of inexplicable young bird losses, check out this thread. Anybody else have any similar experiences lately? I just started my loft this past spring, and although I had a rocky start and did some things wrong and paid the price, I also had plenty of young birds settled very well and flew many times and returned perfectly, only to disappear on later flights. I have had a total of 18 birds raised from squeakers, and I now have only 6 left. Only about 4 of the losses can be attributed to beginners mistakes, the rest inexplicable and lost after several successful flights. Thread posted below.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f14/have-you-lost-a-lot-of-young-birds-this-year-107306-2.html

 

[laughingdog]

If they are coming home so often from one direction and spot to not once or more suddenly, I'd sadly say they are getting taken by birds of prey or people. Someone in town releases their homers at same time in evening daily, and suddenly city hired sharp shooters discovered and shot them like ferals and escaped assorteds from stock auction/sale yard close to downtown where escapees mixed with ferals learning to feast on scraps bird feeders and wild seeds fruit bugs etc. Hawks will learn your route and wait daily for your birds to be released where seen daily or weekly etc even.

 

[Hokum Coco]

a high rate of inexplicable young bird losses,

To date I have 36 pigeons and losses are part of the pigeon game. With all the advancing technologies and WiFi cell phone towers and the like fanciers are experiencing a higher rate of losses not only in younger birds but also seasoned veterans It is believed these added signals are interfering and disrupting the birds natural homing instincts. Fall seems to bring added losses in my area with the migration of hawks who pick up quickly on flight paths of your birds as mention by laughing dog. Pigeons like people are creatures of habit and utilizes certain landmarks for positioning as they approach and fly near your loft. Even when your birds are released from different locations there are certain land marks that your birds employ that become a common flight path as they approach home.

 

[LamarshFish]

I had been loft flying my birds about once a week, and I would let them out at varied times usually between 11am and 2pm. My birds seem to fly in all directions, and eventually come back and just hang on my roof, and then trap back in.

In hindsight, I should have employed a closed loft rule from October through January with the hawk migrations in mind. Live and learn.

 

[cavemanrich]

I had been loft flying my birds about once a week, and I would let them out at varied times usually between 11am and 2pm. My birds seem to fly in all directions, and eventually come back and just hang on my roof, and then trap back in.

In hindsight, I should have employed a closed loft rule from October through January with the hawk migrations in mind. Live and learn.

I don't know about hawk migration, I know there are hawks here ALL THE TIME.. I would fly my pigeons same as you, loft release. Sometimes I would take them out a ways and let them fly home. The pigeons did like to hang out on top of my roofs and just chill. They would go back when they felt like. (usually towards eve).
A number of times I had a hawk swish down on them. They split of course, and I could see there was no catch. Sadly to say, some of my pigeons decided never to return. Not sure if they were caught somewhere else, or just figured this place was not safe anymore.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I lost 4 birds today. I am going to suspend all flying for a time.

 

[biophiliac]

I lost 4 birds today. I am going to suspend all flying for a time.

Sorry Ron, do you know of it was predators?

 

[LamarshFish]

I don't know about hawk migration, I know there are hawks here ALL THE TIME.. I would fly my pigeons same as you, loft release. Sometimes I would take them out a ways and let them fly home. The pigeons did like to hang out on top of my roofs and just chill. They would go back when they felt like. (usually towards eve).
A number of times I had a hawk swish down on them. They split of course, and I could see there was no catch. Sadly to say, some of my pigeons decided never to return. Not sure if they were caught somewhere else, or just figured this place was not safe anymore.

I think most hawks migrate. Many are residents in temperate areas. This is not much different than canada geese and mallards, in that most migrate, but there are also many races/groups that remain residents in a given area. In Michigan, we have many resident redtails, but we also get migrants. We also get migrant goshawks and cooper hawks. They migrate south in the fall and back up in the spring, not much different than waterfowl and other migratory birds.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Only thing im having a problem with is birds missing without a trace

 

[LamarshFish]

I lost 4 birds today. I am going to suspend all flying for a time.

Sorry to hear. We have unseasonably warm weather here in Michigan right now. It would usually be towards the end of fall migration for many birds, but warm weather delays migration for many, and sometimes even gets migratory birds to reverse course.