How to home pigeons.

[nchls school]

cute dogs! I'm in TN. what part are you in?

Just outside Scotts Hill; 20 minutes south of Lexington in Henderson County.

And what kind of pigeons do you have??

 

[backyard pigeons]

cute dogs! I'm in TN. what part are you in?

Just outside Scotts Hill; 20 minutes south of Lexington in Henderson County.

And what kind of pigeons do you have??

nice! I'm an hour South of Nashville. You aren't to far away. I have racing homers, white homers, Portuguese tumblers, and a few rollers that I'm getting rid of. Do you have any pigeons?

 

[nchls school]

nice! I'm an hour South of Nashville. You aren't to far away. I have racing homers, white homers, Portuguese tumblers, and a few rollers that I'm getting rid of. Do you have any pigeons?

I used to raise pigeons; homers amongst other breeds. None at this time but thinking of starting again with homers. I'm pretty much homebound (health) so Nashville seems a million miles away. Out of curiousity, do you have any pairs to sell and how much?

 

[backyard pigeons]

I used to raise pigeons; homers amongst other breeds. None at this time but thinking of starting again with homers. I'm pretty much homebound (health) so Nashville seems a million miles away. Out of curiousity, do you have any pairs to sell and how much?

Pm sent!

 

[cavemanrich]

You can clip pigeons wings. I have done that once before. It keeps the pigeon from escaping, in flight. Still runs around and hops up onto perches. The video below shows one way it can be done. It is a drastic clipping. I did it somewhat differently. Leave 2 feathers, and cut 3rd feather half. Then cut next 5 feathers. I also cut them slightly less than in video. Pigeon was able to fly up to roost somewhat, but not fly away.
It does not hurt the pigeon to have feathers clipped like shown. Care must be observed not to clip too short where it would cut into the quick.
Feathers do take a long time to grow back. BUT THEY DO.
This should give enough time for pigeon to experience free-range in backyard, and not escape permanently. Hopefully will homeset.
I also used to clip chicken's feathers on newcomers that were flighty. Have not needed to do that very much in recent times. Once chickens were settled to new coop, they did not try to escape into adjacent yards.
The video is not in English, but viewing it shows all you need to know.
Also,,, some of the comments posted are silly since posters do not know the purpose of the clipping.

 

[nchls school]

While I have clipped birds of all kinds when I felt it was necessary, it is important to consider that clipping puts birds at a disadvantage; they can no longer escape predators easily. Clipping can "ground" a bird for many months until their next molt. Another possibility is to pluck some of the flight feathers. Yes, this will cause some short-term pain/discomfort, but the feathers will grow back in 3 to 4 weeks. However, this amount of time may not be sufficient depending of the age of the bird.

I prefer just to keep pigeons locked in a roomy coop/cage until enough time has passed for the birds to accept a new home. Problem-adult homers may not accept a new loft. In the past I have had homers circle once and take off even after being locked in for a year; even having eggs or squabs in a nest; even being let out hungry.

 

[Bdg1104]

Three of them are from an animal rehabilitator who have come in injured, and the other side are from someone who no longer wants them.

I believe most fancy breeds don't have very good homing capabilities. I personally wouldn't suggest it. It's probably how they got injured in the first place! I also have 4 rescues which are fancies and I do not allow them to free fly. Number 1 reason for me is I'm worried about them getting lost and starving. Number two is fear of Hawks. Their white color pretty much acts as a billboard for any predators. If you want them to survive I would not suggest letting them free fly. While I personally don't like keeping my birds captive it is the best chance at life for them. I'm currently working on building a bigger aviary that allows them to fly somwhat. It would be a different story if they were gray homing pigeons, but it's too risky for fancy breeds in my opinion. If anyone knows of these breed's ability to home please correct me. I just know that my own fancies do not home well but I do not have experience with op's breeds.