New homers.... What should I do?

[KWAK]

I was given 15 pairs of homing pigeons from my friend, only one of them has ever been flown before. The other 29 have always been kept in the loft at all times.

In a month or 2 do you think it would be safe to allow them to fly, all besides the one racer.

The oldest (racer) is an '05 bird.
The oldest (loft) bird is a '10 bird and the youngest is probably just out of the nest, with most being '11 birds.

 

[Faith SL]

Hello KWAK, adult homing pigeons are much more difficult (and sometimes just not possible) to home into a new location when compared to younger homers or other breeds of pigeons. Adults have already set their internal compass to direct them towards the home which they were previously raised at (sometimes even if they have never flown outside before) and/or trained at - to attempt to reset this compass it may take more than a month or two.

Before letting any adults out, it would be good to focus on homing in the youngest homing pigeons you have first. If they are young enough to be making the clear and audible 'squeaking' sound which young pigeons make, it would be good to start flying them in just a week or so to get them used to their new home and surroundings as soon as possible. They can learn to become oriented to their home much easier when they are young, so right after the squeakers seem to be feeling comfortable with their new environment (about a week or two weeks at most) letting them fly sooner is ideal. If they have access to a sunning cage or can see out a large window or screened area, they can look around at their surroundings and begin to familiarize themselves with how the outdoors looks for a couple of days before they are flown. If they do not have access to a good viewpoint, placing about four or five of them at a time in a medium-sized cage set on something at about chest-level right outside the loft or near their trap door should help them become accustomed to their surroundings. Do this for three days before they are let out to fly, thirty minutes per day. Keep an eye on them while they are outside in the cage to make sure no hawks, cats or other predators will snag them through the wire (if the wire is 1" by 1" or larger).

Before letting the squeakers out, take a medium-sized cage and place three or four of the older homing pigeons in this and set the cage on the roof of the loft - the part of the roof which is closest to the trap door (I am assuming you have a pigeon door on your loft which allows pigeons entrance to the loft but prevents any other birds from getting out). This helps the younger homers recognize where their loft is exactly on their first few days out Make sure the older homing pigeons are in the shade if it is hot/in a covered cage if it might rain, are offered a break for feed and water every couple of hours or switched out with other birds, cannot get out from the cage and the cage is on a safe place of the roof - you don't want them falling off!

When beginning to release the squeakers for flying, only let out three or four out from the loft at a time. This prevents a whole flock of them from possibly feeling comfortable and brave in numbers and flying out too far to find their home and come back. Let them out in the morning before they have been fed for the day so their hunger will help to steer them back sooner. Once they have sat on the loft roof for a while and look like they are trying to find a way in, try and coax them inside by shaking feed around in a tin can in the loft and placing a few grains of their favorite feed on their landing board if they have not already found it. It will probably take them a while to figure out how to trap in on their first times back. Always reward them with food and praises when they enter the loft on their first days out. Do not chase them off to fly until they are comfortable with their home and surroundings and have showed that they completely know where their home and entrance door is for at least a few days. For their first time(s) out, some might bolt out of sight and return hours later (or the next day) or land in trees or on nearby buildings until they have flown for a few days and know where home is. Others might be perfect birds and fly on the roof, look around, take a short flight around the area, land back on the loft and trap in easily - it mostly depends on the bird, how they are handled and whether they have been spooked by something outside or not. Keep in mind that you might lose a couple of pigeons from your group when first homing them in - sometimes things just happen or they become lost.

Hawks are sometimes a terrible nuisance when trying to home in young birds, as they could hang around and repeatedly snatch your birds/scare them away.

Let out these same three or four homing pigeons you started with every morning for approximately three or four days or until they feel more comfortable and know where their loft and trap door is. These birds will influence the actions and homing abilities of the other squeaker homing pigeons you have when they are let out. Once the first group seems to act comfortably outside, begin letting out one or two homing pigeons at a time with this original group in the morning. Two days later, let out another one or two pigeons and continue to do this until you have flown and homed in all of your young squeakers. You now have a young bird team and can begin letting out the unflown 2011 birds in a month's time - let one out with your young bird team in the morning and fly him/her every day for a few days or a week, then fly another 2011 bird with the group and so on. Depending on the B.O.P. (bird of prey) activity in your area, you might want to keep your pigeons in the lofts and not let them fly during the fall/winter to prevent losses.

Now with your adult homing pigeons over a year of age, keep them inside for at least 2 months if not 4 months or more before attempting to let them fly - also letting them raise one or two nests of young will greatly help them home in to your lofts. I would definitely keep the '05 racer in your lofts for at least 4 months and let him/her raise at least one nest if not two of youngsters, if you are planning on trying to loft fly this one(I would not recommend road training this bird). Fly one new adult pigeon at a time, youngest adults working back to the oldest, in the morning with the group of younger birds for a week until releasing the next adult with the team, etc. Let them fly at your risk, as some may not come back. Also if you have any breeding pairs which you highly value, you might want to keep these birds primarily inside in a spacious, comfortable loft and not let them fly outside very much to avoid losing them. If any of the adults do not return on their first days out flying, try contacting your friend who gave you the birds to see if he/she has seen them around their lofts.

Best of luck with your new homing pigeons!

 

[KWAK]

Thanks for the info!

I have a few homers I got from my friend in january and they are let out daily, they are '11 birds but werent very old when I got them.

I've already talked to my friend and she said if she sees any of them at her place when I let them out for the first time she'll text me.

 

[KWAK]

Thanks for the info!

I have a few homers I got from my friend in january and they are let out daily, they are '11 birds but werent very old when I got them.

I've already talked to my friend and she said if she sees any of them at her place when I let them out for the first time she'll text me.

 

[KWAK]

Thanks for the info!

I have a few homers I got from my friend in january and they are let out daily, they are '11 birds but werent very old when I got them.

I've already talked to my friend and she said if she sees any of them at her place when I let them out for the first time she'll text me.

 

[Faith SL]

If the 2011 homing pigeons you received from your friend in January are staying in the same loft that your new homing pigeons are staying in, orienting the new squeakers and young birds should be a much easier task with experienced flyers already used to their environment. You wouldn't need to place any adult birds in a cage on top of the loft, just let out a couple of squeakers/young birds at a time with the rest of your experienced team of birds and fly those same new pigeons for a couple of days until they are more comfortable with their surroundings. Then let out two more with the team and fly them together for a couple of days, etc. and attempt to fly your adult birds a month after, if you wish. Sometimes the larger the flock, the more likely adult homing pigeons are to return to their new loft with the group - most pigeons feel safer in numbers.