Roller Pigeons

[swheat]

A friend of mine gave me a kit of Rollers. I think there are 25 or so of them.
How long should I keep them up in the kit box before flying them ? They have flown several times and are this years birds(I don't know the exact age of them). I can hardly wait to get the started. This will be my first rollers. I know I have lots to learn.

 

[truecolorsloft]

We were told wait a couple of months, or until the first egg is layed. You want the birds to remember your loft as a place for food, and home. Also you might want to whistle train your birds, so you can call them back in when you want to.

 

[seedcorn]

After a week, open the door, let them fly out to get used to the area. I would do this close to evening when they will be looking to bed down. To train them to fly, you need to have them on limited rations (this is limited not starving). After one day of the whole kit being out and returning at night, it's training time...

 

[HeelerDawg]

I would advise leaving them locked down for at least a month, especially since they have been flown. I turned out a young kit, that had never been flown, after a week and i lost many of them. Whistle training as truecolors said, is something you should do with a kit of rollers and equally if not more importantly, feed rationing as seed corn said, is very important to flying rollers. While your're in the training process, I would suggest a tablespoon of feed per bird, per day. Then after they've learned where the kitbox is, you can increase the amount if needed to keep them up in the air longer. Ideally, you want your birds to go out and fly then return straight to the kitbox. Allowing them to hang out around the kitbox in trees or on surrounding buildings can create bad habits and also makes them easy prey for hawks or falcons. A tablespoon and a half keeps my young kit in the air for the length of time I want them to fly. Hope this helps a little.

 

[swheat]

Thanks all of you that have replied.

I think I will keep them up for a month, since my friend had flown these birds several times before. I don't won't them trying to go back home and get lost. Thanks for the feed tips also, greatly appreciated.