When should I release my fantails

[Greg Nel]

Good day to everyone. I bought 6 fantails and housed them in my garden with a large square wire cage around their nesting coop that stands on a pole. 4 of them have paired up and nested. They have been in this cage for 5 weeks and I want to release them to fly. Will 5 weeks have been enough to get them to stay and not fly off?

 

[aart]

What are fantails...chickens or pigeons??

Oh, and....Welcome to BYC! @Greg Nel
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[Greg Nel]

What are fantails...chickens or pigeons??

Oh, and....Welcome to BYC! @Greg Nel
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
View attachment 2018961

Hi I am in Matatiele in Kwazulu-Natal South Africa. It's summer and very warm.
The fantails I refer to are pigeons. I also keep chickens as pets.

 

[cavemanrich]

Fantails are not homing pigeons, so their homing skills are minimal. That means, that if let out,,,, they are not likely wanting to return to their previous loft. (exception would be, if previous loft was next door.) Let a single member of each pair, out of loft, for a loft fly. Let them out HUNGRY. Most likely the released pigeons will only venture into the close surrounding area, and probably choose to walk around on the ground. Once they return back to loft, then next day release the other mate, and same process. When they are used to returning to loft, you can release the whole flock. Not familiar with your area, and the type of aerial predators you may encounter. Your fantails are also susceptible to ground predators, like cats.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[Gray Farms]

Fantails aren't always the best flyers. I would keep them penned up if it were me.

 

[Klutch]

If you do make sure you stay around while out. Fannies are easy game for a HAWK.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I think the fantails will appreciate the exercise and will definitely flap/walk around and explore the area but they're unlikely to get up in the sky and flying for any prolonged amount of time because of their tail structure. They're also more vulnerable to predators than breeds that can fly better as others pointed out, and for those reasons I probably wouldn't let them out if they were mine either. However if you're determined to do so and you supervised them closely you'd probably be able to keep them safe from cats and hawks. For most people it seems the worst predators are falcons and sparrowhawk (Accipiter sp.) type birds.
I know that this is a South African species.

Definitely let them out hungry, it will be much easier to get them back in. When I let birds out for the first time I'll feed them only about half as much as normal on the day before, that way they're more motivated to come back and respond to your feeding call.