Archive for the ‘Pigeons’ Category

Train those pigeons

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

If you have raised some birds this spring it is time to begin training them. When the birds are 30 days old they will begin to start flying around the inside of the loft. I like to leave the loft open while I am around to keep an eye on things and let the new birds venture in and out of the loft on their own. For the next 40 -60 days continue to let the birds out to exercise and fly on a daily basis. You will notice that they will stay up in the air and venture farther each and every day. It is now time to take them doen the road. I like to start with a 4-6 mile toss.
Early in the morning take the birds to a location clear of aerial obstructions such as high line wires, microwave towers etc. When you arrive take a few minute to let the birds settle in and get their bearings. I like to have a cup of coffee and when it is finished the birds are ready to go.



Drop the door on your crate and the birds will usually circle a time or two and head in the direction of home.

These birds were home in the loft when I arrived home. These birds are from well bred stock and can be trained to home out to several hundred miles.

I will take these birds back here a time or two. This was a north toss. I will then toss them east, west, and south a couple of times at this same distance. Staye tuned for more training.

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Banding Pigeons

Monday, April 19th, 2010

When the squab hatch; make a note of the date and it will be time to put an identification band on between day 5 and 8. All that is needed is a round toothpick and some racing pigeon bands available from Foy’s Pigeon Supplies.

Next, slip the band over the front three toes as far as it will go exposing the fourth toe joint.

Now, insert the toothpick into the fourth toe joint and pry it out of the band.

And now you have a banded pigeon, be sure to keep an eye on the band for a day or two to make sure it doesn’t get removed in the nest.

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Springtime Squab

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

It is now springtime and I noticed that my homers had started laying eggs on the floor of the loft.  I have been so busy working on customer projects that I have neglected to build my own birds some nesting boxes.  Not to worry, the pigeon has raised many a clutch without the luxury of its own private nestbox.  I had some paper mache nest bowls in stock and placed 4 or 5 on the floor of the loft.  Next I placed a couple of handfuls of sand in the bowls to encourage nesting and to anchor them in place.  I also placed a block of coastal hay on the floor and the rest is up to the birds.  Within a few days several birds had made nests and began to lay.  Some of the birds used only the sand while others had their nest overflowing with hay.  Within a 7 day period I have 4 pair sitting on eggs.  To my surprise the birds I had planned on mating paired up naturally together.  I raced these birds last fall in a local club and my 300 mile 1st and second place birds paired up and are sitting on eggs.  On the other end of the loft some of my 200 mile and 300 mile leaders were also paired together.  These should be some really great birds. 

While it is not necessary to have racing homers for bird dog training, it does give you more training options down the road.  These birds have been selectively bred and raced to prove their homing ability.  The 300 mile winners in my loft made the trip in a little less than six hours and sized up some pretty stiff competition.  If I decide to have a training weekend with some friends that are 40-50 miles away, I will have no fear of losing my birds as they can make this trip in less than an hour. 

I have plenty of birds for the next season, so I am helping out a fellow bird dog trainer with this first round of youngsters.  Last year I set up a young friend of the family with a new pointer pup and a pigeon loft.  He came in and stayed with his grandparents for the summer and spent many evening in my backyard learning how to put the yard training on his new prospect.  He is now ready to stock his loft and I am going to get him some foundation stock to train his new pup with.  After this round I am going to put in some nest boxes and raise a round for the some youngsters interested in pigeons for a 4-H project. 

Stay tuned for the hatch, banding, and weaning of these squab.

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