# How do you teach pigeons to come back to the cage?



## beyond21st (Apr 11, 2003)

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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

Teaching them to home is a process. First off, if you have adult birds you got somewhere else, I would not recommend letting them out, as they probably won't come back, but will return to their old home. If you buy young birds, 4-6 weeks old, you can probably train them to fly from your cage and come back. But you will need to condition them first. 

It's best to start training when they are babies, still in the nest and not fully feathered. We take our youngsters at around 3 weeks of age, place them on the landing board and even pass them through the bobs. (Then return them to the nest.) We do this several times a day so they get used to the landing board and know how to come in through the trap. Once they are out of the nest, we start putting them on the covered landing board. The only way into the loft is through the bobs, and they figure this out. When I'm sure they can do that, I open up the cover on the landing board. Sometimes they just sit there, sometimes they fly up to the roof of the loft and hang out for awhile. Eventually they decide to fly, and it's usually a short distance. Sometimes they get spooked and really take off, and I've frequently had youngsters out over night on the first real flight. But they figure it out and come back. 

Also, and this is very important: only fly them when they are hungry!! And I mean completely out of food, with none left. It will motivate them to come back in to eat. You can train them with a whistle (blow it every time you feed them) or shake the feed in a container, or wave a flag or something. It's good to have a signal to call them in.

When I'm sure my youngsters are ready to fly, I put them out with some experienced flyers. This is all just training to fly to and from the loft. Training racing homers is more extensive, as you take them farther and farther away and let them fly home. 

You didn't say what kind of pigeons you have. Most pigeons have some homing ability, but I wouldn't take breeds other than homers away from home and expect them find their way back. I wouldn't free-fly fancy breeds such as fantails at all. We have mainly rollers, and we enjoy seeing them circle around the neighborhood and come back.

Hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by Birdmom4ever (edited April 14, 2003).]


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## beyond21st (Apr 11, 2003)

> Originally posted by beyond21st:
> *?*


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## beyond21st (Apr 11, 2003)

.


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## beyond21st (Apr 11, 2003)

> Originally posted by beyond21st:
> *?*


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## mike_m453 (Apr 13, 2003)

To return they really have to know where they are.If you let them out early and they dont return it might not be because they dont want to they just might not know how to.Make sure youre birds have a clear view of outside.I released my birds after a couple of weeks and they came back to sit on the egg.Its so fun to watch them build a nest!


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