# How do u train your pigeon to come back???



## i-am-me

how do u train ur pigeons to come back to your house when they know their old owners house???


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## SmithFamilyLoft

i-am-me said:


> how do u train ur pigeons to come back to your house when they know their old owners house???


Hello,

I am afraid, that a lot more detail is needed. 

If this is a homing pigeon, and it is over say a year old...the short answer is you don't. A bird like this must be kept a prisoner for life. Also, you do not "train" a homing pigeon to find it's way home, that is the bird's homing instinct.


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## i-am-me

*oh*

Yes its a homing pigeon and roller. If I keep them in my coop for a month can i take them out to fly or something? Plus how do you make your pigeon not to be so scared of you?


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## Fancyfowl4ever

I had a few homers that I got from a breeder who raced them, long story short, I wanted to know how long I could keep them penned up and let them go one by one with each about a month apart. After about a year and a few months I only had 1 left which I then let go and he stayed.......
I have no Idea how to get pigeons not to freak out about you.... I have been trying to solve that problem for years, only "tame" bird I have is that racing bird.


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## SmithFamilyLoft

The solution for taming a pigeon is simple, but you must remain consistant and take your time. You must be the leader and offer food only by hand. Once they are eating from your hand, then it is all down hill from there. It won't hurt them to miss a meal or two, so don't worry if it does not work the first couple of times.


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## Hamza

Thats abt it..
Only feed from hand, no screams or sudden movements and they're ALL over you!


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## i-am-me

oh. i been trying that but they never eat out of my hands. i did it like 100 times. i never did anything wrong with them.


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## Hamza

i-am-me said:


> oh. i been trying that but they never eat out of my hands. i did it like 100 times. i never did anything wrong with them.


IF they r hungry for 2 days they should come..

JUst rmbr if u have done nething in the past below:
1. Wear dark and/or shiny clothes while coming near them?
2. Talk in a loud voice?
3. Make sudden movements or noises?
4. Is there any other source of noise or distraction like predators?
5. INdoors or Outdoors?
6. Have they ever tried to wing-slap you?
7. Does the male coo when you come near it?

PLz answer so i can guide u further..


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## flitsnowzoom

Hamza said:


> JUst rmbr if u have done nething in the past below:
> 1. Wear dark and/or shiny clothes while coming near them?
> ..


Hamza, why not the dark clothes? I can understand the shiny. Thanks.


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## SmithFamilyLoft

i-am-me said:


> oh. i been trying that but they never eat out of my hands. i did it like 100 times. i never did anything wrong with them.



OK...then...when they did not eat out of your hand those 100 or so times...then what did you do ? Did you then simply give up and place the food in front of them and walk away ? If so... they are doing exactly what you have trained them to do...wait a while...until you move away, and then dig right in.. 

When I said hand feed, that means if they don't eat out of your hand, then they don't eat. You then wait till the next day and try again. Believe me, it will not take 100 days. Right now, the birds are the master, and they have you trained. Don't feel bad, I suspect many fanciers are more or less in the same boat.


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## i-am-me

Right now, the birds are the master, and they have you trained. Don't feel bad, I suspect many fanciers are more or less in the same boat. 

o okay then hehehe...i guess they are my masters then .


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## i-am-me

o okay they are my masters then


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## i-am-me

Hamza said:


> IF they r hungry for 2 days they should come..
> 
> JUst rmbr if u have done nething in the past below:
> 1. Wear dark and/or shiny clothes while coming near them?
> 2. Talk in a loud voice?
> 3. Make sudden movements or noises?
> 4. Is there any other source of noise or distraction like predators?
> 5. INdoors or Outdoors?
> 6. Have they ever tried to wing-slap you?
> 7. Does the male coo when you come near it?
> 
> PLz answer so i can guide u further..




1. i forgot if i had worn dark or shiny clothes. but im sure i did. why does that affect them?
2. yes i had talked in a loud voice when they pooped on me.
3. yes made sudden movements when i tripped.
4. no, there are no noise or distraction.
5. what do u mean by outdoors or indoors?
6. yes they wing slap me when i was trying to see the baby.
7. no the male doesnt cool. he has canker and i cant seem to get rid of it.


plus my baby just died. because he got the canker from his dad. that dumb baby pigeon kept eating out of his dad's stomache.


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## Hamza

Theres no reasonable explaination but generally wat i've seen is pigeons dont prefer "dark" areas and clothes.. They dont come near me wen i do so..

Any loud noise made by you, be it they poop on you, will scare the hell out of them.. Once they come near u, then talk slightly getting louder day by day.. Then ur screams wont affect them..

Sudden actions will do u bad.. Any sudden move and their instinct i s to fly away...

Are they caged indoors or outdoors? Adult outdoor birds are generally tamer..

Dont disturb them unnecessarily like seeing the baby; They wingslap if some1 trespasses into THEIR territory..

Sorry abt ur baby... 

Last thing:-
You scare em once they'll always be scared and it will take time, a day to months to recover.. First impression is the Last impression.. Rmbr, Trust is gained over years but lost in a second..

Hope it helps..


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## X3MTM

now, the coming back thing.....does it work for certain pigeons only, or any pigeon can be let out and it will come back?


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## Skyeking

X3MTM said:


> now, the coming back thing.....does it work for certain pigeons only, or any pigeon can be let out and it will come back?


Only homing pigeons have the skill, and it is up to the owner to optimize and perfect that skill with good training.

Birds that have already been homed somewhere else, are usually not a good candidate, but it can be done, not guaranteed. Young birds (homing pigeons)between 4 to 6 weeks are our best candidates, they have no previous training, and you can start fresh, with a clean slate, so to speak.


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## velo99

I have been relatively successful with this method of "homing in" my rollers. 
Keep em in a cage where they can see the sun and the western horizon an most of the yard. A height where thay can see above the fences and roofs is preferrable. 
_Only_ feed them when you put them back in the box. Always put them back in the box thru the trap. After two weeks use some masking tape and tape the last 5-6 flights on BOTH wings together. This will allow them to fly a short distance and still be catchable if they don`t return to the box. After a few days when they don`t act like they are going to fly away as soon as they get out. Let them explore the area,get on the ground and all those birdie things. 
Last step is to pull the tape,open the box and hope for the best.
G/L


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## Hamza

Well my fantail male (though i just found hes a fantail/tumbler mix hence all tmbler questions) is "homed".. I let him out everyday and he flys well with some "wierd" twist n turns (this got me curious).. He goes away, sometimes for 5-25 mins but comes back, finds my hand as thats their source of food and lands on it.. 

In my opinion all birds can be "homed" for short distances but show birds or heavy breeds are a no-no..


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## Eriduardo

I would have to say that "Feed" is the key to getting a bird to home fast. A properly scheduled feeding time needs to be set in order for them to know that they need to get home if hungry.


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## i-am-me

Hamza said:


> Theres no reasonable explaination but generally wat i've seen is pigeons dont prefer "dark" areas and clothes.. They dont come near me wen i do so..
> 
> Any loud noise made by you, be it they poop on you, will scare the hell out of them.. Once they come near u, then talk slightly getting louder day by day.. Then ur screams wont affect them..
> 
> Sudden actions will do u bad.. Any sudden move and their instinct i s to fly away...
> 
> Are they caged indoors or outdoors? Adult outdoor birds are generally tamer..
> 
> Dont disturb them unnecessarily like seeing the baby; They wingslap if some1 trespasses into THEIR territory..
> 
> Sorry abt ur baby...
> 
> Last thing:-
> You scare em once they'll always be scared and it will take time, a day to months to recover.. First impression is the Last impression.. Rmbr, Trust is gained over years but lost in a second..
> 
> Hope it helps..




o thnx alot man...buttah yea my coop is outside...and i let them fly around pretty much everyday. i want some homers though.


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## amoonswirl

*hand feeding...*



SmithFamilyLoft said:


> The solution for taming a pigeon is simple, but you must remain consistant and take your time. You must be the leader and offer food only by hand. Once they are eating from your hand, then it is all down hill from there. It won't hurt them to miss a meal or two, so don't worry if it does not work the first couple of times.


My 2 pet fantails are not afraid of me, per se. But they are not exactly "tame" either. I let them out of their cage for daily exercise in a large room of the house. But they are quite stand-offish and sometimes difficult to catch and return to the cage when playtime is over. I would like to try the hand feeding method, but before I do I have a question...

Once the hand feeding routine is set, do I then need to stick to it forever? Or is it ok (once they're trained) to go back to the food dishes and only occasionally feed by hand? 

Another concern is that my work schedule is not always perfectly consistent so whereas I can (and do) feed my birds 2x daily, it is not always at exactly the same time, but generally within the same 3 hour period every morning & evening. Do a few hours make a difference in the set feeding schedule? Or is a more general time period ok?


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## i-am-me

amoonswirl said:


> My 2 pet fantails are not afraid of me, per se. But they are not exactly "tame" either. I let them out of their cage for daily exercise in a large room of the house. But they are quite stand-offish and sometimes difficult to catch and return to the cage when playtime is over. I would like to try the hand feeding method, but before I do I have a question...
> 
> Once the hand feeding routine is set, do I then need to stick to it forever? Or is it ok (once they're trained) to go back to the food dishes and only occasionally feed by hand?
> 
> Another concern is that my work schedule is not always perfectly consistent so whereas I can (and do) feed my birds 2x daily, it is not always at exactly the same time, but generally within the same 3 hour period every morning & evening. Do a few hours make a difference in the set feeding schedule? Or is a more general time period ok?




nice birds. but i just like their tails.


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## i-am-me

is blue bar or, red check or, checker or, sliver bar or, pure black or, or pure white homer better at coming back to the house in a distance? tell me which one you guys prefer, or like?


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## Hamza

If you hand feed even like for 1 minute each day for a month they'll be trained.. Offer feed ONLY in the cage be it by hand.. This way they'll come by themselves to the cage once they see you..

My pigeons have become such that they occasionally peck my hand when changing water cuz of food! They'll follow hand movements.. Its better in a routine but ok if u have other priorities.. 

Hope it helps..


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## amoonswirl

Hamza said:


> If you hand feed even like for 1 minute each day for a month they'll be trained.. Offer feed ONLY in the cage be it by hand.. This way they'll come by themselves to the cage once they see you..
> 
> My pigeons have become such that they occasionally peck my hand when changing water cuz of food! They'll follow hand movements.. Its better in a routine but ok if u have other priorities..
> 
> Hope it helps..


Thank you Hamza!! Much appreciated!
I will try this. Tired of chasing them around when it is time to go back in the cage : )


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## Becca199212

When we got our doves we kept them in the aivary for 2 months with the door open but with a net arround it so they could see the sorroundings but not escape. We were told to do this by the people we brought the birds from. I have no idea how old they were but it seemed to work as they barley leave the street. If it is true that after one year you cannot train them to stay in a different area then we are in big trouble when we move!!


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## WhiteFeathers

*Thank you Warren!*

*"When I said hand feed, that means if they don't eat out of your hand, then they don't eat. You then wait till the next day and try again. Believe me, it will not take 100 days."*

Just want to say thank you to Warren. Having tried to get my doves to eat out of my hand for several weeks without success, I started trying his method yesterday and now, 24 hours later, they are all cautiously but happily eating out of my outstretched hand. HOORAY! I would never have managed without Warren's excellent advice. Thanks again!


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## i-am-me

what kind of homers do u guys prefer??


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## SmithFamilyLoft

WhiteFeathers said:


> *"When I said hand feed, that means if they don't eat out of your hand, then they don't eat. You then wait till the next day and try again. Believe me, it will not take 100 days."*
> 
> Just want to say thank you to Warren. Having tried to get my doves to eat out of my hand for several weeks without success, I started trying his method yesterday and now, 24 hours later, they are all cautiously but happily eating out of my outstretched hand. HOORAY! I would never have managed without Warren's excellent advice. Thanks again!


OK then....just send your check to...... oh yes...did I forget to mention that you can then use this same method to train them to do other amazing things ?  .....no, well...this is the main tool to "teach" whatever it is you want them to learn...... 

No wonder they write about me in various places.....


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## SmithFamilyLoft

i-am-me said:


> what kind of homers do u guys prefer??


After all these years...and the investment of the family fortune passed down by my famous great uncles...the Smith Brothers...(cough drops) I can say without question...that the best "Homers" are the first ones through the trap on race day !! ....


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## learning

Just one question Warren.

Can I use this method to get my two sons to clean up their rooms?! At this point I am willing to try anything! 

Dan


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## SmithFamilyLoft

learning said:


> Just one question Warren.
> 
> Can I use this method to get my two sons to clean up their rooms?! At this point I am willing to try anything!
> 
> Dan


Well..... ....as a matter of fact yes ! Before this new age of "Time Out"...there was such as thing as a "Board of Education" and "Going to Bed WITHOUT Supper" 

Of course...that was before these here enlighted times...when you need police in our schools, and can't go out after dark. But, back in the olden days...you didn't even have to lock your doors !!  

So....which method really worked ? A big percentage of kids today are too fat anyway...missing a meal or two never killed any kid...far as I can tell. So next time one of the kids misbehaves and he sits down to supper....politely send him to his or her room for a "Time Out" without Mom's cooking...and just see if this time out, is more effective ! Betcha it is !!


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## i-am-me

SmithFamilyLoft said:


> After all these years...and the investment of the family fortune passed down by my famous great uncles...the Smith Brothers...(cough drops) I can say without question...that the best "Homers" are the first ones through the trap on race day !! ....



i mean wat type of homers do u like? example blue bar, silver bar, checker, and etc.


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## pigeon kid

if you have babies (homers) then you can fly them, because its home to them! and they will come back, but if you have hawks or falcons in you area you might have a chance of them not coming back


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## learning

i-am-me said:


> i mean wat type of homers do u like? example blue bar, silver bar, checker, and etc.


I think what Warren is getting at is the color doesn't mean anything. The color does not make the strain. There are blue bars that are Jannsen, van Hee, Stickelbaut, Van Loon, Claessens, etc., etc., etc. It is the family strain that is behind them that some feel makes the difference, not the color.

Dan


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## SmithFamilyLoft

learning said:


> I think what Warren is getting at is the color doesn't mean anything. The color does not make the strain. There are blue bars that are Jannsen, van Hee, Stickelbaut, Van Loon, Claessens, etc., etc., etc. It is the family strain that is behind them that some feel makes the difference, not the color.
> 
> Dan


 You hit the nail on the head there Dan...although I always liked the color red....the winner of whatever color...is what I really prize. Especially if there is some cash to be won !!


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## i-am-me

pigeon kid said:


> if you have babies (homers) then you can fly them, because its home to them! and they will come back, but if you have hawks or falcons in you area you might have a chance of them not coming back


hehe yea i know that


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## i-am-me

learning said:


> I think what Warren is getting at is the color doesn't mean anything. The color does not make the strain. There are blue bars that are Jannsen, van Hee, Stickelbaut, Van Loon, Claessens, etc., etc., etc. It is the family strain that is behind them that some feel makes the difference, not the color.
> 
> Dan


ooo i get it


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## pigeon kid

i-am-me said:


> hehe yea i know that


ok just trying to help


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## i-am-me

pigeon kid said:


> ok just trying to help


hehe. but thanks though.


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## pigeon kid

sure thing


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## lotpigeons

i-am-me said:


> how do u train ur pigeons to come back to your house when they know their old owners house???


I just got 2 blue rock pigeons about 2 months apart. The first one I kept in a large bird cage in my garage, i would let him out once a day to stretch mind you. but after about 20 days of being in the bird cage I just took him outside and set him on the ground, he allways flys back to the garage, now he roosts in it outside of the cage tho... anyway the second one I did the same with except only for 10 days. maybe theres something weird about my birds but I thought the whole relocation process went pretty smoothly.

hope this helps


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## ChubbiChubbles

*Hi!*

I own 6 pigeons and they get to roam my backyard. They fly away during the day and come back in the evening. They know where there house is. How i did that? All you have to do is, keep them in a cage ( not too small, but it has to include somewhere to hide) for atleast 2 weeks. Don't bother him/her too much. Just feed him/her everyday, and make sure to give them fresh water everyday so they know that you care about them. After 2 weeks past, let em fly. They should come back later. If not, its either one of these following reasons: 

1. They are too old. Usually you need to train em at a younger age. 

2. Maybe got lost. ( Happened to me 2 times atually...) 

Hope i helped! 

Tip: If they are a little old, you might be able to keep em a little longer, but not too long or they get too stressed.


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## Devkrishna Bhardwaj

I have a single 4 or 5 weeks old pigeon baby how can I train him to came back my home .


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## palestine

hi
im using this plan to make it come back to home :
1 : get a manually cage and put the pigeon you want to train it .
2: then put the cage beside or over the lofts . 2/3 hours / per day .
3: do thats 2/3 days .
4: then when you finished that 3 steps . in 4th day put the pigeon on cage and after 10 mints , Open the cage door quietly And go away without fear of birds.

they will go around lofts and will come back to loft.

 The best way to do that, I'm always doing it and it's a success 200%


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## Devkrishna Bhardwaj

I have only one pigeon . And no loft on my roof . I have a cartoon box in which I had kept him .so how can I train him to came back


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## Devkrishna Bhardwaj

I have only one pigeon baby. And no loft on my roof I have kept him in a cartoon box . He eat from my hand . How can I train him to come back home


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## Jay3

Flying a bird alone isn't safe. That is why they live in flocks. More eyes to watch for predators. One isn't safe out there alone.


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## cwebster

Agree strongly with Jay3. Would not release a lone bird...too dangerous.


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## wood pigeon 3032

i-am-me said:


> *oh*
> 
> Yes its a homing pigeon and roller. If I keep them in my coop for a month can i take them out to fly or something? Plus how do you make your pigeon not to be so scared of you?


would thy com back if you only have 2 pigeons and their a pair


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