# Clip wings of Racing Pigeon



## sushil (Mar 14, 2009)

Hi Guys,

I have got a pair of Racing Pigeons. One has its wings clipped. While the other has full wings. Since these are new Pigeons and for them to recognize the new place is it really suggested to have their wings clipped so that they do not fly away. If yes, please guide me how to clip the wings since I have never done this before.

Thanks
-> Sushil


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

sushil said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> I have got a pair of Racing Pigeons. One has its wings clipped. While the other has full wings. Since these are new Pigeons and for them to recognize the new place is it really suggested to have their wings clipped so that they do not fly away. If yes, please guide me how to clip the wings since I have never done this before.
> 
> ...


he does not need his wings clipped, what if someone took your legs. you would be pretty bumed.......the homers can not be let out, they will try to fly to the preowners no matter how long you have them, best to start with young birds 30 to 40 days old. they call them homers for a reason ...they will try to find home. it is a big gamble trying to resettle homers, you could lose the birds, so they will have to be prisioners in the loft.


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## UncleBuck (Dec 23, 2008)

I have re-homed some homers, but not all of them. If I intend to eventually let them fly, I always make sure they have a nest, some young and a mate waiting for them back at my home. That being said, it is not a fool proof way to keep them here.
I do not like clipping the wings on any of my pigeons. I figure they are going to be inside at least until I decide if I am going to take a chance on them flying. I do not want them on the floor or getting hurt trying to get to a roost with clipped wings.
But again, that is just my opinion.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

UncleBuck said:


> I have re-homed some homers, but not all of them. If I intend to eventually let them fly, I always make sure they have a nest, some young and a mate waiting for them back at my home. That being said, it is not a fool proof way to keep them here.
> I do not like clipping the wings on any of my pigeons. I figure they are going to be inside at least until I decide if I am going to take a chance on them flying. I do not want them on the floor or getting hurt trying to get to a roost with clipped wings.
> But again, that is just my opinion.


Yes, Thats why I say it is a gamble as it has been done before, but IMHO, I would not let out ANY bird that had alomost hatching eggs/young in the nest, they may not make it back due to something else like a hawk, or they may just fly the coop too...you just can't be sure. and I would say the percentage is low in rehomed homers.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*I have also rehomed race birds this is not a easy task and I do not recommed that a beginner try.There many things that need to done clipping the wings is not one of them.... This is how I did it first I mated these birds up WITH BIRDS that I have been flying I let them raised a round of young. Second you need to know where their old loft is and if it is over 25 miles away forget it. 3rd you need to work with the flier at the old loft, he must trap them in and MUST NOT FEED OR WATER THEM,he must remove them from the loft. You must pick these birds up that day and return them to your loft and their mates and you feed and water them, NEVER let these birds stay at the old loft over night.4th The day that you let them out you let them out with their mate. In my case the old loft was 15 miles south of mine and our race course was from the north.When I did this I had 10 birds from the same loft, the day that I let them out only 4 of the 10 when back The next day I let them all out again on this day only 2 went back, and on the 3rd day 1 went back, and on day 4 none, zero, went back,so I rehomed all 10. I might add that these birds were good fliers for me and one of them even won a club race.Now after having said all this I recomend you don't even try. * GEORGE


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## LUCKYT (Jan 17, 2009)

Take the advice given... When i was young i tried the wing clipping idea, had a bird constantly try to WALK away from the loft, NO KIDDING! Dave


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## learning (May 19, 2006)

You may have heard of the clipping of wings to speed up the molt. I do this with the ninth and tenth flights and they are subsequently pulled after they have dried out. They are locked up during this whole process to protect them from predators while they are short flights.

Dan


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

That pigeon you got already has a wing clipped. That bird probably can't fly no more until it gets another new wing. If you are thinking of resettling/rehoming, there are other methods like what George mentioned. But, you only got 1 pair and because resettling/rehoming is risky, you can loss one easily and you almost got nothing.

Now to answer your question (even though I haven't done wing clipping), maybe you can look the way the wing was clipped. I suppose you cut the feathers in some distance length and blood will come out. To regrow probably you just have to wait until the feather dries out because it is not nourished anymore with those blood, then you can pull it out. The feathers will probably grow back. I also suppose that the wing clipped are the primary wings (which ones I am not sure). I'll search the internet.

For chicken: http://www.poultryhelp.com/wingclipping.jpg


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## sushil (Mar 14, 2009)

Guys, I would like to thank all of you for your opinions. I have decided not to clip the wings and will try to re home them. Let's see what happens. I have got another pair which has laid eggs. Will try to follow your suggestions.

Thanks for taking out time from your busy schedules and helping starters like me...

-> Sushil


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

sushil said:


> Guys, I would like to thank all of you for your opinions. I have decided not to clip the wings and will try to re home them. Let's see what happens. I have got another pair which has laid eggs. Will try to follow your suggestions.
> 
> Thanks for taking out time from your busy schedules and helping starters like me...
> 
> -> Sushil


to see what happens, means you will lose birds, they can have a hard life in the wild, that is IF they even survive to find food, some can starve to death, so think twice, as George said,he would not recomend it. you are responsible for this domestic birds life, don't just take it lightly. just flying the trained ones is risky with hawks and all, but at least I know they will come home to food and shelter, and not be off starving somewhere.


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## sushil (Mar 14, 2009)

I am not taking it lightly. I know what can be the consequences of this. But if I don't do this do you want me to keep them caged for months if not for ever.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

sushil said:


> I am not taking it lightly. I know what can be the consequences of this. But if I don't do this do you want me to keep them caged for months if not for ever.


there are birds that homing pigeon fanciers have, and they are called prisoners, they can not be let out as they are not trained to the loft. so yes, If you keep pigeons they should be in a loft where they can live even if they are not let out, you then can train the young birds of these prisoners to home to your loft, a cage is not a good place to house pigeons, unless it is huge, 2 ft per bird. prsioners need an aviary to get sun and sit in the rain and fresh air. many flyers have prisoners in their loft it is nothing unusual.


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

Sushil - Man your tag name makes me hungry! Lol....It's got "sushi" in it and that's my favorite food!

Anyway....back to the topic.....like everyone has stated, rehoming old birds is a very difficult task and you need a lot of experience to do it. The beginner can sometimes pull it off but it's very rare. I had an experience of my own with some old birds that were given to me. I couldn't wait to get them flying and trapping to my newly built loft. I read threads on this forum stating exactly what everyone has said here but I went and tried to rehome these birds anyway....stupid idea!.....to make a long story short, I had these birds rehomed!....at least I thought I did.....I was road tossing them from 20 miles out and loft flying them without any problems! I was truely happy with what I had accomplished. But then one morning I let them out to loft fly and a hawk attacked them. They were chased around for a good 5-10 minutes until I lost sight of them. The hawk scared them away and I figured they would return when they felt it was safe but they never returned that day and I haven't seem them since.....

Listen to the folks here, keep your birds as prisoners and wait until they have youngsters for you train to your loft. You will not have to go through the heartache that follows when rehoming old birds. It happens to the very best of us. And if you don't like keeping prisoners, after you get youngsters from them maybe you can hand them down to someone who wants to start keeping pigeons!

Henry

Henry


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

If you insist, then read on resettling/rehoming. I think it is a good idea to breed them first. That way you have young birds to train. Training youngsters will teach you how to resettle those adults. In other words if you are successful on those young ones, then you can apply what you learned for the adults. It will only take about 2-3 months before those babies will start flying. I have resettled/rehomed all my birds because I got them as adults, but they gave me heart attack during resettling phase.

There are basic theories somehow of rehoming. One is when you breed them first. They stay they say because they have babies to take care of. That is their motivation. The other probably is because they love their home/mate so you train them like squeakers.


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## sushil (Mar 14, 2009)

Thank you all for the valuable suggestions. I think it would be good idea to keep them encolsed as of now and let them breed and home the young ones.

I went through other posts as well and the essence of those posts were also the same.

Thanks for your valuable support.

-> Sushi (l)


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

sushil said:


> Thank you all for the valuable suggestions. I think it would be good idea to keep them encolsed as of now and let them breed and home the young ones.
> 
> I went through other posts as well and the essence of those posts were also the same.
> 
> ...


That's great to hear! You will have a more enjoyable experience and a better piece of mind when you get your youngsters to a point of loft flying rather than taking a chance of loosing your Old Birds from trying to rehome.


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

george simon said:


> *I have also rehomed race birds this is not a easy task and I do not recommed that a beginner try.There many things that need to done clipping the wings is not one of them.... This is how I did it first I mated these birds up WITH BIRDS that I have been flying I let them raised a round of young. Second you need to know where their old loft is and if it is over 25 miles away forget it. 3rd you need to work with the flier at the old loft, he must trap them in and MUST NOT FEED OR WATER THEM,he must remove them from the loft. You must pick these birds up that day and return them to your loft and their mates and you feed and water them, NEVER let these birds stay at the old loft over night.4th The day that you let them out you let them out with their mate. In my case the old loft was 15 miles south of mine and our race course was from the north.When I did this I had 10 birds from the same loft, the day that I let them out only 4 of the 10 when back The next day I let them all out again on this day only 2 went back, and on the 3rd day 1 went back, and on day 4 none, zero, went back,so I rehomed all 10. I might add that these birds were good fliers for me and one of them even won a club race.Now after having said all this I recomend you don't even try. * GEORGE


can i ressetle racers that are just 5 month old but have flown round other persons loft


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

can i resettle 5 month old logan racers they are untrained but have flown the previus owners loft,cheers


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

tipplers4life said:


> can i resettle 5 month old logan racers they are untrained but have flown the previus owners loft,cheers


This thread is from 2009, but to answer the question 5 months old and flown is too iffy and the birds probably will fly back to their home loft.. that is if they are decent homing pigeons.


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

there logan racers,the bloke said they shouldnt do,ile get em on eggs first,ime keeping them in till next year, i think there more 4 month old hached may he said there untrained but flew his loft,


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

tipplers4life said:


> there logan racers,the bloke said they shouldnt do,ile get em on eggs first,ime keeping them in till next year, i think there more 4 month old hached may he said there untrained but flew his loft,


why would you want to breed homing pigeons that don't home?.. because that would be what you have if you let them out and they don't fly back to their home loft.


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

the babys would,it would be there home,the birds i have now off the bloke see there home as the home they where born in e.g his loft,ide go back to where i was born too,thats how i see it,i never paid for them so i dont mind if i loose em


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

tipplers4life said:


> the babys would,it would be there home,the birds i have now off the bloke see there home as the home they where born in e.g his loft,ide go back to where i was born too,thats how i see it,i never paid for them so i dont mind if i loose em


That does not sound very responsible to me, I hope they make it back home if it is not too far where they can find food and shelter and hope they won't get culled because this person with the home loft already got rid of them once. you might want to reconsider getting prisoner breeders in the future.


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

well i got them as he was going to kill them,so soft as i am i said ile have them,he said they only 5 month old they should stay with you,depends on your setup,he said hes got rid of loads and never had any back,i dont realy want to keep them in as prisoners,and dont want them to fly back as he might kill em if they turn up there but he said he would let me know,so ime giving them a chance of life,so i thought i was being responsible ,as he would of killed them any how,so ile let them fly next year or even this year and give them that chance,ile get them eating from my hand befor so they feel safe around me and learn there is food water and a nice loft here,i think they will stay but its all up to me settling them best i can and up to the pigeon if he wants to stay,i keep them as pets realy ive indian fantails they are pretty loyal ive a hand reared pigeon who is %100 loyal never leavs my side,and ime getting 4 tippler thursday wich are few years old wich i know the guy he said they would more likely to get lost than go back to his,but if they do hel bring em back,so its all about me makeing them want to stay i think.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

tipplers4life said:


> well i got them as he was going to kill them,so soft as i am i said ile have them,he said they only 5 month old they should stay with you,depends on your setup,he said hes got rid of loads and never had any back,i dont realy want to keep them in as prisoners,and dont want them to fly back as he might kill em if they turn up there but he said he would let me know,so ime giving them a chance of life,so i thought i was being responsible ,as he would of killed them any how,so ile let them fly next year or even this year and give them that chance,ile get them eating from my hand befor so they feel safe around me and learn there is food water and a nice loft here,i think they will stay but its all up to me settling them best i can and up to the pigeon if he wants to stay,i keep them as pets realy ive indian fantails they are pretty loyal ive a hand reared pigeon who is %100 loyal never leavs my side,and ime getting 4 tippler thursday wich are few years old wich i know the guy he said they would more likely to get lost than go back to his,but if they do hel bring em back,so its all about me makeing them want to stay i think.


It was good of you to take these birds to save them being destroyed, but HOMERS are not the same as fancy or other breeds, They are bred to "HOME", and as you will read from other posts on this board, are much harder to re-home, and most WILL when given a chance, return to their original home, some, even after years of being a prisoner.
Also, even if they were to get lost their chance of survival in the feral world is slim as they really do not know how to forage for food and avoid predators in the wild.


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

i know pal ive herd even after 10 or so years as prisoners,i thought with them being young they might settle,i have birds i dont let fly free such as my indian fantails as they dont realy bother about flying plus there is so many cats in my garden about 8 or so they would stand no chance, so you think i should keep them in and try give them a flight to fly a little, so the bloke realy ment for me to keep them prisoners to breed from so i take it the tipplers will stay or are they just as tricky,i just got told from a small boy just keep em in six weeks and they will stay,now ive got into pigeon keeping its all harder work than i thought lol but ive had the pigeon love in my blood since a small boy,but only just got the chance plus a mrs that will let me have them lol so ime not discuraged from it all,lol


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

tipplers4life said:


> i know pal ive herd even after 10 or so years as prisoners,i thought with them being young they might settle,i have birds i dont let fly free such as my indian fantails as they dont realy bother about flying plus there is so many cats in my garden about 8 or so they would stand no chance, so you think i should keep them in and try give them a flight to fly a little, so the bloke realy ment for me to keep them prisoners to breed from so i take it the tipplers will stay or are they just as tricky,i just got told from a small boy just keep em in six weeks and they will stay,now ive got into pigeon keeping its all harder work than i thought lol but ive had the pigeon love in my blood since a small boy,but only just got the chance plus a mrs that will let me have them lol so ime not discuraged from it all,lol


The best for them would be to keep them in, as any outdoor flying would be risky for them to go "home". Even if you did get them to hang around your loft, with cats hanging around that could just spook them to fly off.
If you have an aviary attatched to your loft, they can get fresh air, sun & exercise there.
Any young bred from these birds however, would be able to be trained and homed to your loft as they were born there.
Fantails and fancy pigeons dont fly much and would tend to hang around your loft anyway.
As far as tipplers are concerned, im sure they can be re-homed in the way you were thinking, but have a look around the forum & get some others points of view and recomendations.
Where in the UK are you ?


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## tipplers4life (Sep 10, 2011)

ok pal,ime in bolton near manchester,nice to speek to you cheers for your help pal,Dunk


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