# Tipplers and Highflyers



## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

Hi, I'm New here, But I've had pigeons for the last 10 yrs or so. Just a few barn type, and now Racing Homers, but never raced. I only have 6 birds right now, (Homers) But I've had as many as 25 in the past, I have moved a few times, in those years, and that didn't help. Now I own my own house, and have put up a nice wood fence all around my backyard! It's great! Finally a little piece of paradise! I've cut down 3 large trees (Problem Elms) That had to go anyways, and I will plant some nicer, smaller ornamentals, and flower gardens to make it really nice! 
Now that I finally have a nice open backyard, my birds are fat and lazy, and they don't really care to fly. They like to stay on the ground or the garage roof or house roof. I was thinking of doing some short road training, to get them up in the air, but I was also thinking of getting some tipplers or highflyers to get them up, and eventually just have Tipplers or highflyers in the long run.
I want to be able to just fly out of my backyard only, NO Road Training.
Plus I have 2 very active hunting dogs that have to share the yard. For now the dogs have to be inside when the birds are out!
So My question is do you folks think that Tipplers or Highflyers would be the breed for me, or is there another type that might work. I really like the Idea of flying out of my backyard, but I want birds that will fly, not just laze around and tease my dogs. The last thing that I would want is birds that would sit on my neighbors roof all day, because he's home all day, every day! 
In fact that's half the reason for the fence! Well thankyou for any advice. 
Another thing, This is North Dakota, and I would need a cold weather breed of bird, I don't know if that matters with all pigeons or not, but I sure would'nt want to make a mistake! Thankyou, ND Cooper


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## Grim (Jul 28, 2007)

Well I wouldn't recommend any bird being left out to just laze around. Sounds to me the birds are being over fed. Full birds will just laze around. 

As far as active flyers just in the backyard rollers would probably work to. No road training necessary. HF and Tipps though will fly so high you can hardly see them and they will fly for hours on end so I would decide which you would prefer or a small loft of each.

About the weather it doesn't matter as long as they have adequate shelter and food in the cold months.


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## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

Thank's Grim, I kinda figured that the cold weather would be ok for the kind of birds that I want. I've considered Rollers, but I don't want that much activity, I kinda wished that there was a cross of tippler+flying flight+homer. I've read that sometimes guys lose tipplers and flying flights, but I have not lost a homer. My birds eat a wild seed mix from the store, and I add corn. I've tried wheat, they don't like it. I suppose that I should'nt be cheap with the feed. I live in small town ND and have access to farmers elevators.(cleaned wheat that is) The peas have a fertilizer coating on them and I don't want to feed that. I'm keeping the cost down as much as possable. I only want to have 10 birds at the most, They do not have to be perfect flyers, but they do need to fly and come home. I do not use them for dog training, never have, never will. But my dogs stick around a lot better, in fact they seem to guard them, and really enjoy that they own the birds!
I have 2 males and 4 females (racing homers) old birds. Paired in 3 seperate compartments, plenty of room and shelter. (I'll post pictures ASAP) Maybe that's another reason that they don't go too far. I let them all out at once, and they had a bath together yesterday. only the 2 males fight a bit, to see whose boss (that's expected) otherwise they all get along good. One female is even a janson (sp?) big+strong! I guess that I'll have to increase exersize, and decrese fatty food.
So Tipplers are highflyers, I'll take that into consideration, Thankyou, ND Cooper


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## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

I also only let them out about 2 hrs. before sundown, and rattle the feed container, and they go in and eat. So they are not full before they are released. I try my best to release them every day also. How much food should a racing homer get, a day, when they arn't racing?
I suppose that loft flying time for racers isn't very long, unless I'm missing something.


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## Grim (Jul 28, 2007)

When they are in good condition they will fly. You might want to keep them locked up for a few days then release them. If they are in good shape they should fly for a while. My birds will fly longer on some days then others. 

I just got some scatt to put on them to make sure they are air sac and scaly mite free. I have also heard of birds with respiratory problems that won't fly much. I am by no means an expert though. Healthy in shape birds should fly. I have started road training my 3 flyers (I have about 14 homers total but they are breeders so I don't fly those) and they do well. We are up to ten miles. I am just starting up again now that I own my own home. I used to keep some when I lived with my parents I had around 30 and they did fly.

I also fly a racer hen I rescued she will break from my 3 ybs and fly off for around half an hour then return and trap instantly. She always comes in like something is chasing her and she has been almost taken once while landing. For some reason she always flys out of sight and I have no clue where she goes.


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## roxtar (Aug 21, 2006)

> How much food should a racing homer get, a day, when they arn't racing?


I've only been at the racing pigeon game for a little over a year but I've found that between 45 and 60 grams per bird is about right when they're not racing. since you're just feeding a wild bird seed I'd try the upper end of that range first.


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## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

Thank's guys, I was also wondering if anyone can tell me that , if you own tipplers, or highflyers, what is your loss percentage of birds over the course of a year. Not from hawks, ect. But from just not returning. This is just for me to know what to expect, if I get some of these birds. Thankyou, ND Cooper


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

ND Cooper said:


> Hi, I'm New here, But I've had pigeons for the last 10 yrs or so. Just a few barn type, and now Racing Homers, but never raced. I only have 6 birds right now, (Homers) But I've had as many as 25 in the past, I have moved a few times, in those years, and that didn't help. Now I own my own house, and have put up a nice wood fence all around my backyard! It's great! Finally a little piece of paradise! I've cut down 3 large trees (Problem Elms) That had to go anyways, and I will plant some nicer, smaller ornamentals, and flower gardens to make it really nice!
> Now that I finally have a nice open backyard, my birds are fat and lazy, and they don't really care to fly. They like to stay on the ground or the garage roof or house roof. I was thinking of doing some short road training, to get them up in the air, but I was also thinking of getting some tipplers or highflyers to get them up, and eventually just have Tipplers or highflyers in the long run.
> I want to be able to just fly out of my backyard only, NO Road Training.
> Plus I have 2 very active hunting dogs that have to share the yard. For now the dogs have to be inside when the birds are out!
> ...


Owners of either "Homers" or "Tipplers", one has to train and otherwise control their birds. If you stuff either breed with all they can eat, and let them lay around the neighborhood all day, then sitting on your neighbor's house will be par for the course...... The problem in such as case, is not the breed, but the owner !

If you have a bunch of fat birds sitting around on roof tops, then simply change your management. Changing breeds won't help.


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

ND Cooper said:


> Thank's guys, I was also wondering if anyone can tell me that , if you own tipplers, or highflyers, what is your loss percentage of birds over the course of a year. Not from hawks, ect. But from just not returning. This is just for me to know what to expect, if I get some of these birds. Thankyou, ND Cooper



Proper training and management will reduce your "fly offs". I have read and heard of such things, but I have never experienced such things myself. I have never experienced losses from my high flyers...from these so called "fly offs".


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## ace in the hole (Nov 27, 2007)

Hi ND Cooper,

One thing that may help you is the fact it is not only how much you feed, but also what you feed. Start feeding them a light feed. Too much protine is not good for fliers. Try feeding them a light depuritive feed mixed with what you are feeding now. About two parts depuritive to one part of your present feed and at the same time cut them back to two meals a day. Give them all they can eat for ten minets then pull the food.

Do not give them free trap all of the time. If these are all young birds you may be able to change their habits, but if most of them are older birds and this has become their normal life it might be hard to change their ways and get them into the air.

ACE


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## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

My birds only get fed once a day, and they are only released for an hr. or 2, every day. they do fly from garage rooftop to house rooftop, but they spend too much time on the ground. yes I scare them up, not as much as I should though. You are right, I agree that it's not the birds fault, it's the owners 95% of the time. They get fed after their time out, and I let them back in just as the sun is going down. I know that they are hungry, because they go right in and gobble up the food. These are not neglected, eat all the time fat over stuffed birds! I'm sure that they are kinda fat, so I will start by changeing their diet, and doing my best to keep them off of the ground. I have had better backyard flyers in the past then these racing homers, but they were a mix of a lot of kinds of pigeons. My goal is to have good backyard flyers, that will fly for 2 to 4 hrs. Do racing homers loft fly that long? It wouldn't matter to me, much, how high they fly. No offense to the racing folks, I was going to race, but circumstances have changed for me. You do not have to convince me about a racing homers ability. Thankyou, ND Cooper


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## ace in the hole (Nov 27, 2007)

Racing homers in good condition will fly for 1 to 1 1/2 hours on the norm, but they may sometimes say up for 2 hours or more with out being flaged or forced to fly.

Ace


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