# homers vs rollers



## beatlemike (Nov 28, 2009)

Why is it that when I see posts about lofts or coops for homing pigeons that it is always mentioned not to over crowd and give them ample room and yet when I see pictures or videos of roller kits or lofts they are very small with little sunlight and many birds in a small area. Do rollers need less room than homing pigeons? Thanks in advance.


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## Keith C. (Jan 25, 2005)

The small kit lofts for rollers are for birds that are being flown, not bred.
A typical kit box is 4' by 4' by 30"deep and usually houses 25 to 35 rollers on perches.
Breeding lofts are bigger.
Homers are about a 1/3 larger than rollers, but the space needed for breeding is pretty similar.
There is a great deal of debate on this website about how much space is adequate for breeding lofts.
Pigeons breed best when they are not overcrowded.


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

I doubt that you could get a satisfactory answer. There is probably a scientific answer which could calculate the minimum space requirements needed for each bird. 
There is probably a "natural" answer based on the birds behavior in the wild and there will be a dozen different answers from pigeon fanciers based on their own preferences, experience, wealth etc.
So the answer I suppose is one's own preference. If you take the experience of zoo animals which were found to exhibit psychological behavioral problems resulting from being confined to small cages and transpose those to the conditions in which you keep your birds then the answer would seem to suggest that If the birds are flown often enough, are exercised enough that their roosting space need not be much at all,


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

what keith said.... the kit box is when they are being flown... the rollers should have another regular loft for breeding and when not flying them in competition... the kit box is a tool..not a place they keep them all the time....


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Homers are bigger and probably need more oxygen so they need bigger space. They also have to fly more than couple of hours during competition unlike rollers where 30 minutes flight is fine. There is a difference between prisoners vs non-prisoners birds housing.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Personally, I would much rather have my birds in a loft than a kit box. They have always looked way too small and dark to me. Rollers and homers need basically the same thing.


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## dod rennie (Jan 3, 2011)

I have always been amazed at the videos of rollers in small boxs , they should stay in a loft so they can live and breed there and that is there home


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## rackerman (Jul 29, 2009)

MaryOfExeter said:


> Personally, I would much rather have my birds in a loft than a kit box. They have always looked way too small and dark to me. Rollers and homers need basically the same thing.


*I have too agree with Becky on this one......*


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

somewhere down the line..someone kept their birds in this type environment and the birds did their performance well and prolly won some competitions..and then that is what everyone did to get performance... and keep up with them and then it became the norm... it would be nice if someone that does fly these birds were to chime in.... but I could not keep my birds in such a space...


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

The kitboxes disprove some people's theories. Having said that, the bottom is usually a screen so there is a lot of ventilation. The only problem I can think of is the lack of sun.

Many champion rollers won competition with their kitboxes so there is nothing wrong with it. It seems. For some unknown reason homers respond differently. Their performance gets diminished with overcrowding.

With respect to breeding, roller fanciers have breeding loft which is like homer lofts. So the kitboxes are used for flying, and the breeding loft is used for breeding. 

Here is one world champion--two of the best ones:http://worldcupfly.com/Monty Neible2.htm

Here is his kitboxes (photo courtesy of Rick Mee (forum member)):http://rickmeerollers.com/miscellaneous/misc16.jpg

Here is his breeding loft (photo courtesy of Rick Mee):http://rickmeerollers.com/miscellaneous/misc6.jpg


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## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

Kit boxes are for Training Purposes, Only. As far as that go's, WHY NOT?
Don't EVEN try to compare oriental roller Pigeons to racing homers.
Racing Homers are to be, or try to be the Fastest Pigeons (Bar None!) from point A, to point B. That's it. Done.
For some, kinda boring!
Rollers FLY!  REALLY FLY! 
Don't look down on different breeds of Pigeons. 
Racing Homers are Not the Only Breeds of Pigeons to Keep, and Enjoy!


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## dod rennie (Jan 3, 2011)

everyone likes a bit of space and a home to come back to


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## ptras (Jun 29, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> somewhere down the line..someone kept their birds in this type environment and the birds did their performance well and prolly won some competitions..and then that is what everyone did to get performance... and keep up with them and then it became the norm... it would be nice if someone that does fly these birds were to chime in.... but I could not keep my birds in such a space...


I keep Birmingham Rollers. There are three reasons BR enthusiasts keep their birds in kit boxes.

First, the birds become used to being in close proximity with each other. One of the judging points for BRs is how well they "kit" while flying. That is, how closely they fly in formation. Points are lost for "outbirds" that do not return quickly to the kit following a roll.

Second, many enthusiasts believe that BRs will kit better and fly more in sync with each other if they are kept in dark spaces. The theory is that birds that have been close together in the dark, will naturally try and stay close when out in the light.

Lastly, most enthusiasts believe that BRs are "lazy fliers" or that they lack energy to fly for longer periods of time if they "wear themselves out" flying inside the loft. Again, a judging point is whether the birds will fly as a kit for at least twenty minutes.

I'm not sure I subscribe to any of these theories. I had a kitbox when I first started keeping rollers. Since I wasn't planning on flying them in competition, I decided not to subject them to that when I had loft space available. My BR fliers are kept in the "flier section of my loft. It is a space about three feet by four feet that is separated from the breeders by hardware cloth. They get plenty of light, and they have more space than in a kitbox since the roof of the loft at that area is around six feet tall. I also leave the trap open most of the time, and have a screened landing board that is about eighteen by twenty-four inches. They love to sun themselves on the landing board and will go out for a "shower" when it is raining.

Of course, I might change my mind if I was competing with my birds.


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