# Loft flying- is this normal?



## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

I let my 4 cocks out to fly for an hour this morning and they flew for about 1 or 2 minutes then they left. Elijah always flies alone and he came back after _40_ minutes, flew over the loft for 1 minute and then left again. The other 3 birds came back after they'd been flying for _43_ min, flew over the loft for 1 minute and then left again. They were all back again between 55 and 65 minutes of flying. Is this normal for them to not fly close to the loft? My birds are OBs not YBs. This is the first time that they've stayed away so long, usually they fly over the loft every 15 mins or so...
Thanks! 
Alice


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> I let my 4 cocks out to fly for an hour this morning and they flew for about 1 or 2 minutes then they left. Elijah always flies alone and he came back after _40_ minutes, flew over the loft for 1 minute and then left again. The other 3 birds came back after they'd been flying for _43_ min, flew over the loft for 1 minute and then left again. They were all back again between 55 and 65 minutes of flying. Is this normal for them to not fly close to the loft? My birds are OBs not YBs. This is the first time that they've stayed away so long, usually they fly over the loft every 15 mins or so...
> Thanks!
> Alice



Flyers have been telling me for the past three years that the cocks should fly for an hour at least. I was told one time that if I would leave the loft open, they would fly for a while, go in the loft, check on their box and then leave again and would do this over and over. Ain't happened yet!!!! LOL. I do know people who's birds, Old and Young will take off and fly for an hour or so. Ours don't. Never have. Is is normal?? I don't know, but I wouldn't worry about it to much as long as they feel that good and come back. Either they wanted to fly or something, (hawk?) could have been in the area that kept them up. I have had that happen. Don't ever complain or question your birds actually getting up and flying for extended periods of time. I would give ANYTHING to get my birds to do it. LOL The only time it would be a bad thing is for them to fly an hour or longer on the day you are shipping them to a race. I don't EVEN have to worry about that!! LOL


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## Jiggs (Apr 1, 2005)

I dont know if its normal but to keep my OB's up more than 30 min requires an effort so good luck to you. My OB's cross the loft every 2 min or so - they really seldom go far out of eyesight.

I have also tried an open loft now and again but once they have gone in they come out again and settle down somewhere like the grass for a good doze


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Jiggs said:


> I dont know if its normal but to keep my OB's up more than 30 min requires an effort so good luck to you. My OB's cross the loft every 2 min or so - they really seldom go far out of eyesight.
> 
> I have also tried an open loft now and again but once they have gone in they come out again and settle down somewhere like the grass for a good doze


Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one that has that problem!! LOL
Two people we fly with give thier birds open loft and it seems to work for them. But..................a couple of years ago, my husband and I were sitting on the back deck watching the birds and he said "I wonder what our birds would do if we just opened the loft and left them alone?" I said "there's only one way to find out".........so I walked out and opened every window in the loft and came back to the deck. It took about 5 minutes for them to realize they could come out. They walked around on the roof, then one flew to the ground.........(this was something that we NEVER allowed them to do), then another, then another and before we knew it, our back yard looked like a local "feral pigeon" park. LOL Then something would spook them or they would spook each other and in unison, they would all take off back up to the loft roof. This went on for a few hours and we really had a good time watching them, picking and laying in the grass and "just being pigeons". As it started to get dark, they all eventually went in to roost for the night. THEN..........the next morning I went out to the loft and to my horror, there was 100's of these little acorn looking things all over the loft floor, it was like someone had sprinkled pea gravel on the floor and the poop was purple and nasty looking. While out the previous day they were pecking and picking all right!! I don't know if they liked these little things or what but they "little things" didn't like them and they had thrown them up during the night. That was the FIRST and the LAST time we ever gave our birds open loft. LOL


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Very Good;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;*

HI ALICE, What you discribe is quite normal and very good.The birds are doing what is called routing which is nothing more then learn the surounding area when they do this they will leave for a while then return leave again.If you watch you will see them leave in one direction and then return from a different one.Zipping over the loft. A hour or more flying time just great, looks like you have some real healty birds,keep on doing what you are presently doing,don't change anything.  GEORGE SIMON


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## stach_n_flash (Mar 15, 2006)

im sorry to enterupt every one but what is a ob and a yb ? 

and my birds would stay out all day long they would leave at 9 am and come back around 3 or 4 is that bad? i dont race them cuz im not part of a racing club and if i were i think because my birds are out so long they would take for ever to come back lol


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

I flew them for an hour again but this time they were only gone for 25 minutes before they came back over. After that they came over every 10-15minutes. 
Lovebirds, I'm not worried about them flying for an hour, just that they weren't flying over the loft during that time. I should hope not, I worked hard to break their lazy habits! lol
George Simon, I didn't know that OBs would route, I thought it was just YBs that did it. I guess that is what confused me. 
Stach_n_Flash, I just wrote OB and YB because it's easier than spelling out Old Birds and Young Birds. 
Jiggs, I wasn't doing open loft, I would never be able get that to work! I let them out in the mornings for an hour and in the late afternoons for another hour. When the hour is up I call them down and in. They are required not to land during the hour and they know it.  
Alice


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

ALICE,Those cock birds were they late hatches? Do they have mates? Are the hens in a separate section? All these things will have some bearing on how the cock birds act. Are they flying to a nestbox or a perch.It looks like you may be setting up to fly widowhood. GOOD LUCK, GEORGE SIMON


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

I have 11 RHs. Only 3 of them are hens. 4 of the cocks are in the breeding loft with the 3 hens and my feral hen and the other 4 cocks are separated. The ones in the breeding loft are just fattening up  and the other 4 cocks I fly.
Actually, I don't know _what_ I'm doing.  I'm not planning on racing them, I guess I just want to do things right with what I've got because I enjoy them. I don't have any YBs.  
I'm not road training, just loft flying. I'm not doing widowhood, not doing any races or anything. Elijah just got taken out of the breeding loft 2 days ago so he's pretty upset. The guy that has racing homers here in town told me to separate them because they were a brother/sister pair. 
Alice
P.S. They (the cocks I'm flying) are all 2-4 years old except for my BB that I found around January, I think it was. He is a 2005 bird.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Enjoy The Birds*

ALICE,I see that you just want to enjoy the birds,thats just great. I can still rember the enjoyment I had as a young boy I would sit on the roof of my dads garage and watch the birds. People would come by and call up to me saying ,GEORGE you can't fly, and we all would laugh.I enjoyed those birds.  GEORGE


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

I _really_ want to race, it's just that I don't have anything to race with.  So I have to be satisfied with loft flying my Old Cocks....


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

I flew them for an hour again and the 3 did the same thing they did yesterday morning. They left and came back over after 39mins and 40secs.  Maybe it's a morning thing. I wouldn't know, this is only the 2nd time I've flown them in the morning...


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Lots Of Energy::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::*

GOOD MORNING ALICE, Looks like those guys are burning up unused energy.  GEORGE


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Well... I won't complain!
BTW, I forgot that Moonlight also came out of the breeding loft about 5 days ago.


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## High.flyer (Mar 11, 2006)

Mine's fly 5-6 HOURS, is that because they're tipplers- or whatever they're called?


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

HELLO HI FLYER, Tipplers and all hi flyers were bred to fly all day.The record for hi flyer competion is well over 12 hours.Racing homers that are loft flying are not expected to fly that long around the loft,if they did then on race day they would have used up all their energy before the race.So you see traing homers for racing is a lot diferent then traing hi flyers for long flying time,each of these birds are great in there own way. Good luck with your hi flyers,I hope you belong to a hi flying club GEORGE


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> I _really_ want to race, it's just that I don't have anything to race with.  So I have to be satisfied with loft flying my Old Cocks....


 Hello Alice,

Been reading this thread, and I don't understand what you mean, when you say " I don't have anything to race with ? 

You found a club if I understand, and you have some birds now....what is going on with 2006 YB's ? Why are you not flying this YB season ?


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## High.flyer (Mar 11, 2006)

george simon said:


> HELLO HI FLYER, Tipplers and all hi flyers were bred to fly all day.The record for hi flyer competion is well over 12 hours.Racing homers that are loft flying are not expected to fly that long around the loft,if they did then on race day they would have used up all their energy before the race.So you see traing homers for racing is a lot diferent then traing hi flyers for long flying time,each of these birds are great in there own way. Good luck with your hi flyers,I hope you belong to a hi flying club GEORGE


There are competitions? My best one can fly for REALLY long if he hasn't flown for a week, where can I find out more about these competitions?


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

SmithFamilyLoft said:


> Hello Alice,
> 
> Been reading this thread, and I don't understand what you mean, when you say " I don't have anything to race with ?
> 
> You found a club if I understand, and you have some birds now....what is going on with 2006 YB's ? Why are you not flying this YB season ?


 Hi, Warren! I found a club but was unable to get young birds but just yesterday Mark told me he's going to get me about 20!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO happy! 
The only birds that I have now are old birds. None of them were ever trained when they were young because when I got them I just wanted pets and I knew nothing about RHs. Everything I've learned about them has been since I joined PT. A lot of them don't have bands either. 
I have a problem though b/c the guy here in town doesn't want me to race b/c I don't have a clock or much time to train. Mark didn't encourage or discourage me to, he just said that once I train I can make up my mind. I don't know......
I REALLY REALLY want to race!! Actually, what I really want to do is train but I guess I won't be able to tell if I did a good job of training if I don't race.
Alice


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Flying Tippler Society::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::*



High.flyer said:


> There are competitions? My best one can fly for REALLY long if he hasn't flown for a week, where can I find out more about these competitions?


HI FLYER, Go to the web site of The Flying Tippler Society.www.tipplers.com/ftsofusa


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## High.flyer (Mar 11, 2006)

Thanks a bunch,George. I might get into this.


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

HI FLYER, Just great HOPE THE BEST OF LUCK with your Hi Flyers, GEORGE


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> Hi, Warren! I found a club but was unable to get young birds but just yesterday Mark told me he's going to get me about 20!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO happy!
> The only birds that I have now are old birds. None of them were ever trained when they were young because when I got them I just wanted pets and I knew nothing about RHs. Everything I've learned about them has been since I joined PT. A lot of them don't have bands either.
> I have a problem though b/c the guy here in town doesn't want me to race b/c I don't have a clock or much time to train. Mark didn't encourage or discourage me to, he just said that once I train I can make up my mind. I don't know......
> I REALLY REALLY want to race!! Actually, what I really want to do is train but I guess I won't be able to tell if I did a good job of training if I don't race.
> Alice


 Now Alice, 

Why not tell this thread, what has happened ?


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Dear Mr. Thread,
I'm supposed to get 9 YBs tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sincerely yours, 
Alice


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Oops. Is that what you meant, Warren, or did you mean about my OBs?  
Alice


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

Yep, that is what I meant !  

If this developes, you could have a team trained and flying YB's this year !!


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

*How exciting!! *...and I'll be able to ask you guys all my questions?


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

YEAH!!!!
I am now the proud, very happy, COMPLETAMENTE FELIZ owner of 10 youngsters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pictures come tomorrow!
Alice


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Congratulations, Alice! Wow .. a new pigeon flyer in our midst!

Yes .. pictures, please!

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I LOVE BABIES....yes, pictures pictures... please!


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Look at them now because I'm not going to leave them on forever.  I'll probably leave them on about a week though.   
These are 2 of my 3 oldest YBs and 5 of my others. The little black one with the white bib is my youngest.


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Hey- that ain't no youngster!


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Thanks for the wonderful pictures, Alice! What a handsome crew you have there! How old is the old bird in the last set of pics?

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

What a bunch of cuties, especially the 4 of them sitting in a row.

Stress is hard on youngsters, and moving to a new home will stress them . Give them all a round of garlic caps and probiotics and a day or two of rest, and exploring & familiarizing themselves with their new surroundings.

I love the older noble pigeon with the huge wattel.

Thanks for sharing!


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Hi, Terry, Turquoise is 12 years old.  He's got a mate sitting on eggs but I'm afraid they aren't fertile.  
Treesa, can I give the garlic cloves instead of caps? 
Alice


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> Hi, Terry, Turquoise is 12 years old.  He's got a mate sitting on eggs but I'm afraid they aren't fertile.  Alice


What a grand old man! I truly love the elder pigeons.

Terry


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> Treesa, can I give the garlic cloves instead of caps?
> Alice



Hi Alice,

A little garlic clove (cut-up) in their water wouldn't hurt, but try the capsules once in a while, as they can bring up their immune system quickly.


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

Treesa, I've never bought caps, where can I get them?
Alice


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

I never thought I would be asking this! .... _how do I keep my birds from flying?! _It has been an hour and 20 min and the 3 still aren't home! I finally gave up and just now let the other 3 in (I'm flying 6 now). I'm dropping a quick note and then I've got to go out and take care of my YBs. Hopefully they'll be back before I'm done. I can only fly them for an hour in the mornings because I've got to do things before school. The only thing I could think of was letting them out earlier but that's not something I want to do.... *sigh* These birds.  
Alice 
P.S. 1hour and 50min and they still aren't back. I've waited as long as I can, my dad will have to get them in if they aren't back before I leave. Now I'm really worried about them.  
2 hours and 1/2 and they're still AWOL. I hope they're OK!


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> .... _how do I keep my birds from flying?! _It has been an hour and 20 min and the 3 still aren't home! I finally gave up and just now let the other 3 in (I'm flying 6 now). ..........
> 2 hours and 1/2 and they're still AWOL. I hope they're OK!


 I am sure there is something missing to this story. 

Alice, the whole point in training is to get them to fly !? Is there a problem with them trapping in after you are gone ?

Where are those bunch of YB's ? Are you working on settling them ?


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

*Garlic is Good*



Trees Gray said:


> Hi Alice,
> 
> A little garlic clove (cut-up) in their water wouldn't hurt, but try the capsules once in a while, as they can bring up their immune system quickly.


 Treesa speaking of garlic...... 

Been taking them myself, but also putting them over garlic oil coated seeds, and also mixing them into the water, along with garlic cloves (4) and a tablespoon of garlic juice ! They just love the stuff !


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> I never thought I would be asking this! .... _how do I keep my birds from flying?! _It has been an hour and 20 min and the 3 still aren't home! I finally gave up and just now let the other 3 in (I'm flying 6 now). I'm dropping a quick note and then I've got to go out and take care of my YBs. Hopefully they'll be back before I'm done. I can only fly them for an hour in the mornings because I've got to do things before school. The only thing I could think of was letting them out earlier but that's not something I want to do.... *sigh* These birds.
> Alice
> P.S. 1hour and 50min and they still aren't back. I've waited as long as I can, my dad will have to get them in if they aren't back before I leave. Now I'm really worried about them.
> 2 hours and 1/2 and they're still AWOL. I hope they're OK!



I know how you feel..............the first time our birds "left home" they were gone for 4 hours. I was positively sure they would never be seen again. My husband was still working at the time and I bugged him to death at work, calling every 1/2 hour to tell him "they STILL aren't home" LOL. After 4 hours, here they came, sailing in, hungry and thirsty. I know it's hard, but try to not worry so much. They'll be fine..........they are doing what they are SUPPOSE to do..........


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

It's been 9 hours and they still aren't back. One of the 3 was the bluebar that I found around December or January ( http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpost.php?p=110408&postcount=4 ). Do you think that he might have taken my other 2 birds home with him? 
Warren, there's no problem with them trapping when I'm gone... if they had come home. Only thing is is that it wouldn't work everyday because whoever did it would feel sorry for them and overfeed.   When I first started training them I had to put a sign on the door that said "DON'T FEED THE BIRDS!!!" lol I got mocked for it but it worked. 
The young birds are in my breeders loft b/c I only have 2 lofts and that was the best choice. My dad said that he's going to divide up the loft for me this month though! (I'm very happy about that  ) 
All I've done with my YBs so far is put them in a basket on the loft roof twice a day and then push them through the traps. I don't have anything to enclose the landing board so I can only work with what I've got to work with. They've got the hang of the trap though, now I just set them on the edge of the landing board and they run in. I was planning on letting them out this evening- is that a good idea? A lot of them seem kind of old. I was going to try soaping the last 3 flight feathers of one wing on those birds (I read that on here somewhere). 
Alice


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

They may still come back. I don't want to discourage you but if you plan on having racing pigeons then loosing some is sadly part of the game. It just does happen and nothing can stop it short of locking up the birds, never to fly again. You said you found this BB? If he went home, it's very possible that the other two went with it. If they are not in someones loft, they will probably come back. If they spend a night out, it won't hurt them. They may even learn something like "it's much nicer in a loft at night than sitting in a tree" !!  
I hope they come back. It's SO easy to imagine the worst when you have birds missing. I do it ALL THE TIME and drive everyone nuts. Then the bird comes home and is fine and I look silly.. 
Good luck.


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

MOONLIGHT IS BACK!!! After 10 hours! Poor birdie ran up to me. I don't have a trap in that loft so they have to wait for me to open the door and go in, then they follow me through the door. I'm sooooo happy! I hope I don't lose Rain Cloud or my *B*a*B*y.


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

RAIN CLOUD IS BACK!!! 34 1/2 hours.


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## AZfiddler_1996 (Jul 13, 2005)

*Another YB pic*

Uhoh... I think I need to grow another hand.  
The other pic is Moonlight (left) and Elijah (right). 
BTW, Rain Cloud's actual name is Silver Rain.


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

AZfiddler_1996 said:


> Uhoh... I think I need to grow another hand.
> The other pic is Moonlight (left) and Elijah (right).
> BTW, Rain Cloud's actual name is Silver Rain.


 They are looking good ! Looks like you are controling the feed too !!


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