# Racing Homer/Feral Crossbreed



## RussianRoller (Mar 19, 2007)

I think a Racing Homer/Feral Crossbreed would be a very good cross. I think so, because I used to have a Racing Homer female, which I never trained, or tossed, One day I let her go, about 20 miles from home, she never returned. I also had feral Pigeons, Which were allowed freedom to fly free whenever they wanted. The loft door was always opened, They would fly away in the Morning, and return in the evening. They would bring friends home which stayed at my loft, Providing new blood into the family. One day I thought about releasing them 20 miles away from home. So I put them into a box and let them go when I got there, as soon as I came home, I waited about 4 minutes, and then I saw something flying towards the loft, It was them. I was so amazed, I think that Ferals are smarter than you think, I also think they would make excellent racers, They know the terrain better than any racing homer. I Racing Homer/Feral Crossbreed would be the best cross for Racing Purposes. *[email protected] *


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

RussianRoller said:


> I think a Racing Homer/Feral Crossbreed would be a very good cross. I think so, because I used to have a Racing Homer female, which *I never trained, or tossed, One day I let her go, about 20 miles from home, she never returned.*


Well, what did you expect??? They are birds, animals.......not geniuses. You weren't born knowing how to read, walk, talk, etc......someone had to "train" you. Give me a break.



RussianRoller said:


> I also had feral Pigeons, Which were allowed freedom to fly free whenever they wanted. The loft door was always opened, They would fly away in the Morning, and return in the evening.


You've made my point for me..........if the hen above had been able to "come and go" as she pleased, she would have come home too. Your ferals were allowed to fly *TO* where ever they were going and *KNEW* how to get back from where they just flew from... Your hen wasn't even given a chance. Sorry, but that was pretty cruel doing what you did to her. 



RussianRoller said:


> One day I thought about releasing them 20 miles away from home.


Trust me.......those birds had already been 20 miles from home because you LET them fly, so they knew where they were. They didn't do anything so special. They just did what any "homing" pigeon will do, given the chance.


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi RR,



I have never done any of this, aside from one time taking some post-feldgling Orphan Babys I had raised, about 20 miles or so also away...to release them in what I then felt was a nice area.

They ALL beat me home...


I bet one could JUST work with ferals, and end up with some very respectable Homers or Racers.


Some ferals of course have husky builds, some more long and slender...these each would have their merits, I am sure.


Phil
Las Vegas


----------



## RussianRoller (Mar 19, 2007)

*Feral/Racing Homer crossbreeds*

really? Is that right?


----------



## RussianRoller (Mar 19, 2007)

*Feral pigeons*

So does anyone have any Feral pigeons for sale? Or have any Feral/domestic pigeon crossbreed?


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

RussianRoller said:


> So does anyone have any Feral pigeons for sale? Or have any Feral/domestic pigeon crossbreed?


RR,

I moved the quoted post from the thread it was in to this one that you had started.

I think you need to think very, very carefully about intentionally cross breeding ferals and homers. Though *you* might love the birds that result and be very happy with them, I think you would find that nobody else would feel the same way. Yes, those of us who rescue pigeons don't care if they are racers, show birds, ferals, mixes, or whatever, but many (probably most) pigeon fanciers are only interested in purebred birds.

I personally have some pet pigeons that are mixed breeds, but the key point is that they are my *pets* and not birds that I would ever try to sell or try to promote as some type of specialty breed .. they are simply pets that I love and care about and that I allowed to choose their own mates. In one case that was a feral father and a purebred fantail mother. Their offspring are beautiful, but the offspring are neither typical looking ferals nor do they meet the fantail standard .. they are birds that I am happy with but ones that a pigeon fancier would have no interest in.

There are many pigeons needing homes, and it is difficult enough to find homes for the purebreds .. I would hate to think of you ever having to try and find good homes for cross bred birds.

JMO ..

Terry


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi RR,


Yahhhhh...I second Terry's mentions...

And, or, if you wanted to study the Art of Training Homers or Racers, and elected to do so with selected Ferals, then there is no compromise for the Birds, other than making sure you get your Candidates are elected from those Logisticaly Orphan Babys people raise and end up keeping...and, you are kind to the Birds in their training so the increments of distances they are being asked to fly are graduated slowly...and are safe.

And, of course love them and care for them and be kind to them.


Phil
Las Vegas


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

pdpbison said:


> Hi RR,
> 
> 
> Yahhhhh...I second Terry's mentions...
> ...


And, I agree with Phil here .. if you had some ferals that you wanted to SERIOUSLY invest the time and effort in to train them to home, then I think that would be OK. You would have to go slowly and carefully with them and not push them past their limits. No .. I don't know what the homing limits for a feral are, but I suspect it is significantly less than that of a homing/racing pigeon. I could be wrong, but I certainly wouldn't go risking the lives of feral pigeons just to see how far I could go with them and still get them home. This isn't a game .. it's a matter of life or death for the birds.

Terry


----------



## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

...yes...( seconding Terry's subsequent mentions...)


Reasonable distances after long patient training...


In theory, there could well be ferals who would perform excellently...or equal the best...


My own interest is in aiding the injured or ill or orphan, for them to assume or resume their feral lives...

I myself would not have the patience or interest to train them to Home..! And to me 'racing' seems cruel.


I instead, enjoy most to see them "go"..! Healthy and mended and fit to their wild or feral worlds.

...and for them to just be their wild or feral selves...

These of course come back and visit...so, in a way, they DO "go" and come back too...if sometimes on a much longer time-table of course.


Best wishes..!

Phil
Las Vegas


----------



## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

TAWhatley said:


> And, I agree with Phil here .. if you had some ferals that you wanted to SERIOUSLY invest the time and effort in to train them to home, then I think that would be OK. You would have to go slowly and carefully with them and not push them past their limits. No .. I don't know what the homing limits for a feral are, but I suspect it is significantly less than that of a homing/racing pigeon. I could be wrong, but I certainly wouldn't go risking the lives of feral pigeons just to see how far I could go with them and still get them home. This isn't a game .. it's a matter of life or death for the birds.
> 
> Terry


 Hello Terry,

There are portions of this thread I may have missed. But, I don't think that a feral getting "lost" is in any particular extra danger when getting "lost". Many, if not most of the ferals today, are decendents from homing pigeons. The 100,000 + that the racing fancy releases back to the wild every year, maintains and impacts, a certain level of genectic quality on the feral colony. And close to the discussion of the "game" involved in the "sport" of homing pigeons. It becomes a "catch 22", in that without the "game", there would be little if any concern for the birds at all. I mean remove racing and showing of pigeons in the US and what would be left ?


----------



## RussianRoller (Mar 19, 2007)

*Racing Homer/Feral*

Ya, I've noticed that many Ferals look more like Racing Homers, I think they did breed with the Racing Homers at some time.


----------



## Pegasus (Feb 6, 2007)

*Ferals for sale WOW*

< thats quite shocking to me, but where Im from; catching or feeding feral pigeons are ILLEGAL, dont get me wrong but I will throw some of my pigeon feeds to them but not in public(in my backyard if I see 1), by the way why do you like to buy feral pigeons?, dont take this offensive but you can see a lot of ferals in the park, under the bridges and some are under the train tracks...


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

RR,

Got your PM .. here's a couple of links to pictures .. you are looking for birds named Opal, Onyx, and Cherub. All three are feral/fantail mixes. Mom is a fantail and Dad was a feral.

http://www.rims.net/2006Aug27

http://www.rims.net/2006Oct16

Terry


----------



## RussianRoller (Mar 19, 2007)

*Ferals*

*thanx alott 4 the Feral crossbreed pictures, Also are you saying that I could catch Tame feral pigeons in the city?*


----------



## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Hi Russian Roller,
How many birds do you now have? How many do you figure you can comfortable house?


----------



## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

RussianRoller said:


> *thanx alott 4 the Feral crossbreed pictures, Also are you saying that I could catch Tame feral pigeons in the city?*


No, I'm not saying that at all. There are always orphaned, sick, and injured feral pigeons needing a good home. It would be wrong, in my opinion, to catch healthy feral pigeons and subject them to a life of captivity. Just follow the posts on Pigeon-Talk, and you will see that there is no shortage of ferals, show, and racing pigeons in need of good homes.

Terry


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

You need to respect our noble ferals, as long as they are healthy there is no need for intervention. Allow them to live the lives that they were born into.

There are plenty of quality domestic birds or rehabbed ferals with permanent handicaps that need homes.


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

RussianRoller said:


> *thanx alott 4 the Feral crossbreed pictures, Also are you saying that I could catch Tame feral pigeons in the city?*


No.............you should NEVER take a wild creature from it's enviroment, unless it's injured and needs help. THEN, if possible, it should always be returned to it's original home..........


----------

