# Faraday Cage



## lawman (Jul 19, 2005)

Hello Diddy,

The copper wire or coil you referred to is I believe from a much earlier posting in which I was much boooooo hoooood by some other members of this site. Apparently the earlier postings are archived somewhere and I was not able to locate the original articles. Now this system is not a guarantee, no system is and several other methods have been described that along with what I will describe to you should help. 

* SO………..* Let me start by describing what is called a *Faraday cage or Faraday shield*. It is an enclosure formed by conducting material, or by a mesh of such material. Such an enclosure blocks out external static electrical fields. The enclosure is grounded to earth, (usually by use of heavy gauge copper wire that is attached to a grounding rod that has been driven 4 to 6 feet into the ground).

To a large degree, Faraday cages are used most commonly in the modern world to shield the interior work space/area from external electromagnetic fields. The electrical fields can be caused by everyday things from cell phones, microwaves, electrical power lines and wires that surround our homes to the sun itself. 

Now, pigeons as all migratory animals have a nerve that originates between the two hemispheres of their brains. This nerve then extends down through the top portion of their beak towards the tip. The belief is, that this nerve that all migratory animals have in common acts likes radar. Allowing them to sense where they are in relationship to the magnetic field generated by good old mother earth. Our cell phone towers, power lines and the sun all affect this magnetic field and create variances within it.

It is my belief that the true long distance pigeons (able to home from 600 mi or greater) have a very highly developed nerve. Now this is not to say that short distance birds (sprinters) don’t have this nerve as well, I just don’t believe that is has to be as highly developed. Now with this said, I believe that at least in part ……. Some of the heavy losses incurred in young birds today are caused because our birds are no longer bred primarily for the distance races and are quite probably loosing to a greater or lesser degree this highly developed nerve. That or, we modern humans with all of our cell phones, electrical wires, ECT. have created so much static, that all our birds sense is like white noise.

Now imagine for a moment being a pigeon or any other migratory animal. Being stuck in a cage with your radar antennae always turned on……… it would be like always having noise in a room and trying to relax or sleep. Your brain eventually shuts out the incoming stimuli. But by doing this you can’t hear your beloved wife or husband ask you simple questions. 

The boooooo hoooooers are going now I think. Doubt my theory so far……… OK, go into any room turn up your stereo system as loud as it will go, can you hear your spouse talk. Stay in there for 10 minutes (no need to stay longer) then turn the system off and try to carry on a normal conversation without yelling……… I think I just made my point. That’s exactly what is happening to our birds on a day by day basis, let alone when they are out on a race.

OK now that I’ve set a little bit of the ground work……. During World War II the US Army developed the Pigeon Corps. They also developed a trailer that allowed them to move the pigeons along the battle front sometimes only moving the trailer yards at a time, other times the trailer would be moved several miles or more. Each time the trailer was moved more than a few hundred yards the birds would be held in for approx. one week. But was this all, not by a long shot.........Read on……..

Now we get to the crux of the situation don’t we……. How do we take a homing pigeon and make it so they will home to the same trailer each and every time without error? The birds were even able to distinguish there own trailer from hundreds of others that looked exactly alike. Better yet take a bird that is moved from one trailer to another and then re-homed to the new trailer without losing the bird? 

Ok now bear with me you disbelievers……… 

I’ve already given you the answer …… …… 

You create a faraday cage for your bird to live in…………. 

How do I do that you ask? ………… 

The answer is very simple, so simple most will disbelieve and be among the 
boooooo hoooooers. 

Each and every trailer was a faraday cage on wheels and was grounded by use of a grounding strap or wire to good old mother earth.

What is that you ask now......... How do I use this knowledge in my own loft? Read on I say.

You simply build the frame work of your loft. The size and shape of the loft does not matter, but you have to wrap the entire loft in wire. A wire mesh of your choice will be the cheapest route to take. If you have the time the best grounding method would be to use copper wire (gauge/thickness of your choice) and methodically wrap the frame work of the new loft. The type of wire or mesh that is used is not as important so long as it conducts electricity. What you are creating is a neutral area where the birds are not bombarded constantly by the random electrical pulses that have become a part of our everyday lives in modern society. Now make sure you leave openings for the door and windows, ECT........Now you have to make sure the wire mesh all connects to the grounding wire and is then grounded to good old mother earth. Once this is done you can then take and put the covering of your choice over the wire mesh to finish off the loft. 

What you have now created is a neutral area grounded to mother earth right next to your home or barn. When the birds are out flying they will sense the magnetic field near your home more strongly. Even the birds with a less well defined sensory system will be aided by this and you will see fewer losses during magnetic storms created by the sun.

What am I talking about now …… well That is another story isn’t it….. But if you’re curious enough ….. Go to http://www.noaa.gov/wx.html and look up the K-index and read about it. Then if you have further questions well talk. 

Now after all this has been completed you keep the bird(s) in for at least a week prior to release. Some will say to over feed the bird so they don’t want to take flight off of the loft. Others will say to release when they are hungry. As for this part of the puzzle you have many articles to read from on this site and you will have to be the one to decide what you what to try.

Yours in the sport,

Lawman


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## Happy (Dec 19, 2004)

Hi Lawman, Great artical. Don't know how I missed the 1st one. We have to start trying something & this is very reasonable as we do lose so many more Race birds anymore as compared to generations ago, at least in So. California. It certainly started at the time the Cell Phone Generation began. Not saying this is the complete problem, but the timing is right... I know after almost 50yrs.of Racing that there "Primary Bottom Line Navigation" is done through their ears!! As you say there are a few Bo Hoooers that just are on an 'Ego Trip", & trying to build a reputation "TO SELL BIRDS".. Even an ole time ground strap on Vehicle transporting birds is a good idea for Static Elec. is worth while also......Thanks, Hap


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## lawman (Jul 19, 2005)

Hi Hap,

The nerve I mentioned is called the "trigeminal nerve" All birds apparently have this nerve to a greater or lesser degree, those with the greatest homing or long range navigational ability also show traces of magnetite in and around this nerve. It is my understanding that the nerve originates between the lobes of the birds brain and then extends down towards the front of the beak.

In the past many have seen many articles where they argued over whether the birds return to their lofts by using this material (magnetite) as part of a microscopic compass that allow them to navigate the magnetic fields of the earth to their respective homes. Or, by using different odors in the atmosphere as signposts. Oh and then there is the sun theory and many others. As many of us have probably seen many birds do orient more slowly on cloudy days when the sun is not present. So to some extent I do believe the birds use the position of the sun to assist them with orientation. However on darker cloudy days I believe the birds have to rely more heavily on their other senses, one of which is the "trigeminal nerve". It is this nerve that I believe gets over simulated by all our electronic gadgets that we humans love so much. Hence the use of the wire to produce a Faraday Cage within our lofts.

Now, I don’t know of any tests that have been conducted to determine the amount of magnetite present in short range pigeons VS. longer range pigeons. 

Or, of any tests being done to determine whether the longer range pigeon has a longer nerve than the shorter range pigeons. It leaves much room for thought and study doesn’t it. 

What I do know is that the distance and middle distance pigeons step up on the dark and dreary races and are usually the first birds seen home. It also seems to be that on these races the short distance speed birds are lost by the droves. I have personely seen some of my speed birds, thought to be lost in the storm so to speak, return a day or two after the cloud cover has disappeared. So there does seem to be at least some validity in the theory that they don't have a nerve that is as well defined.

Below are some of the links I found regarding the "trigeminal nerve" and magnetite in birds and migratory animals. 


http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s1251559.htm 

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/pmagnet.html

http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/...sites/2006/cawestfall/Magnetic Navigation.htm

http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2007/02/16/homing-in-on-magnetoreception/

Good reading,

Lawman


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