# Rollers



## DeadIrishD (Sep 28, 2005)

When people talk about rollers, I tend to think of them as birds that fly up, roll down and than you catch them, after the land... how far off am I?


----------



## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

Most is very close. But let us hope we don't have to catch them.LOL


----------



## DeadIrishD (Sep 28, 2005)

so they fly back to the coop?

hmm... I always thought all they did in the air, was roll LOL


----------



## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

My roller feral mix (Hicken Sop) rolls on the wing in the house. It's really spectacular when they roll while flying free.

Come to think of it there are also parlor rollers which roll on the ground (tumble) and they can't fly.


----------



## Anarrowescape (Jan 6, 2004)

i couple of rollers in ireland the fly and rolled then came in so you wont have to catch them  thank god


----------



## DeadIrishD (Sep 28, 2005)

JGregg said:


> My roller feral mix (Hicken Sop) rolls on the wing in the house. It's really spectacular when they roll while flying free.
> 
> Come to think of it there are also parlor rollers which roll on the ground (tumble) and they can't fly.


Maybe thats the ones I was thinking of? 
heh.... Rollers are beautiful birds none the less.


----------



## pigeonkid1046 (Nov 16, 2005)

LOL. Rollers fly in circles around your loft, about 80 feet up and they start to slow down, then roll, some roll 20 feet or more. You don't have to catch them. You do get the occasional suicide roller that can't stop rolling and hits the ground. If you get one, breed it with something that doesn't roll as well and you'll get an awsome roller. You may be thinking of a parlor roller that you roll like a bowling ball (in your hand) and roll on the ground. They can't fly and are alot of fun.


----------



## DeadIrishD (Sep 28, 2005)

How do you get the parlor roller back, can ya catch that one, or bribe it with food?

and 2 poor flying rollers = a good one? how so?


----------



## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

Well, all the parlor rollers can do to escape is run. I'd just run after 'em and gently pick them up if I had any. Though I'm really into ferals!


----------



## DeadIrishD (Sep 28, 2005)

Thats so cool!

Are they common?


----------



## JGregg (Jul 28, 2003)

I don't know if they're common. Here's a link regarding Parlor Rollers.
http://www.parlorroller.com/


----------



## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I've seen parlor roller competitions at shows. They do indeed roll them on the lawn like bowling balls. Really good ones roll hundreds of feet. When they come to a stop they just sit there and their owners walk over and pick them up. 

We have a pigeon that is half parlor roller, half Vienna Shortfaced Tumbler. At the age of 8 months he started rolling uncontrollably when he tried to fly. He doesn't roll along the ground like a proper parlor roller, but when I release him he somersaults to the ground. He can't get any altitude, but he's learned to climb and flap up the wire in the aviary so he can reach a perch. I feel kind of sorry for him actually, because he obviously misses being able to fly. His mate "divorced" him because she wasn't willing to nest on the ground with him.


----------



## upcd (Mar 12, 2005)

*To Sad*

Did you find him a ground mate?


----------



## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

No, but I would like to. The next time I hear of someone with a spare parlor roller hen, I'll try and get him one.


----------



## Maggie-NC (Jun 22, 2005)

Does anyone know why they can't fly?

Maggie


----------



## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I'm not sure the mechanism of rolling is yet fully understood, but it's believed to be a mutation, some type of defect that causes the bird to somersault backwards in flight so that it appears to chase its tail. I've heard everything from "it's a form of epilepsy" to "it's caused by twitchy muscles." Pigeon fanciers took advantage of the trait and bred for it, creating the roller. Someone took it even further and bred rollers selectively to produce pigeons so extreme that they couldn't flap their wings without rolling, so they roll along the ground. These became Parlor Rollers. Physically they look like Birmingham Rollers, from which I think they descended.

I raise rollers, but they are the show type--we don't raise them for performance. People who raise performing rollers are strict about culling those that don't roll, something I'm unwilling to do. When you outcross them or even breed them with non-performing rollers, the rolling trait disappears quickly. That's why I believe it's a defect. Nature has a way of righting itself when man stops messing with it. 

There is debate among pigeon fanciers over whether the pigeons have control over their rolling. Perhaps some do and some don't; hopefully someone with more experience with flying rollers will weigh in on this. But they don't all have control over it. Our little Frankie would prefer to be able to fly as he used to. I can see his frustration when he tries to fly up to the boxes and can't. And flying rollers sometimes roll too deep and kill themselves by hitting roofs and other obstacles...so I don't think most of them can control it.


----------

