# Wild Feral Homing Pigeon Release - 4:30 P.M. Today (Saturday) - Bruce & Ann



## Vegas_Justin (May 4, 2011)

I will be releasing 7 - 8 homing pigeons from my feral flock today at the school parking lot on the corner of Bruce & Ann (North East Corner) if anyone wants to show up. This is in North Las Vegas

The parking lot is completely empty this time of day and gives my birds a nice easy 15+ mile exercise flight back home to Tropicana and Valley View.

Just as a side note, these are all seasoned birds and have made this flight several times. 

See you there,

Justin


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Justin,


I missed all the lead ins to this...

What is your reason or purpose for this?


Phil
Las Vegas


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## Vegas_Justin (May 4, 2011)

pdpbison said:


> Hi Justin,
> 
> 
> I missed all the lead ins to this...
> ...


Hello Phil,

Nice to hear from you. I thought it would be nice to get together or meet up with other pigeon enthusiasts during releases. I could be a great opportunity for someone new to see a flock of them released and watch them as they fly back home. As you know, it's simply an amazing sight to see. So this would be an opportunity for newcomers to get involved, or if others wanted to get together and release their birds, they could do so as well.

I have a flock of feral pigeons that I have been feeding for years now. I have banded and identified just about all of them. I take 8 or so with me home each day and release them for a 20+ mile flight. It provides them with lots of exercise that they seem to enjoy. I have 1 that makes the fight every day. He has yet to miss out.

So far to date, I have not lost any birds. They have all made it back. The longest distance I have flown my feral birds is 85 miles and I was surprised to see them all back the very next day.

Best regards to you!


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi Justin,


Of course, they will 'Home' very well.


I was just puzzled about why you would do this.

If the Birds seem to enjoy it, and, you do also, then, it would certainly appear to be a 'Win Win'..!

I found this out in like 1981, when, we had quite a few young adults who had accrued, from various Orphan Babys we had been given, and, everyone in those days roosted in the Living Room, and, flew out the Kitchen Window like Bats out of a Cave, every Sun up ( or as soon as we ould open the Window, if in Winter )...to return at dusk.

So, we gathered up about fifteen of the young adults, and, took them out to Floyd Lamb Park, and, let them go, and, drove home.

Home in those ways, was North 19th Street and Fremont, roughly.

Anyway, drove straight home, naively imagining we had let them go to a new Life and new easy surrounds...

...only to find all of them were Home well before us, and, just haning out in their usual unselfconscious ways.


Our purpose was not to 'train' Homers, but, had merely been to allow logistically Orphanned 'Peepers' and 'Squeakers' to live and be cared for and to grow up and be released!


Many of these were only a few months old, and, apparently did not find the flight Home to have been any sort of bother or strain.


My own involvement has been about aiding the wayward or injured or ill, and, to release those able to manage the rigors of the Wild, and, to provide a Home for those who can not.


But, I am more than satisfied, that if one did wish to train them to Race or Home, the average 'feral' would succeed wonderfully...and some would of course be faster than others.


The fastest Pigeon I ever saw was a very old Hen I used to have, who was long and slender. She was my first Pigeon.


I know in theory, a more broad or muscular form is what is to be desired in Racing for distance, and, possibly she would not have had the distance part as well, but, golly she was amaziwo for as far as the eye could see, anyway, just 'Zoom!' pulling out and away from all the others when they owuld all go out flying.



Phil
L v


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## Vegas_Justin (May 4, 2011)

pdpbison said:


> Hi Justin,
> 
> 
> Of course, they will 'Home' very well.
> ...


Hello Phil, 

Thank you for sharing that story with me. That is awesome and I appreciate you passing some of your experience on to the rest of us. Hey, my mother used to live off 19th street, so I know exactly where you are talking about. 

Now she lives off of 10th and Stewart.

Just curious how you kept them in your living room and kept them from pooping all over the place? Or hopefully you had wooden floors and it was easy to clean up after them.

Also, thanks for what you do in aiding pigeons that need help. I think that is just awesome.

Well I released 8 pigeons last Saturday including 2 babies (Maybe peepers or Squeakers) that I caught for the first time. I know they were babies since they were smaller and kept squealing (LOL). But they were good fliers and as you mentioned in your experience. They were able to make it back and accounted for this morning. 

I band my feral pigeons a certain way so I know which one have made certain flights and then reband them when I take then on longer flights, so they are all easily identifiable (with numbers). 

Of the 8 that I release on Saturday, I have seen 7 as of today (Monday) including the two babies. I am sure the other one will show up sooner or later, or perhaps I just missed it.

On Sunday I took 4 of my best fliers out to State Line. I bought some lottery tickets and released them in the Parking lot. 

All 4 are out in the trap now eating and drinking and happy to go on another flight later this evening around 6 for another 20 mile flight across the valley.

I just purchased some pigeon vitamins online to give them some extra supplements. As much flights as these guys have put in, I would say they have to be getting bigger and stronger and developing more endurance that your average feral pigeon.

Thank you, 

Justin


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

The old House was/is 141 North 19th street, just up from 'Sunrise' I think it is, close to Fremont Street there, a little off Bruce.

It all started with an older Dog Mauled, and probably Car hit after that, Pigeon Hen I found on Maryland Parkway, on a Summer Day, in busy traffic, and, she was laying unconscious in the street with Cars passing over her.

Long story short, I knew nothing about Birds, but, brought her home and set her up on some soft Towels, in a cool part of the House, and, three days later, she came to, and, I offered her a drink of Water, and, she Drank.

Got some small Bird Seed, and she managed to get well with no meds and just basic comforts and knowing we cared.

We did not have a Vet, and were not used to even thinking in those terms, but, sprang the dough a month or so later for an exam, and, all was well the the Hen, and, the Vet gives us a Pigeon which someone had dumperd in her lap, which had spent it's five or six years of life so far, in a small cage, and, had supposedly never flown nor could it fly, and, it was mean and cranky. ( Did acquire Flight after a month or so of free roam in our home).

Our then ''two'' Birds hit it off, and, made a Nest on top of my Desk.

Soo, Eggs and then Babys resulted, and, soon, out Vet was calling us to come get Pigeon Babys which people would bring in to her, and, watching how real Mom and Dad Pigeons did things, and, learning about some basic meds, we got good with raising Orphan Babys.

Ended up ( not counting all the 'releases' who in self releaseing, stayed 'released' ) we had a steady 29 or 30 Pigeons night roosting or hanging out in the Living Room, and, they roosted up high on the Curtain Rods or Shelves, or on Book Case Tops and so on, and we just set newspapers along the Walls, and it was all very easy to keep clean.

Everyone ( unles ssitting on a Nest, or too young, or convelesing in a Cage ) would fly out the Kitchen Window by day, and, fly back in come Night.

The dawn egress was like an 'explosion' of Bats from a Cave or something, 30 Pigeons all somehow co-ordinating to get out of a tiny Steel Frame Casement Window half, in like three seconds or something, it was amazing...and they had to fold their Wings in mid flap, to pass through it, as it was only like about 10 inches wide or so.



Birds we did not know would shop up also, and sometimes these were sick or injured, and they'd just be sitting looking sheepish, on the Couch or on a Chair or other, so we began learning more about helping them out.


It was a beautiful little Home then ( 1979 - 1981 ) when we had it, surrounded by a canopy of old huge Elm Trees, endless old Rosee and other Flowers, Mock Orange Bushes, everything lush, cool, shady, humid, tranquil...a little 'Paradise' in it's way. We took really nice care of all the Landscape stuff, planted Gardens in the Back in raised Beds, and, it was all entirely lovely and sweet and charmed in every way.

Lots of good memories...


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## Revolution Lofts (Aug 7, 2008)

Phil that's a very interesting story!


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## Don Fischer (May 13, 2011)

Someone tell me. Are you guys taking rescue birds home just turning them loose in the house? Shocking!!!


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## Vegas_Justin (May 4, 2011)

I have not taken any inside of my house, but I do have a feral flock that likes to race. 

So I feed them, hydrate them and then trap them every single day. I will usually take 6 - 8 of them anywhere from 5 to 80 miles away from their home area and let them race back home.

Everyone of them has always made it back by the next day (if not the same day) and are always eager to do it all over again.

Justin


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

So how do you know they are "eager to do it all over again"?

Honest question since us racing types "motivate" our birds by trying to make it so they _don't_ want to be away from home. As in the opposite of "eager to do it all over again".


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## Vegas_Justin (May 4, 2011)

Well when I first started trapping them, they would freak out and as I approached the trap all hell would break loose. 

There would be such a commotion with feathers flying and birds jumping and running to and fro that you could tell they wanted no part of it. Then after they were tagged and released, it was days before I would see them again. Or they would not even venture near the trap at all if they did return.

Now when I approach the trap they are calm. Let me reach in and grab them as if they were my pet bird. As I load them into them into their training crates they just strut around and coo and show no signs of any fear.

As soon as they return, they walk right back into the trap again and eat and drink. I have had a chance to release a few 5 different times in the same day and took them about 5 miles away and had then fly straight back to the trap and walk right in again. Then took them out on another 5 mile flight and had the same 8 pigeons back in the trap by the time I return along with a few others. 

They all went on 5 more flights that day. Over and over again and just keep returning for more. 

So either they like to be in that trap for food and water, just as your were explaining to me about your loft, or they are really enjoying being taken to different parts of the city and being released.

Either way, they are being fed well and with all their flight time they have in I would think they would be getting stronger as well as they are being exercised more then some of the other feral birds.

Justin.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Don Fischer said:


> Someone tell me. Are you guys taking rescue birds home just turning them loose in the house? Shocking!!!


Why ?
If a bird is injured in such a way that it would be safer in a cage or box, then so be it.
but keeping a bird in a box or cage when it is not really nesessary is a sure way not to get the birds trust, especially if application of meds or anything is required.
A bird in a cage is always fearfull of someone approaching as it has nowhere to go, so putting stress on an already ill/injured bird which actually inhibits or slows its recovery.
Ive always found that if the bird is not restricted its actually easier, and less stressful for the bird, to handle when need be.
It also allows you to monitor its behaviour and progress better.


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## Jaysen (Jun 21, 2010)

Justin,

I get what you are saying. I agree that the birds have it made. If they keep coming back then they must not mind too much!


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## driph (Jun 14, 2008)

Vegas_Justin said:


> <snip>
> 
> Of the 8 that I release on Saturday, I have seen 7 as of today (Monday) including the two babies. I am sure the other one will show up sooner or later, or perhaps I just missed it.
> 
> <snip>


Justin, did you recover the final bird? Coincidently, a friend just found an injured racing pigeon, I'm looking to get more specifics from her now. Was the 8th bird banded?


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## Vegas_Justin (May 4, 2011)

driph said:


> Justin, did you recover the final bird? Coincidently, a friend just found an injured racing pigeon, I'm looking to get more specifics from her now. Was the 8th bird banded?


Hello Driph, 

What did you find out from your friend? All my birds are banded. This one would have had an orange or green band on it. 

Please let me know what you find out.

Thanks, 

Justin


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