# Not A Very Good First Flight Today!!!



## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Today I let half of my young homers out (5) for the first time.
They were doing just great, flying around and looking as if they were having a great time just flying around the back yard,  
THEN!!!
a group of crows came and began attacking them. 
The crows drove off all five. It was awful watching them being attacked. 
After about 45 minutes to an hour, three finally came back.
One trapped pretty quickly and the other two didn't they were just walking around in the yard. After a bit these two were about to trap and a crow came back and attacked one and drove it off.
So as of 9:00PM I have 2 out of the 5 back in the loft.
It looked as if it was going to be a great day, the wind was zero, no dogs, cats, hawks or kids around just blue skys.
Is this normal for crows to attack homers like this??????????
I really hope maybe they will be back in the morning.
I am feeling pretty bad at the moment. I feel like part of me is lost tonight!!! 
Benja


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

WOW........I have never seen crows attack pigeons.......that doesn't mean the won't or don't.....just means I've never seen it......
I would expect that the birds missing will be back in the morning or at least sometime tomorrow. I know it's hard to know they are missing and there's nothing you can do.....but, don't dispair just yet..........just be up early in the AM and have the loft open so if they show up, they can get it. 
I sure hope they return.

PS: you were VERY smart to only put out 1/2 of your birds at a time. We're going to put some out tomorrow for the first time, if the weather is ok and we plan on doing the same thing.


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks,
I will be up before the sun rises!!!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Good luck.......hopefully someone will come and enlighten us both about these crows. I do believe that crows will invade a nest and take eggs and/or babies, but I surely didn't know they would actually attack a pigeon. I've seen them attack a hawk but this is a new one to me............


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

That caught me off guard also. I haven't read anything about crows either. I guess if it is nice tomorrow I will let the other five out. I'm about scared too, but they need to fly also. I really hope the same thing don't happen again.


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## luckyloft (Oct 21, 2006)

*New one on me*

WOW,I have never had that happen to my birds! Even when I was racing.I see crows flying around my birds almost every day.I think I will keep a closer eye on them from now on!I hope your birds come back, I have had several young birds stay out a night because of a hawk attack.Most came back next day.


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## flitsnowzoom (Mar 20, 2007)

Hi,
Crows are very opportunistic and can do in pigeons. If your pigeons looked like an easy target or stood out from the average birds in the sky, that may have attracted the crows' attention. They don't call a group of crows "a murder of crows" for nothing.

Hopefully your birds will all get home safely. 
Here's a thread about crows. http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=10355&highlight=crows+ravens
There are several others on this board as well.


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## Barn Pigeon (Feb 11, 2005)

Benja
This is a first for me. Never hear of crows doing that. Check and see if they are nesting close to the house in the bottom there near the pond. Glad you listened about turning out only half. Great to meet you last Friday. Should be back down in about month. We will go around and show you few other pigeon guys in Rockingham.  Like I told you they get hungry they will comeback in. I have had young birds to stay out 3 days before they decide they wanted to go back and trap. Keep shaking that feed can.....


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## Heather-Mole (May 16, 2006)

*I've Seen Crows ''Mob'' A Heron...*

Hi Everyone,

I Have Seen Crows "Mob" A Heron Before...The Crows Were Attacking It Like You Mentioned They Were Doing To Your Pijes. Now The Reason They Mobed The Heron Was Because Below The Heron In The Trees Were Crow Nests And I Guess Crow Babies...So They Were Just Protecting Their Babies I Assume?

So This Might Be The Case With Your Pijes Benja?..Do You Have Crows Around Your Garden Often? If So It Is Likely They Have Babies Or Eggs.

Which Might Be A Bit Of Trouble For You Because You Carnt Relocate The Crows And Your Birds Need Flying...I Dont Know Wether This Is The Case But I Hope It Helps


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Today I released the other five Homers for the first time. They did great for about 30 minutes. I called them in and two came right in and trapped. One just took off straight and went out of sight. The other two came to the loft and sat around in nearby trees but would not trap. Nothing I could do would make them go inside. About 30 minutes before sunset they both just took off for no reason and flew out of sight like the other one. Some GREAT NEWS  is that when I released these five today one from yesterday flew by about 6 or 7 time WIDE OPEN and when I called the others in it came and trapped in just a couple of minutes. Still hoping on the other two from yesterday and three from today. As of tonight I'm at 50%. Five in the loft and five spending the night away from home. Also thanks for the information on the Crows. Some Crows came around today but didn't pay any attention to them.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

You might try backing off on the food a bit to get a little more control over the birds. They may be less likely to sit around. I also keep them hungry just in case I see potential dangers like weather or hawks. If you can get them in in a hurry you can avoid some disasters. 
Randy


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I'm sorry you are still missing some birds. I hope they will return this morning, I know how frightening it can be releasing youngsters, and even scarier when there are unforseen problems.

Hopefully your other birds and shaking the can and the whistle will encourage them to come in, once they appear, they will be quite hungry.


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## warriec (Feb 2, 2007)

I bet there must have been a large gang of crows otherewise they wont attach the pigeons. Its a 50/50 chance that crows atrtack pigeons. Thye also attach the eggs and babies if they get a chance to enter yr loft thru the trap. they will cause havoc.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Been wondering about your birds today. Did any come back? I know the weather probably didn't help any. Hope that all are back, but if not, at least some of them..............


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

It has been raining ALL day and the wind has been blowing. Still have 5 out.  My arms are tried from shaking the feed can and lungs are sore from blowing the whistle. Tomorrow is suppose to be very nice. Hoping to see all are at least some of them. Going to let the others out again tomorrow but not sure to let all 5 out since they came in and trapped or just 2 or 3. What do you think?


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

benjajudy01 said:


> It has been raining ALL day and the wind has been blowing. Still have 5 out.  My arms are tried from shaking the feed can and lungs are sore from blowing the whistle. Tomorrow is suppose to be very nice. Hoping to see all are at least some of them. Going to let the others out again tomorrow but not sure to let all 5 out since they came in and trapped or just 2 or 3. What do you think?


I think that once they've been out and trapped in, they know what they are supposed to do. Now whether they do it or not is another matter...... I would let them all out and see what happens. Oh my......welcome to the world of pigeons...........


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks Renee, I'm hoping for the best tomorrow. Will let you know.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

benjajudy01 said:


> Thanks Renee, I'm hoping for the best tomorrow. Will let you know.


We're going to be letting ours out tomorrow too. About 20 of them have never been out. I finally put my first round and second round together. We had planned on doing it yesterday but I had a dentist appt. that I forgot about. On the days I let the birds out, especially the first few times, I make sure my day is clear with nothing to do. I won't put them out and then leave them....so, guess we'll both be standing in the yard wringing our hands tomorrow.  Good luck......


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

I am hoping you the VERY BEST tomorrow on the release. Lets pray ALL goes well.


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Well, yesterday the wind blew here around 15 to 25MPH. Today was a perfect day for mine and their second release. I took the advice and feed them a little on the light side Wednesday and half on Thursday. Today I released all 5 and two stayed around (on top) the loft and three in the nearby trees. Each MAY have made a small quick circle. After about 15 minutes, I called them in and four of them liked to had broke the trap coming in. It took the other one " this is the one that stayed out Monday night and returned Tuesday afternoon" about another 15 minutes to trap. He acted a little scared of the trap. *TODAY I FEEL GREAT*. five released and five back in the loft "SAFE". On the down side, no signs of the two from Monday and the three from Tuesday. I keep HOPING but I guess the odds are against them returning. Sure hope they are OK. Thanks to everyone for the information. Also, Renee I hope your release went very well.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

benjajudy01 said:


> Well, yesterday the wind blew here around 15 to 25MPH. Today was a perfect day for mine and their second release. I took the advice and feed them a little on the light side Wednesday and half on Thursday. Today I released all 5 and two stayed around (on top) the loft and three in the nearby trees. Each MAY have made a small quick circle. After about 15 minutes, I called them in and four of them liked to had broke the trap coming in. It took the other one " this is the one that stayed out Monday night and returned Tuesday afternoon" about another 15 minutes to trap. He acted a little scared of the trap. *TODAY I FEEL GREAT*. five released and five back in the loft "SAFE". On the down side, no signs of the two from Monday and the three from Tuesday. I keep HOPING but I guess the odds are against them returning. Sure hope they are OK. Thanks to everyone for the information. Also, Renee I hope your release went very well.


We had wind both days. Ours didn't get out. Now we've got rain for two days so I guess it will be next week for me. The longer we have to wait, the more worried I am. These buggers are going to be so strong and if anything at all spooks them..........well, I hate to even think about it.......


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Sorry to hear about your weather Renee. I do have another question? As long as it's good weather do I need to let them out EACH day or every other day or what? The more information the better!!


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## Guest (Apr 14, 2007)

I have 4 young homers myself that are knew to flight and I have to tell you I was so impressed with them this year as I have yet to lose one of them ,I let them out everyday and they do hang around a little before trapping but they are sure troopers on the return and I didnt even have to teach them how to trap they picked it up sp fast I was so happy  I even had a hawk hit my little pod of babies once one morrning and I was so sure that one would never return but he appeared as if nothing had happened later on in the day .. I do however only release them in the evening now as for mornings to me are a no no with the hawks being more around at that time but ya never know when they will pop up .. but as far as letting them out I do it everyday because I think it keeps them sharper and gives them the time they need to exercize and they have yet to let me down ...and just so you know I do love my babys to death so I wouldnt just being doing this to see what they can do ..today was a windy day and they had the time of their lives riding the currents thou I dont suggest that for the faint of hearts lol .. I live for my babies and all I can say is just be out there with them when they are out ,their lives are always in your hands no matter how old they are but like Renee said the sooner they get out there to explore the better your chances are to get them to home properly .. I have babies that arent even flying sometimes that will walk around outside the loft getting to know their surroundings and I know that really does help keeping them from getting lost in the long run but you have to sit out there for hours sometimes just to keep them safe which to me is the most important thing in the long run  all this said you still will lose some but losing less is whats its all about , live an learn and know whats best for your babies cuz every loss hurts ... great luck wished your way and always remember the younger they are the better the chances are that they learn their surroundings without flying off too the ends of the earth ,god I hated that more then anything else in the world


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Thanks for the advice


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Yep, totally agree. Let them out every day that you can. That's what I do WHEN I finally get them out for the first time. The days they can't get out, the settling cage goes back up and I make them trap. After they learn to trap, they never eat without going through the trap.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

I'm really starting to get bummed out with my young birds. We can't catch a break with the weather. I've got birds that are 2 months old that have never been out of the loft. Every time we think we'll get a day to let them out, it rains, the wind blows OR it's race day and we've got birds coming in so don't want any young ones sitting out to distract them. 
I'm really worried about how this is going to go when we finally get them out. The next week.......Mon.....NW wind 20 to 30 MPH w/gusts up to 50 
Same Tues..Wed. a possible day right now.....Thurs. Rain.....Fri. Shipping day...Sat....race day.......so, just like that, another week gone by. 
When you DO get a good day, I fear the hawks even worse. When the weather is bad, it makes hunting harder for them, so that means there's a bigger chance we'll get a visit and if we do, the hawk may be super hungry and with 2 month old birds scattered to the wind..........I don't know.......I may be here crying the blues in a few days......


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Let's hope for the best next week. Weather here has been terrible. Keep me updated on how it's going.


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

The wind backed off a little this evening so I let the five out again. They did about like they did the other day. Couple of them made two or three very small laps around the back yard and then sat on the roof of my house for rest of the time. The other three just flew from the landing board to the roof of the loft then back and forth and mainly just staying on the loft's roof. After about thirty minutes I called them in and they came straight in and trap immediately. I am feeding them around 6PM each day and after 20 minutes I remove any food that is left but not the grit. You would think they are starving when called in. Are they too HUNGRY when I let them out or is this normal? QUESTION::::: Do I just let them do like THEY want to do OR do I MAKE them fly ????? Still haven't seen the other five. I guess they are gone forever  now.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Just wondering how it's going with your birds?
We FINALLY got ours out........all 52 of them. A few got up and flew.......one BB flew around for about 5 minutes, then headed west.......never saw him again.......... Had a little trouble getting them in, so I cut their feed. Next time out, they came out of the window and trapped. Just that fast. They were HUNGRY...........I felt bad of course, so gave them a little extra and tried again the next day. This time we had about a dozen get up a fly some, then we saw 4 sail over the house and head west........wonder what the heck is west of us that's so interesting??
Anyway, 1 came in, then another came in late that day and then the other two came in the next morning......so as far as I can tell, we've got one baby missing. Guess since he's been gone for a while, he won't be back.  
But, on a good note, they've been out a few times now, no major catastrophy, no hawks bothering them, so it's been ok. I'm not quite so nervous letting them out now.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

benjajudy01 said:


> The wind backed off a little this evening so I let the five out again. They did about like they did the other day. Couple of them made two or three very small laps around the back yard and then sat on the roof of my house for rest of the time. The other three just flew from the landing board to the roof of the loft then back and forth and mainly just staying on the loft's roof. After about thirty minutes I called them in and they came straight in and trap immediately. I am feeding them around 6PM each day and after 20 minutes I remove any food that is left but not the grit. You would think they are starving when called in. Are they too HUNGRY when I let them out or is this normal? QUESTION::::: Do I just let them do like THEY want to do OR do I MAKE them fly ????? Still haven't seen the other five. I guess they are gone forever  now.


Don't know how I missed this post. Sorry.....I would give them a little time to see if they get up and fly. You don't really want to scare them the first few times out, but you don't want them just sitting around forever either. You may not be feeding them enough. I've said before, it's a real fine line. I'll tell you what I've done the past week. I bought some Barley. I'm mixing 1/3 of their rations as Barley. I only put down a little food at a time. After they eat everything I've put out, I'll put down a little more. When the start leaving the Barley, they've had enough. If they eat the Barley readily?.....you may need to feed a little more. They don't like barley and until they get used to it, they won't eat it unless they are hungry. It's a good way to gauge whether they are getting to much or not enough.


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## benjajudy01 (Feb 18, 2007)

Lovebirds said:


> Don't know how I missed this post. Sorry.....I would give them a little time to see if they get up and fly. You don't really want to scare them the first few times out, but you don't want them just sitting around forever either. You may not be feeding them enough. I've said before, it's a real fine line. I'll tell you what I've done the past week. I bought some Barley. I'm mixing 1/3 of their rations as Barley. I only put down a little food at a time. After they eat everything I've put out, I'll put down a little more. When the start leaving the Barley, they've had enough. If they eat the Barley readily?.....you may need to feed a little more. They don't like barley and until they get used to it, they won't eat it unless they are hungry. It's a good way to gauge whether they are getting to much or not enough.


The five are flying good around the area. They will fly for about 15 minutes then sit high in the pine trees for about 30 minutes then fly for about another 15 minutes. After that I have been calling them in and they do GREAT about trapping . I had to begin closing the trap because a couple would just come straight back into the loft. They have been out every day but three times since the first flight and they are flying a little further away but still in sight barely. I'm not letting them sit on the top of the loft anymore. A cane pole with a red ribbon works great. I wonder how long before they begin to range. Also, I picked up 11 more Saturday. Have been letting them settle down for a few days and I am going to begin working them through the trap today. I found out about the barley from another fellow and that was the answer to how much to feed (great advice). How did your race go last Saturday??


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

benjajudy01 said:


> The five are flying good around the area. They will fly for about 15 minutes then sit high in the pine trees for about 30 minutes then fly for about another 15 minutes. After that I have been calling them in and they do GREAT about trapping . I had to begin closing the trap because a couple would just come straight back into the loft. They have been out every day but three times since the first flight and they are flying a little further away but still in sight barely. I'm not letting them sit on the top of the loft anymore. A cane pole with a red ribbon works great. I wonder how long before they begin to range. Also, I picked up 11 more Saturday. Have been letting them settle down for a few days and I am going to begin working them through the trap today. I found out about the barley from another fellow and that was the answer to how much to feed (great advice). How did your race go last Saturday??


We lost the B race by 7 min. 55 sec.........got a 400 miler this week end. Gonna get them this time!! LOL...(I can hope?? ). Actually our birds are doing really well so far. No wins, but close and we're the only ones in our club who hasn't lost a bird. We're flying a lot of yearlings so I'm being very careful with them. Don't believe in throwing birds away and asking them to do something I don't think they are ready for. Will be shipping only 2 year olds and older this week. Yearlings get to do the 300 miler next week end. Our champion bird took a year off last year and was a breeder. Put her back on the race team this year. She's slowly flying herself back into shape. After three weeks, she was our first bird home last week. The two previous weeks, she was like our 6th or 7th bird. I think she'll do good this week. (I can hope AGAIN??  )


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