# Im just starting out with white homers & need some advice on getting started



## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

I know people who keep racing pigeons and people who keep white racers have different ways they go about training their birds, so im looking to adopt a training regime that is geared toward white "dove" (homers) releases. Im not interested in them racing home as much as i want them to just get home from any where i take them (within a 50mi or more radius eventually). Btw, i am starting with young, weaned birds.

Please include how often i need to take them out and how quickly i should advance with the training. Also, how do i know how much to feed? Do i have to NEED nest boxes and if so how many for 15 birds? Pls include anything else that i need to know. Thanks!!


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

...anyone know of a thread where white homer training methods are disgussed?


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## pigeon is fun (Sep 6, 2010)

I think training methods of white or different color pigeons are very similar. When theyre settled to your loft already and respond to feed call and trap training, you can start letting them out but DOT NOT force them, let them walk around fly around your loft and make sure they are hungry before you let them out. And make sure youre watching them while theyre out because expect preditors will surprise them. 
When theyre loft flying for some period of time you start toss them from 1/4 miles or so. Its up to your observation if you think you can increase the distance. Toss to same spot 2-3 time before you increaae your distance or moving to different spot.


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

Squeaker said:


> ...anyone know of a thread where white homer training methods are disgussed?


 I do not think you will find different training methods for different color feathers. If there was such a thing, imagine how crazy it would make someone with all different colors ? 

You train a white racing pigeon the same way you would train a black racing pigeon, or a pigeon of any other color.

If you want to train the birds for wedding releases, what exactly is it that you would want them to do differently ? Circle the release site a few extra times perhaps ? Well, that I think would be controlled by how, when, and what they are fed. Otherwise, "training" is a matter of reinforcing desired behaviors. So, what behaviors would you want to reinforce ? I hadn't really given it much thought, but most everything that a racing pigeon fancier would want from his birds, I would think a wedding release person would want as well. 

Releasing pigeons at a wedding and having them fly home is the easy part. It is getting the business in the first place, and then preforming such great service, that people would recommend you to their friends. From your questions it may just be faster and a bit more simple to hire a local pigeon guy to act as a consultant. That way you could in theory be up and running in a few months, instead of years.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

As Mr. Smith has said.. they are trained the same.. teach them to use the trap.. then loft fly them for a few months to build some muscle, then you can road train them out to 50 miles in all directions.. starting with in the basket release from sight of the loft then across the street ..then go a mile.. then 2, 5, 8, 10, then you can jump it up to 30 then 50.. in all directions.. after all that they should be in good shape to make the 50 if you have a release that far.. keep them in good condition by loft flying them for a few hours at least a few times a week... winter can be troublesome as hawks seem more of a problem in winter.. there are times I have to keep mine locked in for a few weeks time..so make sure you have avairies they can sun in and get some fresh air during these times. I don't think you train a homer how to home, they just need to be in shape to do it.. like an athlete. And be preapaird to lose some.. putting a custom snap band with you're info on it will help if a bird is found.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

I must have just assumed there were different ways of going about training them. Ive read a couple ways people train their racing homers and a couple ways people train their white homing "doves" for weddings. I suppose it must be that theres lots of ways to end with the same result. Btw, when i say train, i guess i just mean condition them to be able to successfully fly home from long distances, trap door training, tossing them, taking them further than last time ect. Im new with the lingo lol :->

Spirit, when my birds successfully fly home from my goal of 50 miles like say.... 4 times (once in each direction), how often do i need to toss them? And should i toss them at 50 miles every time i toss them? After theyve done the 50 mile flight a few times, is it ok to just loft fly them mostly or can they forget what theyve practiced at the 50 mile marker? I do have a full time job, but im trying this out to see where it will take me, hopefully with time ill be able to quit my job. If not, its totally okay. Im really starting it to keep my mind off other things. My pets keep me happy, so even if it doesnt make a whole lot of money, that would be okay but id like to try to make alot anyway lol.

Btw, spirit, was it you who reccomended the book white doves the color of money? If that was you, i did buy it online last night and am looking forward to getting it in the mail


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Squeaker said:


> I must have just assumed there were different ways of going about training them. Ive read a couple ways people train their racing homers and a couple ways people train their white homing "doves" for weddings. I suppose it must be that theres lots of ways to end with the same result. Btw, when i say train, i guess i just mean condition them to be able to successfully fly home from long distances, trap door training, tossing them, taking them further than last time ect. Im new with the lingo lol :->
> 
> Spirit, when my birds successfully fly home from my goal of 50 miles like say.... 4 times (once in each direction), how often do i need to toss them? And should i toss them at 50 miles every time i toss them? After theyve done the 50 mile flight a few times, is it ok to just loft fly them mostly or can they forget what theyve practiced at the 50 mile marker? I do have a full time job, but im trying this out to see where it will take me, hopefully with time ill be able to quit my job. If not, its totally okay. Im really starting it to keep my mind off other things. My pets keep me happy, so even if it doesnt make a whole lot of money, that would be okay but id like to try to make alot anyway lol.
> 
> Btw, spirit, was it you who reccomended the book white doves the color of money? If that was you, i did buy it online last night and am looking forward to getting it in the mail


no I did not recommend the book.. it is an ok book.

you're birds after they are in shape and you know they are healthy and have gone 50 miles in all directions and came home..all you would have to do is loft fly them a few times a week for a few hours to keep in shape.. they can do the mileage when they have a gig. The thing is also you really do need to like pigeons and pigeon keeping because that is the majority of what you are going to be doing.. IMO, get the birds set first and take care of them for awhile and learn about their husbantry..then look into the wedding release stuff. IMO it can't be just a business..but a hobbie and love of the birds. there is so much to learn about their keeping first before they get a job.

Another thing to have forthought on is, these are homers and if you just happen to change you're mind it will be hard on them., because they will have to be kept prisoner in anyone elses loft. so it is a responsiblity needing forthought.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

I do love my animals. That is why i decided to try this out. If it doesnt get a lot of money, thats okay. Its still fun. I do not like birds in my home becaise i cant handle the screeching echoing off my hardwood floors, but outsid, i love birds and find it absolutely intrigueing how they manage to find their way home when i can barely go anywhere in the next town over without my garmin haha. Anyway, its not just a get rich type of idea (cause i know that wont happen anyway), i want to do "dove" releases because i genuinely have a love for animals and because i want to eventually get away from the job i have now (im a woman in the construction industry and its just not fitting for me). I decided to do white homers because if im going to change jobs, id like it to be something i truely have a passion for, which is animals. Im only 24 & my boyfriend is 32, we are finally at a point where we would like to get married and then start a family and the job i have now just doesnt allow time for a child... at least not for a mom. This could be what i can do to feel like im contributing financially while mainly staying at home with a baby.

We have given it alot of thought and have decided that its what we want to do and we feel that its for the right reasons: my love of animals and the fact that we would like to start a family soon but i still wanna pitch in financially here and there


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Squeaker said:


> I do love my animals. That is why i decided to try this out. If it doesnt get a lot of money, thats okay. Its still fun. I do not like birds in my home becaise i cant handle the screeching echoing off my hardwood floors, but outsid, i love birds and find it absolutely intrigueing how they manage to find their way home when i can barely go anywhere in the next town over without my garmin haha. Anyway, its not just a get rich type of idea (cause i know that wont happen anyway), i want to do "dove" releases because i genuinely have a love for animals and because i want to eventually get away from the job i have now (im a woman in the construction industry and its just not fitting for me). I decided to do white homers because if im going to change jobs, id like it to be something i truely have a passion for, which is animals. Im only 24 & my boyfriend is 32, we are finally at a point where we would like to get married and then start a family and the job i have now just doesnt allow time for a child... at least not for a mom. This could be what i can do to feel like im contributing financially while mainly staying at home with a baby.
> 
> We have given it alot of thought and have decided that its what we want to do and we feel that its for the right reasons: my love of animals and the fact that we would like to start a family soon but i still wanna pitch in financially here and there


if you have a love for animals then I wish you much luck with this new adventure... just keep the pigeons for a spell.. because they are not for everyone..being honest.. they poop allot and need allot of care.. and first is their care..not the bizz... so it will cost you.. like feed... sometimes vet bills... figuring out breeding.. bands.. supplies.. winter care.. etc... you really do need to love these birds to keep good care of them for them to do a job for you to perhaps make money for you..... they at least deserve that.


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

no diffrence in training brother. just go slow


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

spirit wings said:


> if you have a love for animals then I wish you much luck with this new adventure... just keep the pigeons for a spell.. because they are not for everyone..being honest.. they poop allot and need allot of care.. and first is their care..not the bizz... so it will cost you.. like feed... sometimes vet bills... figuring out breeding.. bands.. supplies.. winter care.. etc... you really do need to love these birds to keep good care of them for them to do a job for you to perhaps make money for you..... they at least deserve that.


They absolutely deserve all that  honestly, i dont wanna sound like im trying to be like the best animal keeper ever to impress you, but recently we have spent over $1,000 on vet bills between our chihuahua cracking her tooth on a bone and it needing to be removed, then theres our springer spaniel pup who we discovered has an alergy to a food ingredient so she needed meds for hot spots, then our barn cat caught some wierd and rare rose bush fungus disease so she needed a medicine that the vet couldnt find anywhere so they had to call the manufacturer and have them whip up something that would take care of it... i love my animals, they always come first, theyre my fur kids


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

doveman2 said:


> no diffrence in training brother. just go slow


Sister*


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## pigeon is fun (Sep 6, 2010)

Squeaker,
Good luck and have fun!


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

pigeon is fun said:


> Squeaker,
> Good luck and have fun!


Thanks, im very much looking forward to it. Our loft is almost complete, hopefully we will have our birds by the weekend


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

awsome!.. we like pictures.. hint hint..lol..


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## luckyloft (Oct 21, 2006)

Sounds like you have a good plan.The only other advice I would give is take your time.The business will come if you do thing right.It took me a couple of years to get things going. Jeff


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## Jason Heidlauf (Apr 2, 2012)

I at one point thought about doing the whole wadding/funeral release thing . i don't know enough people . and i don't want to spend the money to advertise . also i had 6 white homers (so i was told ) well they did not home very well ,at the 10 mile mark none of them made it home all the other birds did but not the whites . i found them on a silo about 6 miles from here . so that put a bad taste in my mouth for white birds . i know there is not any difference in the collars . but when you buy birds from Amish you might just get white barn birds lol . it's just part of the learning curve


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

I will post some pix when its done. Weve been taking progression pix throughout the build.... but please dont judge me on what it looks like. Its not a typical house looking loft, primarily because we live in california and it doesnt get super cold here, but it does get cold. Its more like a 14' long cage on stilts with a wire front and 3 solid sides. So, im sure its not like most peoples... but its our first one, if we ever get super into it and need more birds, we will prolly buy the pre-fab red barn shed that i really liked at home depot that my hubby wouldnt let me spend $3,000 on, but thats another story lol 

Edit: oops it doesnt get super cold but it does get *hot*


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

Jason Heidlauf said:


> I at one point thought about doing the whole wadding/funeral release thing . i don't know enough people . and i don't want to spend the money to advertise . also i had 6 white homers (so i was told ) well they did not home very well ,at the 10 mile mark none of them made it home all the other birds did but not the whites . i found them on a silo about 6 miles from here . so that put a bad taste in my mouth for white birds . i know there is not any difference in the collars . but when you buy birds from Amish you might just get white barn birds lol . it's just part of the learning curve


Lol, not laughing at you... im laughing at the amish part. The guy we are getting our birds from has only white homers, hes been doing it for years, guess hes pretty well known among the pigeon people here. He only keeps his for his personal enjoyment, no wedding biz to compete with. I feel good about where theyre coming from. Sorry to hear about your bad luck, cross your fingers for me that hes not amish


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

luckyloft said:


> Sounds like you have a good plan.The only other advice I would give is take your time.The business will come if you do thing right.It took me a couple of years to get things going. Jeff


I definately take my time when doing new things, ive been there, done that. I did a bunch of research on my saltwater tank before i got it, then i felt like i knew what i was doing enough... then i found a tank on craigslist for a screamin deal, so of course, i had to have it like NOW... so i bought it, got it home, and it leaked. So i sealed it and it was ok for a while, then it sprung another leak 2 days ago. Luckily its on the top of the tank so i can patch it up for a couple weeks until we get done with the bird build... then we get to build a new fishtank stand.... oh goody.... more building  anyway, long story short, i bought it too fast cause i wanted to get my tank started now im having a harder time because i have to buy a new tank, build a new stand (the other one is ugly so this is a good time to replace it and store bought ones are so short), and transfer hundreds of pounds of rock, sand, coral, fish, and water.... ugh!!!
*always go slow*


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## pigeon is fun (Sep 6, 2010)

Hi Squeaker,
Where in cali you located at?


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

pigeon is fun said:


> Hi Squeaker,
> Where in cali you located at?


I live in fairfield by the budweiser factory (the country part of fairfield, not the ghetto part lol) were you the one in sac?


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

Squeaker said:


> Sister*


sorry sweats


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## Matt M (Mar 2, 2011)

Squeaker said:


> I live in fairfield by the budweiser factory (the country part of fairfield, not the ghetto part lol) were you the one in sac?


Squeaker I've been driving by the Budweiser plant a few times a week lately on the way to and from one of my favorite training locations off of Hwy 12. Small world...


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

Matt M said:


> Squeaker I've been driving by the Budweiser plant a few times a week lately on the way to and from one of my favorite training locations off of Hwy 12. Small world...


Haha wow cool! I work off hwy 12 at the windmills in riovista! We are putting in 50 new turbines. Definately small world  maybe some day we could get together and you could teach me some stuff? :-> just putting it out there


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## pigeon is fun (Sep 6, 2010)

Squeaker said:


> I live in fairfield by the budweiser factory (the country part of fairfield, not the ghetto part lol) were you the one in sac?


 I live in southern california near disneyland. Are you near the jelly belly factory? I was there few months ago. Have some relatives we visited every now and then.


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## Matt M (Mar 2, 2011)

Squeaker said:


> Haha wow cool! I work off hwy 12 at the windmills in riovista! We are putting in 50 new turbines. Definately small world  maybe some day we could get together and you could teach me some stuff? :-> just putting it out there


Sure no problem, I'm no expert but could probably offer you help or advice for most questions. If you want my contact info PM me and we could set something up.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

Squeaker said:


> I will post some pix when its done. Weve been taking progression pix throughout the build.... but please dont judge me on what it looks like. Its not a typical house looking loft, primarily because we live in california and it doesnt get super cold here, but it does get cold. Its more like a 14' long cage on stilts with a wire front and 3 solid sides. So, im sure its not like most peoples... but its our first one, if we ever get super into it and need more birds, we will prolly buy the pre-fab red barn shed that i really liked at home depot that my hubby wouldnt let me spend $3,000 on, but thats another story lol
> 
> Edit: oops it doesnt get super cold but it does get *hot*


 lol.. it does not matter what it looks like, as long as it is secure from predators for the birds.. good luck!


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## yasdnil88 (Aug 18, 2012)

Can anyone tell me how to post a new thread?! Super frustrating..


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

yasdnil88 said:


> Can anyone tell me how to post a new thread?! Super frustrating..


go to the main page and pic a topic that seems to fit what you want to post.. then there will be a new thread tab at the top left.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

pigeon is fun said:


> I live in southern california near disneyland. Are you near the jelly belly factory? I was there few months ago. Have some relatives we visited every now and then.


YES! Like 5 minutes away from it


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

spirit wings said:


> lol.. it does not matter what it looks like, as long as it is secure from predators for the birds.. good luck!


Ive just been reading stuff thats been freaking me out about them getting sick from drafts or a damp loft ect. After i built the loft, i began finding lots of info about it needing to face east to get morning sun, mine faces west or it cant be drafty and to seal up cracks, well, mines completely open on one *blanking* side. In regards to dampness, the open side is close to a tree which should help block rain and i can block the wire doors with plywood or something when we have a bad storm.

Wild pigeons are like flying cockroaches, theyll prolly survive a neuclear attack lol, im sure domestocated ones are a bit more sensitive, as with all domesticated animals... but really, i dont live in like the colorado rockies or anything, i live in california where its better weather than alot of places out there, so maybe i have some wiggle room?

I know theres tons of nutty people on forums who go waayy overboard with their hobbies... i do understand that. Im a bit of a forum junkie, so i see it alot, especially with pets. But realistically.... should i be worried?


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

I got my birdies! I got 15 young birds that are weaned and havent left the loft yet. In a couple weeks ill prolly go back for more. He has 8-10 babies that arent ready yet. Ill prolly start training them all at the same time. Hopefully ill end up with about 20-25


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## pigeon is fun (Sep 6, 2010)

Squeaker said:


> I got my birdies! I got 15 young birds that are weaned and havent left the loft yet. In a couple weeks ill prolly go back for more. He has 8-10 babies that arent ready yet. Ill prolly start training them all at the same time. Hopefully ill end up with about 20-25


Sweet! I like it when my birds are flying around when we have a dark rain clouds, my birds mostly grizzles, white splashes and 3 solid whites. You can really see birds in the dark clouds. Its gonna be fun seeing your 25 white ones flying around all at same time.


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

nice ! i bet your all pumped up. just go slow. once you let them out for the first time make sure you don't feed the and they are hungrey. like pigeon is fun said they DO look sharp with a dark sky. they stick out like a sore thumb. i was supposed to get 6 more young white birds but something happenned on this end and i could'nt get themi asked if i could pay for shipping but never heard back. win some loose some.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

pigeon is fun said:


> Sweet! I like it when my birds are flying around when we have a dark rain clouds, my birds mostly grizzles, white splashes and 3 solid whites. You can really see birds in the dark clouds. Its gonna be fun seeing your 25 white ones flying around all at same time.


We aew very excited


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

Matt M said:


> Squeaker I've been driving by the Budweiser plant a few times a week lately on the way to and from one of my favorite training locations off of Hwy 12. Small world...


Since youre from the area, do you know doug cummings or bill nessler?


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

doveman2 said:


> nice ! i bet your all pumped up. just go slow. once you let them out for the first time make sure you don't feed the and they are hungrey. like pigeon is fun said they DO look sharp with a dark sky. they stick out like a sore thumb. i was supposed to get 6 more young white birds but something happenned on this end and i could'nt get themi asked if i could pay for shipping but never heard back. win some loose some.


The guy i got them from has about 80 white ones, he says hes got doves comming out his ears lol. So i actually helped him thin out his flock. He sold them to me for $30 for 15 because hes a super nice guy and he wanted to help out a newbie. They almost have all their feathers and have funny looking beaks right now, but theyll grow into them haha :->

He lives super close to me, which is cool since hes a permitted falconeer, so he is able to set up hawk traps to catch a certain kind of hawk around here (he releases them elsewhere, no killing). It makes it nice cause its illegal for me to trap them.

With grit, can that be left out all day or should i figure out how much theyll eat per day like the feed?


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

you can leave the grit in there all the time. it's not going to hurt it at all.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

because you are in CA I would think you will be ok with the loft, the thing where you live I would keep check on is moisture during rains. make sure it is weather tight and off the ground, also use wire that is strong. NOT CHICKEN WIRE! predators can get through it and so do snakes. so hardware cloth is the way to go. If the wind is a problem in winter you can put up thick plastic on some parts.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

Well, this is definately a learning curve... i ALREADY lost a bird. It got out some how. They arent trap door trained yet. Any suggestions? We have seed on the ground around the cage but iono what else to do 

EDIT:He is still on our property though. Ive seen him in 4 or 5 different places now


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## Matt M (Mar 2, 2011)

Squeaker said:


> Well, this is definately a learning curve... i ALREADY lost a bird. It got out some how. They arent trap door trained yet. Any suggestions? We have seed on the ground around the cage but iono what else to do
> 
> EDIT:He is still on our property though. Ive seen him in 4 or 5 different places now


He'll probably be back but if you have seed on the ground around the cage there won't be as much incentive for him to want to go back in...


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

Matt M said:


> He'll probably be back but if you have seed on the ground around the cage there won't be as much incentive for him to want to go back in...


We only put a little bit but i can see your point... wish we put a little pile instead of sprinkleing it . He wanted to come back, we put up a divider so the others couldnt get out and left the door open. He kept dancing around the opening but wouldnt go in. It was right after they ate too. Hopefully hes around tomorrow. We put a stick in the door to hold it open and tied the stick to a fishing pole so we could pull it closed and trap him in but he didnt take the bait lol. Well, at least hes young enough to stick around here after only 2 days instead of flying back to his old home. I have a feeling we will get him back though.

...i cant believe ive been outsmarted by a bird -.- *@#!


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

If you plan on flying you're birds you're loft would have to have a trap door.. which is a door one can use when they are out but the others inside can't get back out. of course that does not not help this bird as he was not taught on where to get in.. if you did have a trap door at least you could hope he uses it by putting a small amount..like a teaspoon of seed infront of it and do that only once.. then he may try hard to go in the trap door to get to the feed and his flock. Or you can try catching him if you can get to where he roosts at night...they do not see well at night.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

spirit wings said:


> If you plan on flying you're birds you're loft would have to have a trap door.. which is a door one can use when they are out but the others inside can't get back out. of course that does not not help this bird as he was not taught on where to get in.. if you did have a trap door at least you could hope he uses it by putting a small amount..like a teaspoon of seed infront of it and do that only once.. then he may try hard to go in the trap door to get to the feed and his flock. Or you can try catching him if you can get to where he roosts at night...they do not see well at night.


We havent built it yet because the guy said they were the perfect age and reccomended we get them last sunday so we were a little pressed for time and didnt get to it. We planned on making it this saturday  i feel so bad, not about losing the money, cause we only paid $30 for 15 birds and we are getting a few more in a few weeks, but i feel vad cause hes out there and its my fault for being dumb.

Right now, the rest of the loft is blocked off with mesh screen to keep the others in. The door is propped open with a stick and fishing line going about 150 ft away so we can pull it closed.

EDIT: This bird is such a jerk lol, hes almost at the top of my 50 ft tall black walnut tree and staring me down haha. I feel better knowing hes alive and hasnt just taken off. Id be okay if he became our resident tree dweller, as long as he stays out of sight of hawks :-/ i figure if i cant coax him back in the loft within a week, he obviously wont be easily convinced. Is it possible that when i begin loft flying that he might join the flock in the air and just follow them back in?


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

How do i know when my birds know my whistle for feeding time? Its been a week and they dont get excited until they see the food, so i dont think they know my whistle, which makes me a bit gun shy to teach them to trap or loft fly them. Are they supposed to get all excited and go to the feeders or what?


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

they will, just shake the can with alittle feed in it and whisle, make sure that you don't over feed them. do you feed on the floor or in a tray?


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## Whitedove06 (Jul 7, 2009)

HI- I'm on the east coast and have white homer/tumbler mixes. When I had one pigeon (who was hand raised) when I went to feed him, I would shake the little food container and call " Coo, coo, coo, coo, coo!" Now that I have an aviary in the morning as I come outside, I shake the can and go: "Coo, koo, koo.."-you get the picture. As the young were coming up, they got conditioned to my voice and call, and now they all leap up on the ledge when I utter the first coo! They know they are going to eat.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

doveman2 said:


> they will, just shake the can with alittle feed in it and whisle, make sure that you don't over feed them. do you feed on the floor or in a tray?


Ive been whistleing and shaking the can, but they dont really know whats going on until they see the food hitting the trough. I feed them as much as they can finish in 15-20 minutes. I have 14 birds (if that makes a difference for timing)


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## doveman2 (Jul 22, 2012)

Squeaker said:


> Ive been whistleing and shaking the can, but they dont really know whats going on until they see the food hitting the trough. I feed them as much as they can finish in 15-20 minutes. I have 14 birds (if that makes a difference for timing)


all you can really do is to keep doing what your doing. they will come around just be patient! its takes time. don't rush it


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

doveman2 said:


> all you can really do is to keep doing what your doing. they will come around just be patient! its takes time. don't rush it


We definately dont want to rush anything, but we have also read that if they get too old that they turn into rebelious teens and dont want to come back into the loft, but honestly we dont know how old is too old. Is it like 3 months, 6 months, a year? How much time do we have to play with?


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## Josepe (Jan 10, 2011)

Shake the can and whistle also while they're eating.They'll associate the sounds with Dinner.Mine caught on young and real quick.Now they come in and trap like Rockets.If they remain stubborn hold their feed for a day,but make sure they have water.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

Josepe said:


> Shake the can and whistle also while they're eating.They'll associate the sounds with Dinner.Mine caught on young and real quick.Now they come in and trap like Rockets.If they remain stubborn hold their feed for a day,but make sure they have water.


For a couple days, can i split their daily feed up in a few different meals so they get more opportunities to learn the noise?


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## mikeyg (Jul 11, 2012)

Check out this link here are my young birds learning to trap...Took about a week and they started to get it I started whistling inside the loft while shaking the feed can and feding them. They learned shaking can and whistle means food. After a while you can go outside and they will still go into the loft for the food. These birds are about 3 months old, Believe it or not there still a little slow for me going into the trap but I can overcome that with time...Cut there feed back also, they will trap and listen alot better a little hungry.. Good Luck, and patience!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-irbHaUi9Q&feature=plcp


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## parrisc (Feb 14, 2007)

mikeyg said:


> Check out this link here are my young birds learning to trap...Took about a week and they started to get it I started whistling inside the loft while shaking the feed can and feding them. They learned shaking can and whistle means food. After a while you can go outside and they will still go into the loft for the food. These birds are about 3 weeks old, Believe it or not there still a little slow for me going into the trap but I can overcome that with time...Cut there feed back also, they will trap and listen alot better a little hungry.. Good Luck, and patience!
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-irbHaUi9Q&feature=plcp


3 weeks old? You meant 3 months old, right. Just don't want to give newbies the wrong idea.


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## mikeyg (Jul 11, 2012)

Ha Ha..OMG yes Sorry...3 Months ugh


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## mikeyg (Jul 11, 2012)

One other thing about feeding they also rely on predictability, try and feed them the same time during the day until they are really trained, they need to learn repitition. Same as Pavlov's Theory, conditoned relflex. ing a bell dog eats! 

I get home around 6 every night, my wife has said that if she is in the backyard with the birds and they here my truck pull up, which has a semi loud muffler, they will get excited. Then about 20 min later they eat.


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## Squeaker (Aug 9, 2012)

mikeyg said:


> One other thing about feeding they also rely on predictability, try and feed them the same time during the day until they are really trained, they need to learn repitition. Same as Pavlov's Theory, conditoned relflex. ing a bell dog eats!
> 
> I get home around 6 every night, my wife has said that if she is in the backyard with the birds and they here my truck pull up, which has a semi loud muffler, they will get excited. Then about 20 min later they eat.


thank you!


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