# would it fly away ?



## nattyone (Jun 11, 2006)

Hi ive always wanted to keep a free range bird , i mean one that was tame but that could be allowed to fly free during the day and would come home to roost itself . Id only want one or 2 at most . is this possible to do or is it just a fantasy ?. when io was a kid a freind of mine had a wild pigeon that he found as a baby and he kept it in a hutch in his garden he could leave the door open and the bird came and went as it pleased . that was a lovely tame bird and would come when you called it . is this normal or a one off ?


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

yes, it's possible and also VERY dangerous for the bird. Pigeons are flock birds and the numbers is what keeps them safe most of the time. A lone pigeon or two could be homed to a loft or somewhere in your yard, but to have one the free flies all day and roosts at night is only eventually going to cause you heartache.........The chances of one or two pigeons living a full life in those circumstances is slim to none.


----------



## nattyone (Jun 11, 2006)

do you mean leaving it to fly free all day is a dangerous idea but it would be ok to let it fly for short periods and then call it back ? sorry to sound dim .


----------



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Hi Nattyone~ I speak from experiience. I had a single pet pigeon lost the very last day of the year. My happy new year start was MISERABLE.  

There are predators out there and they are crafty and they are quick. A pigeon or two freeflying outdoors are destined to become a meal...sooner or later.


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Even doing that is dangerous. We fly our birds all the time. AND we loose one once in a while. If I had one pet pigeon......it would never be flown free at all. We race our birds, therefore we must fly them, but it's still a gamble every time we let them out. It's just part of what we do. Now, I don't want it to sound like, because we have 100+ birds, I don't care.....that's not the case at all, I do care but the old saying goes...."you can't have your cake and eat it too". Once our birds have flown and are back in the loft, the loft is closed up and they are totally safe until the next time.


----------



## nattyone (Jun 11, 2006)

ok , i wouldnt want it to get eaten , where i lived before someone had some pigeons that did tricks in the air . they flew up and came down , i dont know how many there were but definatly not a huge flock . they were amazing to watch , for me that would be a big part of owning one , doesnt seem right to keep it caged all the time .


----------



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

Build an outdoor aviary. Wood posts, 2x4's really not all that expensive. Hardware cloth to cover it ...1/4 inch is the best. It can have its needed flight time safely.


----------



## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

nattyone said:


> for me that would be a big part of owning one , doesnt seem right to keep it caged all the time .


They adapt well believe me. When my 5 pigeons are done with their freeflight indoors(we have a schedule of different days we do this) they all go back inside their cages. As a matter of fact, I have to close Barbies cage because I have to literally drag her out of hers, and she is a former feral I rescued. She is unrealasable now. She prefers to stay where she feels safe...but she needs her exercise. 

I am currently purchasing the needed supplies to bulid an outdoor loft/aviary.


----------



## nattyone (Jun 11, 2006)

yes i guess i could build an aviary. out of interest how many pigeons would you need to keep in a loft so that it was safe to let them out to fly as a flock ?


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

There's no magic number. If a hawk fixes on a bird he wants, it doesn't care if there's 10 birds or 1000 birds. They go after them when they are hungry and fear nothing.
We just had a hawk hit our loft a couple of days ago. One bird, sitting out, not wanting to trap. A hawk came out of nowhere, chased the bird completely around the loft and back through the yard, flying not more than 6or 8 feet from my husband. We saw it hit the bird and feathers flew but the bird got away and came home a little while later, a very small scratch and minus a few feathers, but otherwise ok.


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

nattyone said:


> yes i guess i could build an aviary. out of interest how many pigeons would you need to keep in a loft so that it was safe to let them out to fly as a flock ?



I started with four youngsters, but I think if I started all over again I would start with at least eight youngsters. Safety comes not only in numbers of pigeons, but with excellent training.

Pet (or tame) pigeons also are not equipped to recognize danger outside either, they are just too humanized. I have a couple of pets and they don't fly outside anymore, they seperated from the flock they were trained with and would go out on their own and lounge around on the neighbors roof.


----------



## nattyone (Jun 11, 2006)

lovebirds im glad your pigeon had a lucky escape must have been a scary moment to watch . 
john D your collared doves that you have , do they fly round the house a lot ? the little bird i have here is a young collared dove , she isnt flying yet but i wondered how they fly in the house ie zipping back and forth or do they just go to one place and sit around ? shes so sweet and incredibly tame . my dog is fascinated by her and birdy is fascinated by the dog. i laughed earlier as i thought maybe they are related as they both take a look at a bowl of water and think its been put there to splash in lol i guess labradors are called bird dogs for a reason lol.


----------

