# Rehoming... an adult homer



## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

There are so many expert guys over,i would like to know,whether u guys were able to successfully re-home an adult homer ........is it actually possible to re-home an adult homer,i mean without keeping it as a prisoner in the new home ?


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Waiting for an expert opinion from experienced racers !!!


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Sorry the wisdom is no.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

so,even if its locked up in the new loft/home for years,and was successfully breeding ,still will it go back to its old home .......if released ???


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Many times yes


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

I have a lost YB that I successfully re-homed, It took a year and I moved her location in the yard every 3 months ( morning sun, evening sun, morning sun, loft). She also mated and raised two clutches in the loft. It can be done but the younger the bird the better,


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Thats really interesting........


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

maniac said:


> I have a lost YB that I successfully re-homed, It took a year and I moved her location in the yard every 3 months ( morning sun, evening sun, morning sun, loft). She also mated and raised two clutches in the loft. It can be done but the younger the bird the better,


How young was it,when u got it ?


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

As I remember, she was almost 4 months, I would have to check her band to know exactly how old. Shortly after I also picked up a couple of birds at the local flea market to keep her company. Ferals most likely. They've stuck around too.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Thats nice,do u have her pics ?


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

In the last 4 years,I have moved my lofts 2 times to different locations..The 1st time I made a mistake..After 3 months,I let them out,and they all went back to the old place(6 miles).....I moved the lofts again the next year...This time I had them all down on eggs,or babies in the nest....None of the birds returned to the old loft area....And I have been racing them to the NEW place ever since....It can be done...Two of my best OB`s were 4 and 5 years old at th e time...So it`s not easy,but motherhood/fatherhood are strong bonding issues that you can use to RETRAIN old birds to fly at a new location....Alamo


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

Then you read accounts of people that have had birsd that they got and have had for years. Have had young then get out and fly hundreds of miles back to the old home. I just think it is a risk not worth taking.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

the odds are NO... does not mean impossible.. but why risk the bird's wellbeing for a try out.. if you know his last loft and you think he can get there ..then you could go back and get him and you would know he is safe.. otherwise..it is not likely he will stay.. that is why they call them homers..


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

spirit wings said:


> the odds are NO... does not mean impossible.. but why risk the bird's wellbeing for a try out.. if you know his last loft and you think he can get there ..then you could go back and get him and you would know he is safe.. otherwise..it is not likely he will stay.. that is why they call them homers..


DITTO, there is no guarantee they will or won't, why bother, unless his previous home is close by.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

I would 'not take that risk anyway....i will be only flying the youngsters ,its just to know the experience of various people,while dealing with their homers.....!!!Its nice to know,nothing is impossible


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

Just to clarify. The owner didn't want the bird back so I kept it and got back into pigeon keeping again after about 40 yrs. As the crow flies his home loft was about 30 miles away, no great distance. I was not worried if she decided to fly there after a year at my place. The guy had about 150 birds and I doubt he would have noticed this one coming home after so long.


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## red2x (Nov 20, 2008)

I've had prisoner birds get let out by mistake. Lucky for me they were on nests at the time and returned. I wouldn't do it on purpose though, I think I just got lucky.


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

I think you see it the smart thing to do keep them in the Loft and fly their young


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

It can be really difficult for someone who cares about their birds to keep them prisoners. Pigeons are fliers and you can tell they enjoy it to be zooming around like crazy kids when they are let out sometimes. A prisoner bird, even if given aviary space is still that.. a prisoner unable to do what he was born to do..

Just my opinion


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

The birds i got weren't flown for a year before i got them then, i kept them as prisoners for another year, 2 escaped an went back home. I hade to go get them.


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## jeff houghton (Jul 17, 2010)

boneyrajan.k said:


> so,even if its locked up in the new loft/home for years,and was successfully breeding ,still will it go back to its old home .......if released ???


You have to be very lucky to break in birds given to you if they have already been flown.When i relocated i took 50 birds with me i had had for approx 3 years.I locked them up with aviary access for a whole year releasing them in twos and threes i lost over thirty of them.It can be done as i have 20 or so of the50 flying around my new location and have even tossed them although i would never think of racing them.Its a long process with the likely hood you will lose your birds on liberation.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Nice informations.......


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

It is possible, but it is risky. I would not recommend it for beginners. Even after you rehome them sometimes something click on their minds and go off somewhere. First time I released an adult bird, it took off and disappeared for one day. Lucky for me it came back. If you want to rehome a bird make sure it is unmated from the previous home. Cock seems more "homey." Then mate the bird. Its mate or babies will be its incentive or motivation to go home at your place.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

jeff houghton said:


> You have to be very lucky to break in birds given to you if they have already been flown.When i relocated i took 50 birds with me i had had for approx 3 years.I locked them up with aviary access for a whole year releasing them in twos and threes i lost over thirty of them.It can be done as i have 20 or so of the50 flying around my new location and have even tossed them although i would never think of racing them.Its a long process with the likely hood you will lose your birds on liberation.


I noticed the same in that the longer you imprison them and release them the more you will lose them (which seems to be the opposite of what we expect). The way I see it is that if their new home feels like a prison why would they stay? If I decided to rehome a bird I never pass 2 months prison time. It seems to work for me.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

RodSD said:


> I noticed the same in that the longer you imprison them and release them the more you will lose them (which seems to be the opposite of what we expect). The way I see it is that if their new home feels like a prison why would they stay? If I decided to rehome a bird I never pass 2 months prison time. It seems to work for me.


Thats an interesting observation....!!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

How about re-homing a 3 month year old pair,which has been never flown outside from its previous loft ?


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

boneyrajan.k said:


> How about re-homing a 3 month year old pair,which has been never flown outside from its previous loft ?


do you mean a year and 3 months old? or just 3 months old?

if three months and never been flown, you may be ok.. or you may not.. heard of young sold even at 4 weeks of age..and the first time out they flew back home.. but I would say it is a higher percentage they will stay as they have not been flown but..if they have been in an aviary and have seen the surrounds they may have imprinted.. hard to tell...


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

i mean,just 3 month old.....


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## GEMcC5150 (Oct 24, 2010)

You will have a good shot at training them to return. Make sure they spend a lot of tome on the landing board before they are freed. They need to know that your loft is heir world. GOOD LUCK


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

boneyrajan.k... If you do decide to try and re-home them ( and it sounds like you will), please let us know the results.


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

If you are going to rehome Old Birds,and that means any pigeons that are old enough to mate,allways make sure they are sitting on eggs for at least 10 days..While the hen is sitting,you can open the window,and let the cocks out to fly around...The best senerio,that nobody has mentioned yet here is,mate the NEW bird,to one of your birds that are allready trained to your loft,if possible...Alamo


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Alamo said:


> If you are going to rehome Old Birds,and that means any pigeons that are old enough to mate,allways make sure they are sitting on eggs for at least 10 days..While the hen is sitting,you can open the window,and let the cocks out to fly around...The best senerio,that nobody has mentioned yet here is,mate the NEW bird,to one of your birds that are allready trained to your loft,if possible...Alamo


This is a great idea......


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

maniac said:


> boneyrajan.k... If you do decide to try and re-home them ( and it sounds like you will), please let us know the results.


Yeah, definitely........


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## Roller mike (Aug 5, 2009)

I ended up with some ybs this season, mostly lost racers that the owners did not want, I put them in with my team and let them out about a month later, they have been out several times since then and are still all here, lucky, I would not try it if they are something you want to keep.


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## realtalk72 (Nov 7, 2009)

I have a breeder at my house for 3 years and was mated to his mate one day he got out and went home....360 miles ..lucky for me it was my friends bird..he gave me for breeder..story short he never forgot his home...


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

i am planning to experiment my luck with a 3 month old pair,which has never been flown out from its previous loft.Anyway,i can take the risk bcoz its my friend's birds,Even,if it goes back to him,i can get them back quite easily......so,i think its worth taking a risk,than keeping them as a prisoner for life...


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Unflown birds are easier to rehome than flown ones. Three months old are do-able. I have rehomed birds older than that.

Now the problem becomes when the bird decided to go back home to its original place when it has not been flown there yet. Then the bird has no clue where to land. It can attempt to go there, but not know the exact location. So they are lost, too! In that case I would have preferred flown bird. That way I can just retrieve the bird.

As you can see it is complicated.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

ohh....this can be a problem


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Don't worry. Just make sure you resettle/rehome them properly. A settling cage is important where they can see their environment. You should also let them see the loft in front of them. I even go further by showing them how the top of the loft looks like and even the top of our house(I put them in the roof for 1+ hours).


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah,i will try your idea.......


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Here`s what I would do with the two birds...Nice day outside....Sunny/warm....Have the birds in the flight cage on the landing board..Put a bath pan out,and when they bathe,and they are soaking wet,take the cage away...They will not be able to fly because they are wet..In about 30 minutes or so,they will be dry,and hopefully relaxed being out...They also have to be HUNGRY.....Now,lets say they fly and leave,going back to the old home..YOU CALL your buddy right away,and tell him the birds left,and are homing back to him...Tell him DO NOT FEED THEM !!....Keep them aside from his other birds,and do not feed or water them.....After 2 days,you go and pick them up....You feed and water them at your loft.....If they get the message,they will not go back again...If you live close to your buddy,what you are doing is the same thing the US Army did in WW2...They had birds that flew to two different lofts..One loft for food,and one loft for water....Good Luck pilgrim !!.....Alamo


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah...thanks buddy for sharing these new ideas


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## conditionfreak (Jan 11, 2008)

I am in Ohio. I obtained a couple of birds from Virginia. They were one and one half years old when I obtained them.

I clipped their wing feathers on both wings so that they could not fly a lick. I let them out many times, with the rest of my racing team. They did this all last summer and fall, as their wing feathers were replaced through natural molting. They were then settled and can now be let out to fly around as they please. I am going to train them this spring and try to race them in old birds. I hope it works. Their former loft in Virginia no longer exists.

But a word of caution. If you do clip their wing feathers (the flight feathers only, cut with scissors half way down the feather), (the method used to help tame parrots), they have to be babysitted when they are out on the landing board and around it. Because they are sitting ducks for predator birds, cats and the like. They can not get away at all, if something goes after them.

This method has worked for me thus far, with these two birds. First time I have tried it. On their first training toss this spring, I will know more. I accepted them to save them. But they are not breeding stock, so I have decided to give this a try.

I am taking baby steps with them. They were flown at their previous location in Virginia, so a loss of them, especially on a longer race, is a distinct possibility. But a loss is a possibility with any racing pigeon. Even those born and raised in your own loft.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

There are indeed many ways to resettle/rehome or as the British would say "break" them to your loft. Many good ideas here. Unfortunately at my place I could not let them have clipped wings or soaked feathers, etc. My predators are always available almost every release. So I am stuck with that settling method that I mentioned. They get lock on a settling cage and they get to memorize the place while they are outside the loft, on the landing board, on the loft roof and house roof. In fact even when I was resettling my rollers once while they were on a settling cage a hawk visited them scaring the crap out of them. If they were soak or clipped wing the hawk could have carried them away. I resettle my birds(homers, rollers, ferals, unknown breed) the same way.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks for all these interesting informations ...


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Good news guys,i was successfully able to re-home my first pair of homers in about 10 days...by gods grace!!!
The factors which favored me are :
1.The fact that these pigeons were young and they were not flown from the previous loft.
2.Attitude of the birds,they have a very friendly attitude towards humans,they are not at all afraid of us.
3.The presence of old birds in my loft,who knows very well about geography of our land
4.They just love food,so it was easy to train them...
I got the confidence to release them,when they started taking feeds from my hands without any hesitation,i knew it was a risk,but i took a chance.....!!!but if it was an older bird,which has been flow earlier,then i guess the whole story would have been different


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Good News !!...Well done...Alamo


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## blongboy (Nov 10, 2009)

cool ...hope you have fun flying them


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks guys ,
now only i realize what you guys really mean,when you say homers are fast.......!!!
Its really a different feeling,to see them fly...and i am loving it .!!!


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Good progress  how are the parents' records ?


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

sreeshs said:


> Good progress  how are the parents' records ?


The parents are said to be from an imported blood line,i bought it from a breeder named vinod,he is mainly into breeding costly fancy show breeds .he just uses homers as foster parents to hatch out the eggs of these show birds !!!even i am also not planning to take part in any race in the near future,so i also dint care much about the records of the parents ....but i will try to make a good homer family ,by selectively breeding the good ones over the next few years.i am just taking my baby steps to reach that goal......Hope god bless us


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

cool !.... unflowns do stay sometimes... but..you really do not know your success for sure..at any time down the road something could click and they fly off to home..and most people do not post to say this happened a year later.. we only here the good news after they have been out for just a week...lol.. but I do think the %age is low that they will take off being as they were not flown.. have fun!!!!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah...i will keep this is mind .lets hope for the best


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## g0ldenb0y55 (Dec 23, 2008)

spirit wings said:


> cool !.... unflowns do stay sometimes... but..you really do not know your success for sure..at any time down the road something could click and they fly off to home..and most people do not post to say this happened a year later.. we only here the good news after they have been out for just a week...lol.. but I do think the %age is low that they will take off being as they were not flown.. have fun!!!!!


I was going to point the same thing out! 

It happens more often than people want other people to know about! If you catch my drift....


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

boneyrajan.k said:


> Thanks guys ,
> now only i realize what you guys really mean,when you say homers are fast.......!!!
> Its really a different feeling,to see them fly...and i am loving it .!!!


You haven't seen nothing yet. Pigeons seem to have 2 flight speed. One is their average (normal) speed and the other is their "fast", "escape" speed. They use that fast speed when they are being chased by a predator, but, unfortunately, can only fly for certain minutes to sustain that speed.

You are not done yet with your rehoming stuff. Once they range out (fly somewhere and you can't see them anymore), and comes back a few times, then you know you have succeeded. Sometimes a bird will just fly around the loft and not leave because it has not fully developed its muscle yet. And once it developed that it can just fly "home." But that is a worst case scenario. Thus far you are doing well.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

For the last 3 days,they are completely spending their day outside the loft,now they are ranging around 1/2 mile with my other local breeds(non-homers).Whether it flies off or stays,i will keep updating the post.....


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

They are already ranging? That is too fast. Usually they will fly in circles first to memorize their place, then once they become confident they leave the place and go somewhere(range out). At my place, they will start ranging out between 2-3 months old. Their first 2 months just involve flying around at my place. If they survive hawk attacks, then I am happy. It is at those age where they are most vulnerable.

I hope your birds are not ranging out too far. But then again, your birds might have been better than mine. Good luck!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

yeah its just around 0.5 miles only,my old birds are really helpful..........they are doing well together !!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

They are around 3 months now and well built .......!!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Today,one of the guys disappeared for around 5 hrs,i thought i lost him.....by evening ,i saw him in-front of the loft......i don know whether he flew away to some long distance or was just taking rest somewhere near !!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Its a 100 % success so far,hope it continues.......now all the 3 pairs are given full freedom for about 12 hrs every day,they can come in and go out as they wish........ !!!Will upload their flying pics soon.....


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Be careful letting them go in and out all day at will. Some have done that, only to have a hawk get in with them and kill them. If they can go in and out, so can a hawk or other predator.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah,right now........the hawk population here is nil,other ground predators cant get in,since the loft is kept on the top of my house's second storey.I have been raising my local pigeons in this loft like this giving them full freedom for the last 2 years .......Till now,there hasn't been any predator attacks...!!!I wouldnt have given them this freedom,if it was a ground loft !!!!


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Two days ago a pair of coopers hawk tried to get my birds. Due to some commotions I didn't notice a falcon came as well. It dove, trying to hit my birds. I ended up missing 3 rollers and a homer. It chased them all the way till they disappeared beyond the horizon. I waited for 2 hours, but luckily 3 of those rollers came back. The other bird is still missing.

Today it was bad as well. I was feeding my birds when 3 birds blasted off from the door. After they blasted off a falcon came. Three birds flew fast for their survival. Two came back. Now I am missing another bird. After this commotion an adult cooper hawk went checking. These birds are damned when they fly(falcon and hawk) and damned when they land(hawk).

You are lucky that your place is relatively predator safe. Believe me when I say that rehoming birds when predators are around is very dangerous. Some never get the chance to stretch their wings.

So enjoy your newly rehomed birds.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Thats sad buddy,hope they return back safe......!
Here crow population is a bit on the higher side,i wonder whether thats the reason why,hawks are less here !!!There will be always some crows around my loft area.....luckily they are pigeon friendly


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

We have lots of crows here. They mostly only help during breeding season (spring). On occasion they will attempt to chase hawk, but I have never seen them messing with falcons! And if you have ever seen falcon hitting your birds, it feels hopeless. The speed is amazing! But there is something that I found very interesting. Some pigeons can out fly a falcon horizontally! Pigeons usually try to outmaneuver falcon by doing some acrobatic moves or flying really high so that the falcon can't use height advantage for diving.

Long time ago I have a breeding crows nest near me and they helped me a lot. They chased hawks. Unfortunately I think the hawk messed with their nest and/or babies and they never came back again.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Thats my sweetheart ready to fly...


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)




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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

A top view of my loft...!!!


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

boneyrajan.k said:


> Thats sad buddy,hope they return back safe......!
> Here crow population is a bit on the higher side,i wonder whether thats the reason why,hawks are less here !!!There will be always some crows around my loft area.....luckily they are pigeon friendly


The hawks are less due to the proximity of the beach, they get free fresh feed there due to the fisherman and most hawks have moved to the beach side.

Yet there is one group of fellows, the cooper hawks, in our language its called "prappidiyan" meaning "pigeon catcher". The numbers are fairly low compared to what was some 15 years ago but they do make visits. Thats one reason why training releases are told not to be made on the same schedule everyday.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah.....that may be a reason !!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

I think,we call it "keeliyaan'...


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

I think my birds has started some serious ranging......now its regularly disappearing for nearly about 6 -7 hours !!!


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

They are landing somewhere! Don't let them do that. 

Today was a very bad day. I was still waiting for my missing birds. I decided to clean my loft and my 2 oldest birds came out. A hawk was coming, then boomed. Another hawk came and took my white bird in midair. The hawk carried it through my neighbor's yard. I chased it, but the hawk took off again carrying my white bird. I went to my other neighbor's yard. The hawk carried it again. It was hopeless. The other bird (the male partner) was being chased in the air. Three crows distracted the hawk, but the hawk decided to try catching the bird still. I couldn't do anything. I am missing both bird now. The white female bird is probably dead for sure. It looked lifeless when I was chasing it.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

RodSD said:


> They are landing somewhere! Don't let them do that.
> 
> Today was a very bad day. I was still waiting for my missing birds. I decided to clean my loft and my 2 oldest birds came out. A hawk was coming, then boomed. Another hawk came and took my white bird in midair. The hawk carried it through my neighbor's yard. I chased it, but the hawk took off again carrying my white bird. I went to my other neighbor's yard. The hawk carried it again. It was hopeless. The other bird (the male partner) was being chased in the air. Three crows distracted the hawk, but the hawk decided to try catching the bird still. I couldn't do anything. I am missing both bird now. The white female bird is probably dead for sure. It looked lifeless when I was chasing it.


Something like that is always heart breaking  Especially having to witness it helpless, Feel sorry for your loss


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Oh.....thats sad to hear


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## ezemaxima (Jan 12, 2008)

Alamo said:


> In the last 4 years,I have moved my lofts 2 times to different locations..The 1st time I made a mistake..After 3 months,I let them out,and they all went back to the old place(6 miles).....I moved the lofts again the next year...This time I had them all down on eggs,or babies in the nest....None of the birds returned to the old loft area....And I have been racing them to the NEW place ever since....It can be done...Two of my best OB`s were 4 and 5 years old at th e time...So it`s not easy,but motherhood/fatherhood are strong bonding issues that you can use to RETRAIN old birds to fly at a new location....Alamo



Alamo, I think for your case.. the birds were yours to begin with and their old loft got removed and relocated to their new location. This might have help a bit. 

I myself have rehomed homers wearing as old as 04 AU bands and still got them in my loft. I even had tossed them as far as about 25 miles or more but on the other hand I've lost yearling or younger homers while trying to rehome them. My odds for rehoming homers so far is about 6:1.


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

Sorry to hear that RodSD. It's always a bummer to lose birds but the hawks are doing what they are designed to do. Over the course of this winter I have lost 4 birds due to hawks. I have never seen one catch my birds but they scatter to the 4 winds when the chase is on and some never return.
All part of the hobby I guess.


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## blongboy (Nov 10, 2009)

RodSD said:


> Two days ago a pair of coopers hawk tried to get my birds. Due to some commotions I didn't notice a falcon came as well. It dove, trying to hit my birds. I ended up missing 3 rollers and a homer. It chased them all the way till they disappeared beyond the horizon. I waited for 2 hours, but luckily 3 of those rollers came back. The other bird is still missing.
> 
> Today it was bad as well. I was feeding my birds when 3 birds blasted off from the door. After they blasted off a falcon came. Three birds flew fast for their survival. Two came back. Now I am missing another bird. After this commotion an adult cooper hawk went checking. These birds are damned when they fly(falcon and hawk) and damned when they land(hawk).
> 
> ...


looks like you always have a hawk problem ...same here
i have ybs that are strong on the wing already and i can let them out


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

RodSD said:


> They are landing somewhere! Don't let them do that.
> 
> Today was a very bad day. I was still waiting for my missing birds. I decided to clean my loft and my 2 oldest birds came out. A hawk was coming, then boomed. Another hawk came and took my white bird in midair. The hawk carried it through my neighbor's yard. I chased it, but the hawk took off again carrying my white bird. I went to my other neighbor's yard. The hawk carried it again. It was hopeless. The other bird (the male partner) was being chased in the air. Three crows distracted the hawk, but the hawk decided to try catching the bird still. I couldn't do anything. I am missing both bird now. The white female bird is probably dead for sure. It looked lifeless when I was chasing it.


I found the remnants of the white female bird--my oldest hen and the most monogamous bird 4-5 houses down. The hawk seemed to have eaten it in a pine tree. I chased that hawk through my neighbors yard asking them permission to retrieve my birds, but the hawk kept on escaping until I lost site of where it went. I should have searched farther.

Today was another bad day. I found my young baby who is just a little bit 1 week old dead in the nest box. The crop was empty. I noticed yesterday that the parents left it alone and the weather was already cold. It was shivering. I thought that was weird so I checked the bird out. Then its mom went to the nest box and covered it so I thought everything was fine.

The other missing bird (grizzle male) who happened to be the partner of the white female that got killed haven't returned. Last time I saw it 2 hawks were chasing it. I thought he survived when the crows helped around.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

blongboy said:


> looks like you always have a hawk problem ...same here
> i have ybs that are strong on the wing already and i can let them out


It was not my plan to release my birds, but they again developed this tendency of blasting out from the door and takes off. I suppose that started when I started locking them down a lot during this winter season.

Today I saw 2 beautiful redtails courting each other on top of my loft airspace. I think I rather have them than Cooper's hawk.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Its really difficult,when u have such efficient predators nearby...!!!


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Guys,Here is the result of my re-homing.....!!!
I tried to re-home 6 birds(HOMERS).....!!!
i lost 1 bird.....(dont know whether it was a hawk attack or it got lost during ranging )
other 5 birds......were successfull re-homed(successfull in a 5 mile release)
Now planning to do a 10 mile release


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

That is good news...


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## maniac (Sep 27, 2009)

I'd be tempted to do a couple more 5 milers before I moved to ten. From a couple of different release points. Just to ease them into it.


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## Josepe (Jan 10, 2011)

I bought two Grizzles for breeding at auction a few years back after Bob Roberson's All Grizzle Race in Oklahoma.A little over a year later a bad wind storm pretty well destroyed most of my loft.Seen birds flying all over the sky,including the grizzles.I knew those grizzles were gone Forever and was Super Bummed.Went out the next morning to view the damage,and was Shocked to see the grizzles back on their perches in what was left of the loft(and I also flew them afterwards).One of my Happiest pigeon days.So much for the theory that older birds can't be rehomed.Not saying it can be done all the time,but it Can happen.


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

maniac said:


> I'd be tempted to do a couple more 5 milers before I moved to ten. From a couple of different release points. Just to ease them into it.


Yeah,thats a good point


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## boneyrajan.k (Jul 15, 2010)

Josepe said:


> I bought two Grizzles for breeding at auction a few years back after Bob Roberson's All Grizzle Race in Oklahoma.A little over a year later a bad wind storm pretty well destroyed most of my loft.Seen birds flying all over the sky,including the grizzles.I knew those grizzles were gone Forever and was Super Bummed.Went out the next morning to view the damage,and was Shocked to see the grizzles back on their perches in what was left of the loft(and I also flew them afterwards).One of my Happiest pigeon days.So much for the theory that older birds can't be rehomed.Not saying it can be done all the time,but it Can happen.


Yeah,its difficult,but not impossible


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## jpsnapdy (Apr 4, 2010)

RodSD said:


> Unflown birds are easier to rehome than flown ones. Three months old are do-able. I have rehomed birds older than that.
> 
> Now the problem becomes when the bird decided to go back home to its original place when it has not been flown there yet. Then the bird has no clue where to land. It can attempt to go there, but not know the exact location. So they are lost, too! In that case I would have preferred flown bird. That way I can just retrieve the bird.
> 
> As you can see it is complicated.


Yes, this has happened to me more than once, and I lost some very, very valuable breeders this way by accident.
In my experience, rehoming 3 to 4 month olds is easier but not guaranteed if they have been in an aviary at their first loft. Also, if the bird is high-strung or wild, no need to try... I always lost those.


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## jpsnapdy (Apr 4, 2010)

boneyrajan.k said:


> Today,one of the guys disappeared for around 5 hrs,i thought i lost him.....by evening ,i saw him in-front of the loft......i don know whether he flew away to some long distance or was just taking rest somewhere near !!!


Yeah, that's what we call ranging. It can be from 30mn til the next day. Some will also not find their way back or get hurt or killed in the process. It's part of the learning.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

jpsnapdy said:


> Yes, this has happened to me more than once, and I lost some very, very valuable breeders this way by accident.
> In my experience, rehoming 3 to 4 month olds is easier but not guaranteed if they have been in an aviary at their first loft. Also, if the bird is high-strung or wild, no need to try... I always lost those.


also... why would one want a homer that did NOT go home and breed him or her..lol.. I would think one would want to breed the ones that go straight home.. one good bird I can think of was a member here sold a young bird just the right age for settling.... in his new home he was trapped trained.. the first time out that young bird flew home.. not sure how far it was but it was no skip in the park.. I would of wanted to keep THAT one...lol.. but just for fun birds to fly around the house.. it is great they can stick around...untill...????....lol...


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## jpsnapdy (Apr 4, 2010)

spirit wings said:


> also... why would one want a homer that did NOT go home and breed him or her..lol.. I would think one would want to breed the ones that go straight home.. one good bird I can think of was a member here sold a young bird just the right age for settling.... in his new home he was trapped trained.. the first time out that young bird flew home.. not sure how far it was but it was no skip in the park.. I would of wanted to keep THAT one...lol.. but just for fun birds to fly around the house.. it is great they can stick around...untill...????....lol...


True! The youngsters from those lost birds were worth their weight in gold! That's when you understand the value of the parents.


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