# Leting free homing pigeons



## idit85 (Jun 8, 2004)

I asked a few experts if I could let my homing pigoens go free after they have been by me in the same location and cage for 2 or more months. I am getting conflicting opinions on the subject. I do not want to loose my birds, neither do I feel confortable keeping them in a prison for the rest of their lives. Can I or can-I-not let them out let them out? They were NOT born by me but seem (I can't be sure) young.
If I can let them out, do I just open their cage and thet them take off? Iwant to make sure that they return if I do so, or at least know what are the odds....
Thanks


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hello and welcome to Pigeons.com

I understand your concern about letting your homing pigeons fly. I still get a little nervous when my pigeons fly. Are your birds banded? Do you know approx. how old they are?

There are a few things that should be done to increase the odds of them coming back.

1.) You should train your birds on a bob system well before they are let out. This is a trap that lets them in, but they can't go out again. They need to be familiarized with the exit and entrance.

They should train for two weeks to go in thru the bobs, using a protective training cage that slides on the outside of the coop, the launch pad (as I call it) 

They will need an insentive to come back in thru the bobs so keep them hungry, and feed them after training.

2. When they are released,they always need to be hungry when they are let out, so they will return. They should go out early in the day. They need to be familiarized with a whistle or sounds of seed shaking in a can, to bring them in quickly.

3. They should be youngsters, as they will be easier to train, and not have homed somewhere else.

4. Once they are outside they should be trained to come in quickly and not linger on telephone poles or houses. This reduces the chances of them becoming vctims of hawk attacks

These things ensure their return, but there are some things we have no control over, such as hawk attacks.

These are just a few things to do, and not the complete instructions.

If you could find a homing pigeon club, someone with experience to guide you thru the steps that would probably help you make the transition with your birds safely.

Please feel free to ask us any questions you have, as I will be glad to help you in any way I can.

We have other people here who will also give their expertise advice on the subject.

Treesa


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## idit85 (Jun 8, 2004)

Thanks Treesa,
You said: They should be youngsters, as they will be easier to train, and not have homed somewhere else.

So if my pigeons were NOT born in my house, there is no way to train them to come back to it once they "go" out?

You said: Once they are outside they should be trained to come in quickly and not linger on telephone poles or houses. This reduces the chances of them becoming vctims of hawk attacks

How do you train them to get back quickly? I have a hard time catching them in my own bathroom! I live in Israel in the Judean mountains. No Hawks here, only cats and Jackals, snakes, small foxes and other mountain-desert animals... I don't know if these would attack pigeons, but probably yes(If I was hungry enough, I even would. They look delicious









You said: You should train your birds on a bob system well before they are let out. This is a trap that lets them in, but they can't go out again. They need to be familiarized with the exit and entrance.

That means building another cage that would be MUCH bigger than mine and that would go on top of mine? 

Thanks for the advise...


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## birdy (Mar 18, 2004)

Hi idit85.

Treesa has given you some good advice. I would offer this, if the birds have never been taught to "home" to another loft then you may OK. However, another problem is once they are about 3 months old they are very strong flyers. At this age and older they have a tendency for the first flight to be like Icarus and soar high and far but not know how to get back.

I have used this method and it has worked for me. Put liguid dishwashing soap on one wing. Let the soap dry. They will not be able to fly. Some use elastic bands to bundle the primary flights, also. With this method you can bundle all the flights. Then unbundle one at a time each day or so until they have use of the total wing again. They will try to fly and it will be uncomfortable but not life threatening. Only you will need to be watchful for cats and dogs and other animals while they are outside and cannot fly.

Place them on your landing board like this and let them "walk" through the trap door when you call them for feeding. I would do this for a week to 10 days. Allow them to stay on the landing board for at least an hour at a time.

Then wash the soap from the wing or allow them to bathe, or unbundle with the elastic band. Let them out again and try calling them in about 15 minutes. Increase this each day by 15 minutes until you are at 1 hour before feeding.

Here is an idea for your trap and aviary: http://www.redroselofts.com/starter_loft.htm 
Can you not fashion an arrangement like the one in the picture where the trap is within the aviary? This could be added on to a small hutch. It's a simple job of framing a triangle and adding a door. Then screening could be fitted over the entire thing. It serves as an aviary, landing board, and trap.

There are some others on the list that may have some ideas for you...

good luck to you and your homers.

birdy


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

Hi again,

It is okay for your birds to be BORN somewhere else, but they can't be trained to home at your house if they HAVE FLOWN somewhere else. I know this gets confusing as it was for me too.. 

Birdy has given you some great information on training the older youngsters that may be "heavy on the wing". Also, he has shown the website with a great loft!

To train them off of houses and telephone and electric poles when they are let outside, you just have to shoosh them away, use a soft ball anything you can to persuade them off of neighbor roofs, etc. You have to be consistent everyday they go out, and within two weeks they will fly and land directly on the coop, which is the way it should be. Use a guiding tool to guide them to the bob doors (trap door), and they will go in if they are hungry. They will go in quicker if they have been trained hearing the shaking seed can or whistle just before they eat.

You shouldn't have to build a whole new coop, just a few modifications.

Good luck to you and your homing pigeons, please feel free to ask any more info you need.

Treesa


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