umm how far from home was the release ? with my whites I tend to give up hope after 5 days ,though you never know .. so was this an 8 bird release ?

 

Thankyou for replying,
It was 40klm, only a 10klm drop further than they have been before.
Theres also a good chance that they were chased by goshawks as there are grapevines out there so I only sent my good fliers that have been out that way.
I had 2 home on Saturday and one home yesterday evening.
Its a horrible feeling if I pause to imagine what they have gone through.
I just want them back here safe.
Yes it was an 8 bird release 2 were hand released, 6 were from the basket.
They were released together so they flocked up.

 

I have had them return after eight (8) days.

George

 

Thankyou, thats given me lots of hope to keep praying.

 

Never give up-----I gave a white to another flyer It got out and returned to me 1 year after I had given it to him

 

I just had two birds come home that had been missing for TWO MONTHS!! I had given up hope of ever seeing them again but lo and behold one morning there they were on the landing board!! I opened the trap and they went right in like no time had passed. I have had a couple of others go missing for 1-2 weeks and show up.
The guys in my club tell me to never give up unless you have absolute proof that they are dead. They were telling me stories about birds that have gone missing and shown up 1-5 YEARS later. Now they could very well be pulling my chain but one said he had a cock bird show back up after 5 years and proceed to reclaim both his favorite perch and his hen!!

 

What wonderful stories. That would have been such a joy to you all.
Ill keep praying and watching out for them.
Thankyou
Helen

 

Hope your birds show up at home safe and sound..

 

You never know I have been getting birds from a smash race over a month ago for about 2 weeks now and got 5 of 9 that were lost. I also used to do whites and sold one to a guy in new york (I am in Ohio). This was well over a year ago. This perticular bird was trained with my race team. He was the only white ever in my racing loft, well about 2 months ago he flew in and trapped. He was dirty but in good shape. I wanted to make sure it was him and not someone elses bird so a couple days later I took him 20 miles and single tossed him and he beat my race birds back to the loft. He is the best white I ever seen and wished he would have had a race band cause I would have raced him.

 

You cannot tell exactly on the time for return, how many would believe if I say that I had a pigeon fly back to his mate after 7 months ? Only thing is that he had to pair with another beauty as his mate was very flirty and paired with another one in that time

 

Oh man, that is almost depressing from the bird's perspective.

 

More uplifting stories. thankyou so much for sharing.

 

Never give up hope!
I have had a young bird get lost when loft flying and it returned 2 months later.
I was shocked!

 

so sorry for your ruff release...they may trinkle in over the next few weeks...have you thought of putting on those name and phone # bands on your team? so they were about 35 miles at the release? that does not sound like a problem at all...hang in there!

 

Best of luck, sure some will trail home. There is even the famous story of a pigeon that got lost and some (unmentionable) clipped his wings, and he walked home though it took two months. The instinct is pretty strong.

 

darkfur, what an amazing story. Enjoyed reading this thread. I hope your birds return. But like everyone has already said, Don't give up. min

 

Thing is, you always have hope. Go on with life but any and all gifts are to be enjoyed. So any more birds show up please bless us with that knowledge because hope will sometimes amaze you. A small prayer for that your birds of peace find their way back to the peace that is their home.

God Bless,
Tony

 

My bird just came back today after 4 months! I'd say, there is always hope.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f5/copper-came-back-after-4-months-39961.html

 

Hi aussiegirl,

There is always hope. Today a bird I wrote off three weeks ago just turned up. Hungry but safe. I is my wish you experience the same feeling I have today.

Tony

 

your so kind to share that... you know sometimes I will have a head count one day and skip it for a week or so..and guess what...I have an extra bird from the last time...they sneak in there...it is hard sometimes with all white birds to know, unless you count them each night, it is a good feeling for sure.

 

I have had a YB return from a race, two years late !! Now, in this case, it returned in great condition with a counter mark I had not put on the bird, so someone had kept this bird for a long period of time, and had tried to race it. Something clicked in it's head on race day and the bird returned to it's original loft.

Realistically, every day they fail to return home, the less chance they will ever return home. After say 5 days, if 8 are still MIA, the odds of you getting all 8 back, are very small. Weeks from now, a bird could still return, but the prospects get smaller on every passing day. Generally speaking, very generally....but white pigeons used for the wedding release business, do not have the same homing abilities IMHO, of your typical racing fancier which has bred his or her birds for generations based on their homing and flying performance.

 

Aussiegirl,
'Hope springs eternal'...without hope what else do we have. Never give up,I know it can get heart wrenching at times, trust in the bigger picture. I've had a pigeon return after a month [!] but was too late, since I let his mate free after he left. He returned,but left once saw he was alone here. I just can send out +ve vibes for it.It will return...if it's meant too..dont stress [easier said than done ] Hope that they return safe and sound soon. Peace