Training Carrier Pigeons

Carrier pigeons return home after long flights. Time for training pigeon is usually kept less because carrier pigeon take less time to train. Carrier pigeons were used as a communication method in World War i and ii for messaging purpose were the message was taped to their leg and was sent to the required destination. Some people even train carrier pigeons for racing. No matter what your purpose is but with repetition and patience you can train a carrier pigeon in a short period of time.

Instructions

1. In order to train a carrier pigeon we should start the training with young birds that have not flown yet. Place them into a closed area everyday which is called a fly pen. Place food and water in the loft so they can associate going into the loft with being fed. Do this only for two weeks.
2. Open the fly pen and let the pigeons out. Don’t get frightened if they fly around. Some may also go for the ground. After few days they will get used up and start to return to the loft to eat.
3. Begin training when the pigeons leave for an hour before returning to their loft. Then take the pigeons out for five to 10 miles.
4. Practice by letting the birds to return. When they have done correctly three times then double the distance and repeat. Work until you reach up to 50 miles.
5. Continue training the process once a week, even after the birds are regularly returning home. In the winter try to avoid practice during cloudy season. Try to change the directions when releasing them. This is done in order to get them used up from all directions i.e. north, south, east and west. Start at five miles from the loft, then go on increasing distance each time you change direction.
6. Release the young birds every time when you feed them because young pigeons need lot of food during training.

Tips & Warnings

It is better to release the pigeons in the morning then in afternoon to train them. Fly them only on clear and sunny days when there is little or no wind. If there are losses slow down the training. Do not over train the carrier pigeons. Most pigeons find their way home from 50 miles but in exceptional cases from 200 miles. Starting days will be hardest so be patient. Never ever scare the pigeons when they are in loft. They feel safe and always wanted to stay with each other.

Old Dutch Capuchine Pigeon

 

King Pigeon

Indian Fantail Pigeon

 

Jacobin Pigeon

 

Frill Back Pigeon

American Giant Homer Pigeon

 

Texan Pioneer Pigeon

 

British Show Racer Pigeon

 

English Fantail Pigeon

 

Nuremberg Lark Pigeon

 

White Flying Homer Pigeon

Voorburg Shield Cropper Pigeon

Shirazi Pigeon - Shakhsharli Tumbler Pigeon

Old German Owl Pigeon

Saxon Monk Pigeon

Giant Show Runts

Flight

 

Soggy Spring Birds

It just won’t stop raining here!  Everything is sopping wet, including all the birds visiting our feeders.  When we get a big rain, they all seem to come out of the woods(work).  We’ve even had a new visitor here the last few days as well…

This is a male rose-breasted grosbeak, not somebody we see much here.  Last year about this time, we had a couple hang out for a few days, then gone.  There are more this year but they are pretty shy, which explains the not so great photo.  They just won’t land and pose the way the others will.  Hopefully over the next few days they’ll stay around and I can have a better chance with one.

Of course we have the old favorites, Mr. and Mrs. cardinal, the Ohio State bird, they’ll pose for you time and again.

Can birds predict the weather?

Most birds have a special middle-ear receptor called the Vitali organ, which can sense incredibly small changes in barometric pressure. So if the activity at feeders suddenly becomes much more intense a storm may be approaching. Birds flying low or lining up on power lines also indicate swiftly falling air pressure.

During storms, birds may think of your feeder as a known source of food. While not dependent on feeders, it may make it easier for wild birds to brave a storm.

Even so winter storms can be hard on small birds like chickadees. In severe weather chickadees fly as little as possible to reduce the amount of heat lost though flight. It also helps if there are patches of dense vegetation or roosting boxes that give protection from the wind.

Tauraco persa (captive - Birds of Eden)

   

 Birds of Eden in South Africa is the largest single dome free-flight aviary in the World. This  forested sanctuary is home to over 3,000 birds of around 220 species. Birds of Eden is situated in The Crags 16km East of Plettenberg Bay off the N2.

Cedar Waxwing

Hooded Warbler