Training in bad weather

[Newbie2020]

I decided to try my team of youngsters in the rain today. They have been 4 times upto 20 miles by road. I took them about 8 miles. The weather was clear at the lib site, but thunder and lightening at home end. I wanted to see how the birds would react and learn from being in this type of weather. I only took them the 8 miles so they would be close enough to home. On letting the go, they had about 2 miles of dry weather before they hit really dark low cloud and torrential rain. After 2 and half hours I had the birds back, missing 2. They were quite wet and looked really tired. Do you think they flew for that length of time or do you think they sat out the thunder and lightening and they made there way back home? Either way I am happy, and feel the training went as planned. I hope to get the missing 2 back in the morning. I think this type of training helps the birds learn as they could come up against something like this during a race.

[REDCHEQHEN]

If they come up against that in a race - the convoyer wants shooting

 

 

5 years ago - an assistant convoyer let our birds go from Melton Mowbray there was a thunder storm about 2 miles into the race - birds were reported in France

[bird man of meath]

me too

down 3  hope to get them in morring

if not that will be 6 lost in 2 days

[Newbie2020]

I havent dropped a young bird and they are out to 20 miles so fingers crossed will get them back!

[Guest shadow]

you were lucky not to lose the lot

[jimmy white]

in my opinion ,,not wise with yb,s,, [or ob.s]  very dodgy when thunder about,,

i do think they would be flying this time,

hope you get the other two back

[flyingteessider]

youve lost two birds through no fault of ther own they probably wouldnt of come out the loft in the same conditions hope they return

[OLDYELLOW]

they probably were flying trying to go around the storm i wouldnt let ybs out in thunder no train in such conditions your lucky any have homed at all

[Guest Grasshopper Lofts]

good topic this i have often wondered what would happen. I let my y/b out today in the pouring rain they flew just as they do when dry and sunny.

[flyingteessider]

yes but you give them the option and they were not panic flying

[Tony C]

Young bird training is a little bit more than just getting them to fly home from A to B

[Guest Grasshopper Lofts]

Young bird training is a little bit more than just getting them to fly home from A to B

 

can u elaperate on this please you got me thinking now

[Guest speckled]

why  not  just  loft  fly them  round the loft in   the  bad  weather  ya  had home. hey ya  wont  to  think  youself  lucky  is  was  not   foggy  and  visabilaty wasnt  poor  as ya  be  sitting in a  loft  panic  flying  yourself lol Speck

[Tony C]

 

can u elaperate on this please you got me thinking now

 

Confidence for me plays a major role, knock this out of them and they’ll home and not race.

[Guest Grasshopper Lofts]

 

Confidence for me plays a major role, knock this out of them and they’ll home and not race.

 

thanks

[maverick]

I decided to try my team of youngsters in the rain today. They have been 4 times upto 20 miles by road. I took them about 8 miles. The weather was clear at the lib site, but thunder and lightening at home end. I wanted to see how the birds would react and learn from being in this type of weather. I only took them the 8 miles so they would be close enough to home. On letting the go, they had about 2 miles of dry weather before they hit really dark low cloud and torrential rain. After 2 and half hours I had the birds back, missing 2. They were quite wet and looked really tired. Do you think they flew for that length of time or do you think they sat out the thunder and lightening and they made there way back home? Either way I am happy, and feel the training went as planned. I hope to get the missing 2 back in the morning. I think this type of training helps the birds learn as they could come up against something like this during a race.

    you are a lucky person not to lose all your young birds to train knowing your birds were flying into thunder and lightning and torrential rain shows the respect you have for your birds

[just ask me]

confidence plays a major role i dont move them any futher untill they are at least doing a mile a minute

[thunderboult]

I decided to try my team of youngsters in the rain today. They have been 4 times upto 20 miles by road. I took them about 8 miles. The weather was clear at the lib site, but thunder and lightening at home end. I wanted to see how the birds would react and learn from being in this type of weather. I only took them the 8 miles so they would be close enough to home. On letting the go, they had about 2 miles of dry weather before they hit really dark low cloud and torrential rain. After 2 and half hours I had the birds back, missing 2. They were quite wet and looked really tired. Do you think they flew for that length of time or do you think they sat out the thunder and lightening and they made there way back home? Either way I am happy, and feel the training went as planned. I hope to get the missing 2 back in the morning. I think this type of training helps the birds learn as they could come up against something like this during a race.

 

did you get those young uns back this morning? i think it was a crazy idea, i don't mind going if there's shower's but thunder/lightening & torrential rain that's asking for trouble, not just in their ability to fly in that weather but things like that will also increase the stress levels in the birds and could bring on some form of illness/sickness which i think are contected to stress, i'd keep an eye on the birds for the next few days just in case.

 

[pigeonpete]

Hope you got the other 2 back, i learnt a very hard lesson this year with training obs in strong weather conditions, But i would never train ybs in that yesterday, like thunderboult says, they will have enough stress to contend with without that. You were very lucky to get them back mate, BUT i wouldnt risk it again :-)

[Guest]

I too think you are very lucky yo have got them back. Would you feel happy if you were driven 20 miles in a car and dumped out in torrential rain and thunderstorms ...... I don't think so. And would you be learning your way home, I don't think so, it would be head down, aim in the general direction and hope for the best. Nothing gained, and potentially, everything could have been lost.

[blaz]

training ybs last nov/dec rain sleet snow high winds minus plenty. one day sky black 1.50h for10 mile . only droped 1 all training .hope you get some of yours back soon

[Guest IB]

This isn't my understanding of 'all weather training', and I wouldn't move on to it after only 4 tosses. Agree with posts on confidence building. I think with YBs Ive only been caught out once by really bad weather (heavy rain) at 5 miles, luckily it was fairly local and there was brighter weather to the south, and that's where the birds headed, round it.

 

I did train YBs a couple of years ago from, through and to thundery weather. But visibility was good, and they had clear weather on either side. But I would never try to down the birds in a rainstorm.

[Guest spin cycle]

i thought the 'motto' was 'you can't neccesarily choose the weather on raceday...but you can for training'.......but i begin to think ybs want alot of training..... but if the weather is bad do you still go or wait ?

[Guest Owen]

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? What is the point of that exercise? If you carry on like that you will sicken those birds and convert them into homers. Animals, birds and even humans learn from being successful. That is the way confidence is built up. The idea that you can impose hardship on your birds to build up their hardness is not likely to work. In fact you are very likely to loose them. Firm but fair is the best way. Not hard and and unfair which is what I suspect you are. Wise up.

[Guest]

I decided to try my team of youngsters in the rain today. They have been 4 times upto 20 miles by road. I took them about 8 miles. The weather was clear at the lib site, but thunder and lightening at home end. I wanted to see how the birds would react and learn from being in this type of weather. I only took them the 8 miles so they would be close enough to home. On letting the go, they had about 2 miles of dry weather before they hit really dark low cloud and torrential rain. After 2 and half hours I had the birds back, missing 2. They were quite wet and looked really tired. Do you think they flew for that length of time or do you think they sat out the thunder and lightening and they made there way back home? Either way I am happy, and feel the training went as planned. I hope to get the missing 2 back in the morning. I think this type of training helps the birds learn as they could come up against something like this during a race.

 

no harm meant but you are very lucky you got any at all the one sure thing birds dont like is thunder i dont think anyone will disagree with that could have been a very costly experiment