Re Homing Birds

[Speckled Jim]

Recently purchased some new stock birds, dont really want to have to keep them as prisoners, going to pair them up soon, would it be ok to let them out of loft once they have layed or have young? or will they fly off into the sunset never to been seen again.

[Guest Freebird]

Do you have any birds homed at the moment. Some may stay and some may not. Only you can make the big decision. Make sure they get a good look around and know the way back in to their mate before trying any. Probably better breeding some youngsters and get them out first if you dont have anything flying out at the moment.

[Guest shadow]

if you have had plenty youg birds of them give them a try but if they have not seen out of the loft much their is a fair chance they will clear sitting eggs or not

[pjc]

Breed from them first, they will then have some bond to the loft and if they do go you will have there offspring for the furure.

Make sure they can see out, idealy build them a flight or aviary, even if only tempary until the birds are settled.

If you have had the birds from somebody localy to you tell them when you are about to let them out so they can make sure there loft is closed up and the birds can't get in.

[PATTY BHOY]

Found the best way to break birds.Have y/bs in the nest and there ready for their second round,works a treat.

[jimmy white]

al above good info,, an aviary where they can see out helps as well ,,good luck

[fletch]

i know a lot of people dont like to cut stock birds down but i feel that this is a safe way of keeping them the first year so they can be let out and the following year when they gone through there moult they break easier has they have reared at the loft,

only my opinion.

[Roland]

Depends where the old loft is, and how far.... a short trip can be useful like. But a pigeon never forget's where it's old loft is, or where it was born. Just needs to be happy and content and feel safer in it's new loft. Then yo break it in within three days..

If it's a distance away / or can't be retrieved, best you make sure you have had a couple of rounds of them first... as you will most ly lose them. The longer caged the  harder to break.

[jimmy white]

true, the longer you cage them, the harder they are to break

 

maybe a wee true story on how quick birds can settle if treated right, a friend  of mine [now deceased] willie pentland, made a challenge for me, , he bred /raced a black cock for two years, in its second year the pigeon raced to him from 60 miles to the south coast 360 miles [dorchester to edinburgh] on the day this bird returned from dorchester, he friendly  challenged me to break this bird and send it to the snfc sartilly 21 days later [this was 505 miles], i took up the challenge feeling this was impossible,, i noticed the pigeon had nested in the bottom left hand corner nest  box in his loft, so i took the bird, its mate ,its nest pan , even the   twigs and droppings,, took this to my loft about 5 miles north, put it  in the same positioned box [bottom left hand box] along with everything from its old box [this was his first eggs of the season as he raced w/hood] i put a board in front of the nest box, he then sat on the eggs along with his hen, i shifted this board further away from the front of the box, then further again as he still sat, looking a little dubias at this time , i took some of his twigs out , laid them on the floor , he then carried them back in to his nest, the board was removed altogether while i kept him doing this , he then flew up to the sputnick, and looked around , the hen now sitting, amazingly when the hen came of the eggs , he took his turn, i then took the twigs back out and put them in the sputnick, the black cock , again took the twigs from the sputnick ,down to his [now new box], after three days i let the other birds out let them land, then filled the bath, opened the sputnick, all doors etc, he then after taking twigs in from the , now open sputnick, flew down , and took a bath, he lay in the sun, looking around, dried off ,,,,then went off , i told willie to chase the bird , not to let it in  his  loft, he did this all day , that evening ,near dark, the bird retuned  , landed on the sputnick, then dropped in , and on his eggs, he was out each day after that flying back and forth ,but with  willie never letting him in and chasing him. after a few days i had him carrying nesting material [emptying his nest regular] from further up the garden each time, he finished up with a nest almost touching the top of the box after having the bird 8 days, allister mcuddin came to visit me from freuchie about 35miles  north of me, i asked him to take the bird and release it, which he did,, the bird homed to me, i took his hen away after having the bird 18 days and placed two big youngsters under him , i had, had the bird excactly 21 days when he was sent to the snfc sartilly, national,, he was timed in to be 101 open in the whole of scotland [with around 4-5000 birds away] he  should have been 92nd as the shu had put my wrong distances in, i could have objected , but as the result was out it wasnt going to make much difference, so, after having a new pigeon for only 21 days , he flew the 505 miles from france , to in fact win me  a 92cnd position in the whole of scotland :)   very true