Fly Aways

[Guest chad3646]

is there anybody on here could tell me why or how this happens and has it ever happened to you ?

[MIK]

is there anybody on here could tell me why or how this happens and has it ever happened to you ?

 

only time i ever had fly aways is because of hawk strikes, if you had them Chad its cuz they dont like you :emoticon-0136-giggle:

[HOMER49]

Hi

Once in 50+ years Lost the lot about 32

This happened in mid 70s and at that time my wife and I

used to go to Jim and Jean Harrisons farm once a month

where several fanciers would gather for a drink and coffee

on telling them what happened I was asked if I gave my y/bs

maize in there feeding I said yes

They all told me don't give your y/bs maize until you start

racing

Never have and never had another fly away

 

Answers on a postcard

 

Cheers

Homer 49

[Guest chad3646]

hi homer i actually saw it once i was out walking the dogs, it was just getting dark i saw this batch of pigeons they were flying at speed i saw them heading for the pylons next to me, the next thing three of them hit it they were stone dead i took there ring numbers and lo and behold it was a club members pigeons his name was chad mcrory the rest of the pigeons just flu madly on he lost them all he told me

[aye ready]

once knew an auld boy who basketed his young birds for training and sat the basket on top of his bunker 50ft fae his loft waiting to be picked up, anyway the toss got cancelled and the auld boy let the young birds out the basket they headed straight north and he never saw any of them again,strange but true

[Guest nephilim]

I raced on the North in the 1990's. Took 30 young on short chuck,watched them clear and set of home. 5 mile down the road they came past me at the side of the road, low and hedge hopping! We was doing around 65 and they was keeping up. About half mile from this roundabout, they lifted up and ploughed straight on, we went left and I thought it was bit strange route they took, as if they stayed on track they would have got home. I got back and nothing! Couple hours later had 3 back, 4 next morning 2 later that day. Then the phone calls came in. I had calls from Wales, East Coast and god knows where else. All in I got 16 back over the following week!

[Wiley]

IMO fly always are linked to over crowding.

[dal2]

IMO fly always are linked to over crowding.

Expand on this please

[Wiley]

Expand on this please

 

TBH, dal, I do not feel I need to expand on it. IF the fly aways aren't caused by predatation, as I said IMO it down to over crowding, it is seen in nature from the rock doves on the rocky cliffs, and many years ago I introduced a new strain, and I wanted to breed as many young from this family as possible as a result I suffered with fly aways consequetively for 2 years. The 3rd year I reduced the numbers drastically that I bred, and touch wood I've never had a fly away again.

[hotrod]

IMO fly always are linked to over crowding.

I don't disagree with you there mate but it happened to me once ,I don't breed a lot of youngsters , in fav when it did happen i had 18 youngsters ,let them out at. 8am on a full blue sky and not a breath of wind , never seen a bird till 18.05 pm I ended up getting two reported near Stirling , and got 7 back on there own , never seen or heard of the other 9 all had phone numbers on legs , I put it down to bops chasing isn't them out of their area and they keep going trying to find their way back .

[Guest chad3646]

IMO fly always are linked to over crowding.

 

 

years ago the old timers only bred what they could afford so they only had small teams,

 

and they still got the fly aways, i was talking to an old timer about the fly aways and he said it usually happens on those humid days and the sun is yon bright way

 

 

wiley where does the rock doves come into this ?

[Wiley]

years ago the old timers only bred what they could afford so they only had small teams,

 

and they still got the fly aways, i was talking to an old timer about the fly aways and he said it usually happens on those humid days and the sun is yon bright way

 

 

wiley where does the rock doves come into this ?

 

They generally had very small lofts also chad, so it came hand to hand.

 

The racing pigeon is a direct descendent of the rock dove, and they're natural behaviours is similar. It is commonly found in rock dove colonies, that when nesting sites or roosting sites become scarce, birds in the colony leave or to put it in terms fly away, due to to much competition for roosting and nesting sites and then settle on a site where their is plenty of room.

[Tony C]

IMO A sequence of events must take place leading up to a fly-away.

[Guest chad3646]

IMO A sequence of events must take place leading up to a fly-away.

 

 

totally agree there tony but that is the question i was asking, what are the events

[Leroy]

Going off what has been said above, if we take it back to nature, look at how we treat our birds. Not all, but alot of fanciers, keep their birds hungry so they trap quickly and dont get fat, only keep as many birds as you have perches or nestboxes, meaning the birds dont have a variety of locations to choose from or even have to fight for a perch or nestbox. We interfere with them on a daily basis, handling them, moving amongst them, basketing them etc.

 

In the wild, a colony of birds that are hungry, overcrowded and frequently disturbed will just move on. I know our birds aren't wild, and they are used to us being about, handling them etc but it makes you think. Not everyone has the time to spend with their birds and not everyone keeps them hungry. but maybe when you have the right combination of all the above, the birds just do what comes naturally and head off.

 

jmo

 

Lee

[greenlands]

totally agree there tony but that is the question i was asking, what are the events

Regular bother with cats during the night and the not safe feeling in the loft I would think.

[Guest chad3646]

:emoticon-0138-thinking:

They generally had very small lofts also chad, so it came hand to hand.

 

The racing pigeon is a direct descendent of the rock dove, and they're natural behaviours is similar. It is commonly found in rock dove colonies, that when nesting sites or roosting sites become scarce, birds in the colony leave or to put it in terms fly away, due to to much competition for roosting and nesting sites and then settle on a site where their is plenty of room.

[dal2]

Going off what has been said above, if we take it back to nature, look at how we treat our birds. Not all, but alot of fanciers, keep their birds hungry so they trap quickly and dont get fat, only keep as many birds as you have perches or nestboxes, meaning the birds dont have a variety of locations to choose from or even have to fight for a perch or nestbox. We interfere with them on a daily basis, handling them, moving amongst them, basketing them etc.

 

In the wild, a colony of birds that are hungry, overcrowded and frequently disturbed will just move on. I know our birds aren't wild, and they are used to us being about, handling them etc but it makes you think. Not everyone has the time to spend with their birds and not everyone keeps them hungry. but maybe when you have the right combination of all the above, the birds just do what comes naturally and head off.

 

jmo

 

Lee

Is the homing ability of the homing pigeon not the most natural thing for it?

Inexperienced birds getting out of their depths is my guess

[Leroy]

Is the homing ability of the homing pigeon not the most natural thing for it?

Inexperienced birds getting out of their depths is my guess

 

I don't follow you. That's like saying if their loft was on fire they'd still fly to their perch because homing ability takes over every other instinct. Even with a homing ability the birds can choose exactly where home is if they aren't happy.

[hotrod]

IMO A sequence of events must take place leading up to a fly-away.

When it happened to me there was no sequence of events , I had room for 40 birds in a 10 ft by 6ft end , I had 18 youngsters all doing around an hour or so every night , I feed them once a day at night they got as much as they want as IMHO they are babies and growing so need nutrition . No cats near here my German shepherd see to that , the only difference was I let mines out for the first time in the morning as they normally don't get out till 6 pm each night . Now I never let mine out in the morning until they have been to a few tosses .

[JohnQuinn]

Have thankfully never had this happen to me, for what its worth i was told many years ago by a good friend and very experienced fancier to always let my Yb's out at the same time of day as my old hens and i wouldn't lose them off the loft. It appears to be true as i can't remember the last time i lost a Yb off the loft, despite them having been attacked by the Sparrow Hawk at the lofts, and one killed as i wasn't around at the time of the attack, but the rest all returned later with the old hens.

 

Strangely I have had old birds lost off the loft though!! but on those days they all returned in separate batches which made me think they had been attacked by Percy and those missing had been the unlucky ones who were caught. This happened just 2 years ago and i actually seen the batch split into 3 on one occasion but didn't see why, i only Assume it was an attack from some form of predator and given there is a Percy nest site less than a mile from my lofts i blame them.

 

I will stick to letting my Yb's out with my old hens because i now believe it to be safer for them that way. jmo.

[walterboswell59]

i agree with the guys that a combination of things can cause flyaways overcrowding frights and the age of the youngbirds at time of flyaway the latter because if they are not long on the wing they dont have the strenth to get back if there far away one thing i did find out after loseing yb when tossing from three and five miles was to take them on short tosses only after they have had there fly for the day and did not lose any after that now i dont think its far enough and yb want to fly and have ranged much farther than that so now i start them at a min 12 miles but normally first toss 20 miles this i think gives the birds time to work out where they are where as with short tosses the birds are by before they know it but i only train my youngbirds when they have been rangeing for an hour or two everyday for two to three weeks at least

[dal2]

I don't follow you. That's like saying if their loft was on fire they'd still fly to their perch because homing ability takes over every other instinct. Even with a homing ability the birds can choose exactly where home is if they aren't happy.

I asked what you thought was the most natural instinct for a homing pigeon? If the loft was on fire then they have no home and will move on? If the loft stays then they will stay unless something else makes them move, if you have ever tried to break a bird from another loft then you will know how hard it can be and often a bird sucessfully broken will still return ocassionally to a loft that has an association.

 

My mate Yeboah has aloft 25 miles north of me on line of flight, he had a red hen which sat on my house roof every race that he sent it to be it late or on time. This is because experienced pigeons still do things from habit so inexperienced pigeons must learn? The homing pigeons that choose where they live are about as much good as a chocolate watch!!

[billt]

Good post Walter, pretty much the same as me, My youngsters always range well and are gone for an hour or two, I don't start training while they are doing this as I can't see any gain. When they are ranging well I give them a light feed early morning and let them out and they are gone, I hate telling newcomers this as the scribes say this is what causes fly-away's but it's never happened to me in 50yrs. plus. I agree with Walter on not giving first toss a few miles up the road, when they are ranging well they cover many miles, 10mls. would be my minimum and it would be morning, the earlier the better giving them all day to get it right

[dal2]

Good post Walter, pretty much the same as me, My youngsters always range well and are gone for an hour or two, I don't start training while they are doing this as I can't see any gain. When they are ranging well I give them a light feed early morning and let them out and they are gone, I hate telling newcomers this as the scribes say this is what causes fly-away's but it's never happened to me in 50yrs. plus. I agree with Walter on not giving first toss a few miles up the road, when they are ranging well they cover many miles, 10mls. would be my minimum and it would be morning, the earlier the better giving them all day to get it right

When do they stop ranging?