F.A.Q.

Listed below are some of the questions I get most on pigeon raising and racing. Take a moment to browse through them, they might answer a few that you also have.

How can I find a club close to where I live?
Check the AU - IF - or CRPU web sites. Browse the band lists, all the clubs are listed there. Find the one closest to you and contact the person listed.

Where can I find or buy birds?
There are many places you can find birds. Check with some local fliers, search for auction pages on the net, or go to a breeder. Some of the personal pages I have listed in my links sell birds, and of course the breeders do also. I will also sell my birds, both whites and racers,on occasion. Once you start looking, birds are easy to find.

How can I tell a cock from a hen?
This is the hardest question I get. There are about as many ways and ideas out there as there are fliers. Some experienced flyers can tell by just looking at them, I haven't reached that stage yet. The only true way to tell is after they mature. At about 4 to 5 months of age they will start "strutting their stuff". Hens are more quiet, they all fight over perches, but cocks tend to be more intent on gaining the perch. Cocks are vocal, they coo and carry on, while hens do not. At breeding time, of course the cocks coo and strut around the hen of choice. But be careful there. They can do it to other cocks too if they can't find a hen. If you haven't figured it out by nesting time, and you see them sitting a nest, thats when you have them. :0) Hens set the nest from late afternoon, and overnite until mid morning. The cocks set the nest from mid morning until late afternoon. What I recommend is when you have them figured out, put a spiral band on them indicating which sex they are. Say blue for the cocks and pink for hens, or whatever colors you choose.

How long do I need to keep my new birds in before I can let them out to fly?
This all depends on the age of the bird. If it is a new hatch (about 8 wks old) then keep them in for a week or two, so they can get settled and then you can allow them out to fly. If it is a yearling or older bird flown from another loft the time increases, while chances of "lofting over" decrease. Any bird flown from another loft will always feel that the first loft was "Home", you just need to try and settle him to yours. Allow them several nests and time to become aquainted with the loft. This is the tricky part, since you never really know how a bird will do until you actually let them out. I had a bird who after trying to get rid of him after a month would not leave. And another whom after being kept prisoner 2 years left me the first chance it got to return home. So, if they are older and you really want the young out of them, your best bet is to keep them prisoners.

When do I start training my Young Birds?
Young birds should be loft flown from the time they can get themselves out the trap. By the age of 3 1/2 to 4 months old, they should be routing with the others, taking the occasional trip out and disappearing from the loft for a time. When they are routing for at least 45 min each time out and trapping well, then you can consider training.

How do I train my Young Birds?
Everyone trains differently, and uses what works for them, so I'll pass on what works for me. After your birds are routing and trapping well (hopefully this is a couple months before the racing season starts) you need to start your schedule. Crate up your birds in the AM and take them 3 to 5 miles, this depends on your area's landscape. Open areas with few trees, will let you go to the full 5mi. Just a side note...when figuring toss spots you need to make sure it is an open area with few wires, trees and traffic. Also that your measuring is done in AIR miles. Going 5 mi out the road on your car odometer is not the same as birds flying 5 miles. They don't have to follow the roads. :0) Use a map to plot out your toss sites.

Now, release your birds at the first drop site and watch them. They will circle around to get oriented and then hopefully take off in the right direction. Time your birds, head home and see how they trap. Toss your birds at this same drop spot until they no longer circle and fly home straight away. For some it takes 3 to 4 tries, others more, some less. But you want to make sure they KNOW this area before moving on. You follow this same procedure at each toss site. The milage increments should go 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, and the rest in 10 mile increments up to 90. Sadly, you will lose some birds. You will also have a few that straggle in days, possibly even weeks later. The ones that come in later, let them rest a day (no loft flying) then get them right back out there in the toss schedule.

How can I get my birds to trap? (they perch on the loft roof, trees, etc.)
To get your birds to trap they need to understand that the rest, food, pair partner, babies, or whatever they need is INSIDE the loft. They need to know that in order to get ANY of these things they have to be INSIDE the loft.

In all birds, young birds mostly, the motivation for trapping and racing is food. One of the biggest and most common mistakes made by almost all fliers is in overfeeding. If the bird has eaten or has overeaten earlier, they will have no reason to get back into the loft after time spent flying. NEVER feed your birds before loft flying or tossing. They need this extra motivation to get home and into the loft quickly. Also, homers really only need about one oz. of food per bird per day. (This amount can increase depending on heavy training, or nesting.) If your an overfeeder (as I was once..lol) begin feeding this amount immediately, and only when they trap. When the birds inside the loft are done eating, pull up any excess feed. DO NOT leave some out for the stragglers. This will teach them that they need to hurry into the loft in order to eat. And though it may be hard, you need the mind-set of "You don't trap with the rest, You don't eat" After a day or so of this, they learn and start trapping quickly.

In order to teach your birds that the roof, trees, etc. ar NOT the place to be you need to "scare" them off wherever thay are perched. If on the loft roof, a tennis ball tossed up near them will get them in the air. If on the ground, a good loud shout or hands clapping will get them going. If in the trees, go get your kids long range, super soaker squirt gun, your tennis ball, whatever it takes to get close to them to get them out of there. It will take a few tries for them to get the idea, and there will be "dummies" who take longer, but they MUST get the idea that if they are not IN the loft they need to be in the air. If they want to rest, drink, eat, etc. they have to be INSIDE the loft.

For the new or kindhearted, this will be harder on you than them. But if you want your birds flying and trapping well, these things have to be done.

How long does it take for birds to lay eggs and for them to hatch?
Approximatly 10 days after mating the hen will lay its first egg. Within the next two days the second will follow. After laying the second egg, the pair will begin "setting" the nest. Eggs will not begin to form a squab until warmed by the parents, so the incubation period does not begin until after the second egg is laid. The eggs will hatch within 18 to 21 days. Hatching in late afternoon, and possibly a day apart. After the 21 days the birds will leave the nest if the eggs have not hatched, knowing that they are infertile. If one hatches and the other does not, allow a few days and then remove the unhatched egg.

Where can I find information (ie: books, movies, magazines, etc) on homing pigeons?
The web has innumerable sites concerning Homers, Fancy, Roller/Tumblers etc., all I can say is do what I did, search, follow links and save the faves :0) On my links page are hyperlinks to Foy's, Global, and Siegels, these pigeon suppliers also sell informational materials on pigeons. Amazon.com also has a variety of books available for purchase.

If you have a question not covered here or want more information concerning one already covered, please feel free to email me!