Help i keep losing homers

[highflyeramatur]

This is my first time having homers i have some questions in the past i have bought homers and kept them without releasing them for about a month just puting them in the veiwing cge all day and b4 sunset puting them back in the loft. But then after the month passes i release them they circle a couple of times and take off like a bat outahell and never come back. can anyone tell me why? or what i'm doing wrong?Also i have 2 breeding pairs that im a ffraid to release to excersise for fear i might lose them too do you guys think i should release the or not?And i want to race my yb this coming year so i have some questions on that aswell. Thier first training toss how far should it be?And by what incraments shoould i increase the distance with each toss ? I am coming to you guys cause i noticed the majority of you guys on here keep homers and have the wisdom and experience to help me on my way with you input thnax again everyone for taking the time to read my thread.

Yours truly on the
ground and in the air
Erik

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by highflyeramatur

This is my first time having homers i have some questions in the past i have bought homers and kept them without releasing them for about a month just puting them in the veiwing cge all day and b4 sunset puting them back in the loft. But then after the month passes i release them they circle a couple of times and take off like a bat outahell and never come back. can anyone tell me why? or what i'm doing wrong?Also i have 2 breeding pairs that im a ffraid to release to excersise for fear i might lose them too do you guys think i should release the or not?And i want to race my yb this coming year so i have some questions on that aswell. Thier first training toss how far should it be?And by what incraments shoould i increase the distance with each toss ? I am coming to you guys cause i noticed the majority of you guys on here keep homers and have the wisdom and experience to help me on my way with you input thnax again everyone for taking the time to read my thread.

Yours truly on the
ground and in the air
Erik

Well, first of all, you bought "homers"......they are called homers because that's what they do.........go home..........you'll have very little success, if any at all, trying to get an adult homer to stay at your loft. They're aren't bred to move from place to place and just "learn to stay and live" where ever they happen to find them selves. What you're trying to do is "RE-HOME" a pigeon and homers/racers are VERY hard to re-home. Any adult birds that you buy need to be kept as breeders and never turned loose.

If I was you, I would repost this question in the "Homing and Racing pigeons" section. You'll be more responses there and it's a totally different question than the first.

You might also read this thread. http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=7449 and then ask about anything you don't understand or anything that it doesn't answer.

[MaryOfExeter]

There's a good chance the homers you tried to settle were too old to be rehomed. Some birds are just harder to break than others. With training I normally start at 5 and jump them in 5 or 10 mile increments depending on how well I think they're doing. Of course I know of people who jump their birds a lot farther than that at once, but to each his own. Don't take them any farther than you think they can make it back. If you feel uncomfortable with taking them a certain distance that day, better safe than sorry

[Pegasus]

Breed the ones you bought, when they have babies then, those are the one you train and fly...Training them takes not just a month on the trap door training, now that depend on how much you put time them in the aviary or landing board...When I train my young birds as soon as they turn 1 month old I put them on trap door training, I do this for about 3 weeks or maybe longer, rain or shine they go there, as much as possible I don't force them to go inside nor push them with a stick, another part of their training is to go in is by shaking the feed in the can...There's a lot more to learn, just take your time and NEVER rush the young bird to fly because you want to see them flying already...That's one of my mistake that I've learned and never happen anymore, Yes, they do get lost when something or someone spook them while they are out there, that's why we or I have to be out there when I have young birds out for the very 1st time...The way I notice young birds they don't take on the sky just like that, they walk, look around, pretending to fly a bit, fly around the loft a little higher, maybe fly in some people's yard but eventually they will come back when you whistle or shake the feed...Never bring out young birds when you have old birds out, they tend to follow and wanna-be like the veteran flyers...My best advice to you ; BE PATIENCE & TAKE YOUR TIME...If you got questions, "WE GOT SOME ANSWERS" (that's RadioShack) well whatever I experienced is something I like to share..."If you can do it, we can help" (Home Depot)...Good luck...

[Alamo]

I moved my lofts last year 6 miles...After 3 months at the new location,I let them all out..They went back to the old location...I made one mistake...I should have let them out at the new place ONLY after they were sitting on eggs 12 to 14 days...They will not leave the eggs or if you must,have babies in the nest..The motherhood factor out plays the will to Home to the old home location...This is alot better then just letting them out..#2) >> You can`t race someone else`s pigeons if they are OLD birds...You BREED from them,and race the babies you raise...If you need a pair of birds,I`ll send you a pair for $50.00 delivered...And you BREED from them..Don`t let them out...They are 2008 YB`s..So you will have them a long time...E-mail me >> Alamo285@prodigy.net ...And I`ll tell you what I need from you for the birds....Good Luck...Alamo

[spirit wings]

you could always buy a kit of just weaned ybs this spring and trap train and then let them out at about 8 weeks of age,(if they get too old they get strong on the wing and can get lost) only when it is quiet and calm, about an hour before sundown...then call them in to eat right at dusk, don't feed before letting them out. do this untill they start flying in a group and get better at flying and then start your road training.....getting older birds is a risk and they may stay if they have eggs, but when they don't they still might decide to just fly off..... one day your ybs will be old enough to breed and then you can train your babies in the same way, and would not have prisoners that you have to keep locked up...but in racing that is not always easy as sometimes people like to buy breeders and those would not beable to be flown....

[highflyeramatur]

Thank you so much for the info and insite yea come to think of it the homers i bought were 06 birds it said it on thier band. Its just that i've always had thief pouters and they adjust to just about anywhere nomatter how much you move them. and they also dont fly as far as a homing pigeon. I. But thank you all so much for helping me out and answering my questions.I cant wait for the babies to hatch.i'm really excited the homing pigeon is truly a great athlete i got in to them after i bought marathon in the sky and our oldest feathered friends. I cant wait to have my first kit of trained homers and watch them fly and take them on training tosses .

[RodSD]

As people already mentioned, breed them first and fly their babies. Or, if you have no choice, get birds that are not flown. I was gifted 8 pigeons this year that are 1-2 years old. I kept them for 3 weeks with ability to see the outside and release them. They all came back except one, but that bird came back the next day. Your birds must also love their place. If they hate it, they don't feel like staying. Another alternative is to work with the guy that you got your birds from. If the birds go back to the original place, tell the original owner not to feed them, retrieve the birds, feed them in your loft, and do it over again. If the original owner is far, then you are screwed. Fly the babies instead or fly the birds while they have babies on the nest. Another alternative is to put painters tape on those primary flight feathers so they can't fly and stay put. Once they become familiarize with the surroundings, then they may stay. It is all risk.

[batman23]

hey man im new at the hobby too and i just got my birds about 3months ago! i would say you could let go of the homing birds but i suggest you let go of the cocks only because they alwats look for the hen. i learned that long time ago so thats what i did and the owner of the birds that i got called me and told me that the birds came back but i told him oh just dont trap them just let them be and what do you know they all came back. now i let go of the hen too because my cocks dont go back to their old home so i think it would be ok. and if you are able to let go of the cocks you can use them to help the ybs train. just my opinion.