[fresnobirdman]

hi to all,

i have a question that i was wondering if was possible,

i have been flying my homers for 2 months now, and i have passed the 11mi mark for my homers,
i have wondering if i could take them out to the 150 mi and expect them all to come back,

this was how i trained them.

1st, toss
1mi, they came came back in 5 mins
2nd,
11mi, they came back in 35min

do you guys think that they will come back if i jumped to the 60 mi?

 

[george simon]

Hi FRESNOBIRDMAN, Why are you in such a hurry to lose birds.Take Them out to 11 miles one more time,then take them 20 miles 2 or 3 times, next go 40 miles 2 or 3 times then to 80 miles 2 or 3 times. Never rush to get them out any great distance.Are you getting these birds ready for young birds races and when do the young bird races start for your club?

 

[windaidedaviary]

I've flown 4-6 month old birds out to 10-50 miles a total of 3-4 times, then jump to 180+ miles with no loses. Done this like 6 times with yb's. And, these were not considered the "good" one's (old Tournier blood). Of course, this is pushing it, but, they are capable of coming home.

I don't have much experience with homers, other than my own backyard experiments, but I would take the birds out once to 10, 20, 30, 50, then 100-150 miles. My own experiments suggests...if they can make it from 50 miles, they can make 150 miles the next time around. I wouldn't recommend going from 11 miles to 60 miles, as that's a bit of a distance difference.

I would do one at 25, then 40, then 50-60, then 150+. All these distances are suggestions only, and everybody sets them differently. My own belief is, a good homing pigeon should be able to "home" from over 100 miles with minimal training if they are not too young. The only reason you'd toss them out to these distances is to build their stamina, strength, etc, so they have the physical ability to make it home.

 

[fresnobirdman]

im not in a hurry to lose them, its just that i have a limited ride to toss them,
i can only toss them when ever i have a ride to go a certain place or when i know some one thats going to a place,
its pretty hard to road train when you can drive yet.

i have heard people say that if a homer knows your home than it will come back home at any distance.

i think i'll just train them to 20-40 mi until i take them out to the 60 mi mark.

 

[RodSD]

That is too sudden a distance. Follow both George and windaidedaviary 's advice.

 

[whitesnmore]

Fresno, Your times on return are not good enough to jump them out to 150 yet. If they are taking 35 minutes at 11 miles how long do you think they will take at 150 miles. Take your time and train from the same spot at least 3 times on the line of flight to get the birds returning in better time. At 11 miles they should be beating you home. In actuallity they should beat you home at any distance if they are "racers".
Ken

 

[SmithFamilyLoft]

I forget whose idea I "stole this from"...but it has to do with a "Zone of Disorientation". I do believe it is somewhere between 20 and 40 miles. At that point, they are beyond where they would have flown during loft flight. Depending on terrain, once they have successfully navigated their way home from this zone, they should be able to find home from any distance that their health and body condition can carry them. Keep in mind, that I hold a view much different from many fanciers. I do not believe that one needs to "teach" a racing pigeon how to find it's way home. Road training is simply to turn them from Homers into Racers, and to improve their condition.

I have shared this before, of a fancier here in the UPC that is older and in poor health. He never does road training. The first time the birds see the inside of a training basket is on shipping night. He does quite well. So if your birds are in good condition, in theory there is no reason why your birds could not do the 150 miles. Problem is, how do you insure they are in good enough condition ? Are they flying non-stop around the loft for 3 hours or more ?

 

[fresnobirdman]

smith family loft,
i think they do loft fly for longer than 3 hour.


i like to fly them around 6:10am,
watch them come and go pass my house till i go to school which is at 9:55.
so im assuming that they dont land some where and fly longer than 3 hours.

they seem to be pretty fit.

but, train them till i think that are ready for that mark.

 

[fresnobirdman]

thanks for you guys comments and ideas.

 

[RodSD]

I never had homers fly 3 hours. My max was 2 hours and they were young birds. I now average 15-30 minutes so I don't know what the hell happened except for my obsessed fliers. That pair can do 45 min - 1 hour a day. I usually time my birds when they take off and when they land. I also have a grand view (a little bit on top of a hill) so I know if they ever land cheating. I am beginning to see that some birds are of higher quality. Those higher quality birds seem to stay up longer and when they land, it is as if nothing happened.

 

[SmithFamilyLoft]

smith family loft,
i think they do loft fly for longer than 3 hour.


i like to fly them around 6:10am,
watch them come and go pass my house till i go to school which is at 9:55.
so im assuming that they dont land some where and fly longer than 3 hours.

they seem to be pretty fit.

but, train them till i think that are ready for that mark.

If you say it is so, then I guess I must believe you. In "theory" your birds would be ready to race and most likely well. Still, call me "old fashioned" or too conservative. But, I would rather not have you test this theory, for the sake of your birds. As other's have suggested, I would attempt a few training tosses far short of the 150 mile mark. I would suggest something under 40 miles and longer then 20. And since I am the nervous type, several tosses at that distance. I would reserve the longer distances for actual races, but that is me.

 

[Lovebirds]

If you say it is so, then I guess I must believe you. In "theory" your birds would be ready to race and most likely well. Still, call me "old fashioned" or too conservative. But, I would rather not have you test this theory, for the sake of your birds. As other's have suggested, I would attempt a few training tosses far short of the 150 mile mark. I would suggest something under 40 miles and longer then 20. And since I am the nervous type, several tosses at that distance. I would reserve the longer distances for actual races, but that is me.

100% agree with you.

 

[LUCKYT]

As i think Warren said, after 30 or 40 miles they should come home from anywhere, or you are working with poor stock. IF you are afraid to lose them they will never be great racers. Trust me, if they go thirty 2 times they will come home from 150..... UNLESS, they are just following the crowd.
after i went to 20 two times, they went right to 40, and further each time. They will surprise you! Dave