[Merced man]

Hi all,
I have had a found pigeon, a red splash roller, for about a month and a half. After a visit to the vet for check-up and no claims from advertising a lost pigeon I get to keep it till he is claimed. I built a nice two nest box loft, ordered a hen, and let him fly twice over the past two weeks and to my surprise he returned home and got back into his loft.

My question now as I am just learning. He is molting and has over 2/3rds of the time I have had he's been losing feathers. Obviously replaced because he looks so much better. This last weekend I thought that he worked rather hard at flying when he left. Should I not fly him while molting? Is there a time I will know it is better to let him go. I want him to be agile and safe when flying.

BTW, I have never seen him roll. Is that a bird/gene problem or a ME training problem? Will his offspring have a chance of rolling even if he does not?


Thanks all, I have learned a lot here. I need all the help I can get.
If anyone is in the Merced California/Central Valley area let me know.

 

[Jass SamOplay]

Hi and thanks for bringing the bird in...
Are you sure he's a roller? If yes,he must roll. But since you said he's molting that could be the reason he couldn't manifest his innate skill of rolling,if he's a roller. Would you like to share his pic??? So to see what breed is he...

Molting induces great stress on body. If he's molting heavily please don't let him out. He's not 100% at flying during this phase so probably couldnt evade a predator if targetted. During molting, the last thing he needs is stress from any other activity whether its flying,breeding, medicating etc. Keep him in until he finishes his molt.

To help him through his molt you can let him bath so he sheds old feathers faster,also giving space to new ones to grow. Giving him water to bath twice/thrice a week will also help new feathers to soften up and grow faster.
You can add a bit more protein and calcium to his diet to help him grow better quality feathers faster. Water soluble vitamins and minerals supplements twice a week will surely help him.

 

[Woodnative]

Rollers are easy to rehome. Yes, as you have found out, they replace all their feathers over a period of a couple of weeks this time of year. Rollers vary in their rolling ability according to their background. Amount of food, how they are flown etc. will influence how long they fly and rolling to some degree but only within the limits of their genes. Some rollers have been selected for color etc. and are no longer good rollers. Others are bred for performance only. Although flying is a big part of the fun of pigeons, know that a hawk can easily catch your bird. You have to decide if that is worth the risk. If they have eggs/young later I would certainly lock them down during that time to be sure that the parents are there to raise the young.

 

[Merced man]

Thanks for the information, but I did want to post a couple of pictures so I can get confirmation about breed etc.

I will lock him down for a while. I have ordered him a mate as well.

You will note a blue band on this bird. There is no mark or writing on it. He also had a small piece of red electrical wire attached to his other leg, but that was removed by me.