Yesterday was a good day. I let out 18 youngsters for the first time and all were back on their perches at the end of the day. My nerves are shot though lol. They were out for hours and did quite well. Some even managed to get up in the air and circled for a while before making their way back. Others strolled around the area picking at leaves and grass and just having a great day exploring. I live in a wooded area and was dismayed to see one bird fly into the woods and somehow make it back to the coop from another direction and still be flying through the trees and bushes. I was amazed. He must be part Coopers Hawk to be able to navigate through that stuff.

Hugh

That sounds just wonderful and I sure hope all your hard work pays off with your birdies winning "something".. That setting that you are living in with all the trees sounds like heaven to me and I bet you can hear nature chirp and all the sounds are wonderful and at night--crickets too... Thanks for sharing and I am so glad they all came back and it made my day to know that the first day for you releasing them was a success..

How exciting for you all and I would like to leave my whole loft free for it would be less work for me--just cleaned my babies and Oh they are a mess--been on lock down for a few days---(rains and storms)...looking good now..."Yes", but more rain coming...Glad your birdies came back (G and M)....Bye again....

Good luck all you Pigeon keepers!
I wish you could give me some luck, but it would be pointless because I have no Pigeons.

i let off 10 young birds at the weekend for the third time and three got snatched by sparrowhawks.

I had replied to this yesterday and I do no see my response now. Anyone know why this happens? I am sorry to hear that you're being hit by hawks newcomer. Hawks are the reason I am so late in breeding and flying young birds this year. Where I am the hawks are a real problem in the late fall, winter and early spring. I delayed breeding to give them a chance to move out before I started flying the babies.
I'll wish you good luck on your tests until yo get in the pigeon business mpigeon. I've seen the pictures of how you keep your pigeons c.hert. Regardless of whether you let the birds out or not, I am sure you'd be in there cleaning anyway. I let them out successfully again yesterday maniac and they have made lots of progress in their ability to fly and land. They still had plenty of time to explore and learn. Great fun to watch.

gnuretiree wrote:I had replied to this yesterday and I do no see my response now. Anyone know why this happens?

Hi Hugh,

When I read the posts yesterday around 6pm, there was no response from you in this thread showing and that was just about 4 hours after Newcomers's last message. Did you see your response after you wrote it in the topic?

Brad,
I had written it before then - It was yesterday AM. I do not recall if I looked at it after I wrote it.

Hugh

Hi Hugh,

I'm not sure if there was a post before or not and I only ever saw your original post in this topic. Is it possible you hit the "Preiview" or "Draft" button instead of the "Send" button and by accident?

Brad wrote:Hi Hugh,

I'm not sure if there was a post before or not and I only ever saw your original post in this topic. Is it possible you hit the "Preiview" or "Draft" button instead of the "Send" button and by accident?

I sure hope so. Thanks for looking into it. I'll certainly be more attentive in the future.

Hugh

Day three and all the birds are tucked in for the night. I also was greeted early this morning by a pigeon I had lost in a race on May 1st. She is really ratty looking - has no weight to her and lost most of her tail. She is dirty and very quiet, but I am sure she'll be fine in a week or two. She is eating like a champ. I am very happy with the progress of the young birds and think I'll be bring another dozen or so up for release in the next week or two.

Hugh

That's wonderful and maybe you will win "the big one", that pigeon just needs rest and some good food like it has and I am so glad it got back home--what a surprise for you...keeping my pigeon toes crossed for a good season for you...

Sounds like you are off to a great start!
I plan on letting my youngsters out this weekend.

Thanks for the good wishes c.hert. I'll do my best to give them every opportunity to do well. I do hope gas prices don't get any higher - logging a hundred miles a day training sure eats up the gas. It also pretty much shoots the entire morning too. No wonder the summer flies by. Good luck with your birds Ed. You birds a little older than mine - last pictures I saw of yours showed some really nice looking birds.

Hugh

I let my homers out for the first time yesterday evening and today they are still over on the neighbor's roof. Any suggestions on what to do. I miss them and want them home.

Well the good news is that they are staying around. Are they babies that you got from someone else, babies you breed, or older birds you're trying to settle? Have you trained them to respond to a feed call? I shake a can and whistle every time I feed them. Have your birds been trap trained so that once they do go in, they'll stay there? They should be getting hungry and thirsty today and looking for something to eat and drink. Do you have any birds that you can let out to show them the way in - droppers or homers that you have been flying?