Liberty for young birds

[Andy]

At what age do you wean Neil? You say you let them fly back to the loft 7 days after weaning! I wean mine at 21 days, 7 days later they wouldn’t even be able to fly up to a perch let along fly from my hand to the trap.
I am quite happy to let mine come out when ready and do what they want for a couple of hours or so. I don’t mind if mine go up on the house or even in the tree behind the loft. I’ve never had trouble with them trapping when called and trap well on race days.

[NeilA]

At what age do you wean Neil? You say you let them fly back to the loft 7 days after weaning! I wean mine at 21 days, 7 days later they wouldn’t even be able to fly up to a perch let along fly from my hand to the trap.
I am quite happy to let mine come out when ready and do what they want for a couple of hours or so. I don’t mind if mine go up on the house or even in the tree behind the loft. I’ve never had trouble with them trapping when called and trap well on race days.

About 26-28 days Andy later than most I know I want to see them eating as I have no time to help them

I throw them up in the air they would be say 35 days from a yard to 3 yards as the days goes on they waddle in still with yellow heads
My board is about 3 foot by 2 foot at chest height they hit that and run in
I use a garden cane is they look to turn away from the direction of the board they are directed in
They never go on the house roofs although to be honest I had two do it last year I gave them a chance both were gone very quickly by training one before I hate birds to do that it’s a bad habit I think but not knocking your method at all
In my head what I teach them early stays with them but bad habits they develop can also stay with them
When they run say somedays for 45 min somedays for 2 hours they hit the trap soon as they return I always wonder why they fly that long if they trap like that on return why go to start with
But it works and from training it seems to work the same
The best fancier here flies south his trap like there life depends on it if they circle at home from training he trains them again so there folding like a widow diving to the loft
Unfortunately I work and don’t have funds either to do that and mine do circle 2/3 times from training as babies

[NeilA]

I remember I had a very good fancier visit me I had about 35 babies I thought I would impress him as I knew in 2 mins I could get them in
Feeling pleased how I did just that he said what was that I said what do you mean he said your be last in my fed if you took that long from calling to in so I re thought my method of trapping and this method means I would say I could have 35 in in about 25/ 30 secs and would be quicker if I had wider bobs I think.

[Andy]

At what age do you wean Neil? You say you let them fly back to the loft 7 days after weaning! I wean mine at 21 days, 7 days later they wouldn’t even be able to fly up to a perch let along fly from my hand to the trap.
I am quite happy to let mine come out when ready and do what they want for a couple of hours or so. I don’t mind if mine go up on the house or even in the tree behind the loft. I’ve never had trouble with them trapping when called and trap well on race days.

About 26-28 days Andy later than most I know I want to see them eating as I have no time to help them

I throw them up in the air they would be say 35 days from a yard to 3 yards as the days goes on they waddle in still with yellow heads
My board is about 3 foot by 2 foot at chest height they hit that and run in
I use a garden cane is they look to turn away from the direction of the board they are directed in
They never go on the house roofs although to be honest I had two do it last year I gave them a chance both were gone very quickly by training one before I hate birds to do that it’s a bad habit I think but not knocking your method at all
In my head what I teach them early stays with them but bad habits they develop can also stay with them
When they run say somedays for 45 min somedays for 2 hours they hit the trap soon as they return I always wonder why they fly that long if they trap like that on return why go to start with
But it works and from training it seems to work the same
The best fancier here flies south his trap like there life depends on it if they circle at home from training he trains them again so there folding like a widow diving to the loft
Unfortunately I work and don’t have funds either to do that and mine do circle 2/3 times from training as babies

The late great Jed Jackson used a cane to trap his youngsters. But of course he was blind. I’ve watched him in action when I was a boy and he had incredible control over them. As they landed he would tap the cane on the drop board and they all ran in.

Yes I do wean mine young but have never had any problems with them eating or drinking. In 50+ years I’ve never shown a youngster where the water is.

My loft is surrounded by tall trees or buildings. There is only one direction that if they came on that line they could get straight down onto the loft. Even this I have got to cut down a lot of branches from a tree in front of the loft before the spring. So they do tend to land on the house beside the loft and drop straight down onto the loft. I would rather that than them circling around trying to get down.

[NeilA]

I used to wean at 20days
days or take them away with the hens at 18 even never had a issue just no need to for me to do that as i don’t breed from my racers
I have 8 pair of stock 5 are multiple fed pigeons 1 I bought in February one in April Mike found me from Shaun McDonough and my new cock I got last week of out of a double fed winner who had a 3rd bicc snd 4th nfc or the other way around so that my 8 nothing special but 5 I know are reliable
So I carry 4 feeders to slip my best widowhood cock eggs under
The 2nd round of eggs I give away or throw then let them go down again as I hate birds sitting eggs with big ybs in the box I need it clean and sprayed then go again just my way

[Murray]

From the Blog of Ad Shaerlaeckens today

"And yes, they do exist! What many have in common is that they give their youngsters a lot of freedom in the spring, say until May. So not: 'Let them go, clean them and after an hour or so back inside?' Or not, as you often hear, 'fly or inside. No roof sitters here.'
Many of those people who have few losses DO have roof sitters.
At least for a few months."

It made me have a think about young birds, how important it is that they have liberty to explore and even just poke around. I don't mind them sitting on the roof surveying the world. Does it turn them into slow trappers or pigeons that will not listen? I don't think so.
When it's time to start basket training them, a few days on tight rations makes them sharpen up quick smart!

What do others think? Do you put them on a tight reign from day one, or let 'em go for a while?

I wean them then 7 days later they go on the board after being released 3 times from a few yards one at a time so they run through the trap mainly through fear but i think that installs the safe place is the loft in them
They get about 2 1/2 weeks to sit in the loft and do as they like then they must fly
They can do all there exploring from the sky
I can’t stand seeing pigeons sat in a roof or pecking around the garden or with poor habits
Then my ybs know that soon as they finish the fly they must be in
When they run they can be gone a hour but soon as they appear there down and in at times there in without me seeing them if I’m in the old bird loft
This stays with them I think so from racing they know it’s straight down and in . From training I have had them filmed and there out the sky and falling off the board as there are to many trying to get on it

You would hate my place then Neil

[Murray]

I don't like bob wires, I hate seeing them hesitating about going in. I have sputniks and the little ones have seen the older ones going in and out. when they go out for the first time I leave the front open and sometimes they go back in the front, and other times they go in through the bars.
It's entertaining to see a small one out for the first time flap up onto the roof and drop onto the sputnik and straight in

[NeilA]

From the Blog of Ad Shaerlaeckens today

"And yes, they do exist! What many have in common is that they give their youngsters a lot of freedom in the spring, say until May. So not: 'Let them go, clean them and after an hour or so back inside?' Or not, as you often hear, 'fly or inside. No roof sitters here.'
Many of those people who have few losses DO have roof sitters.
At least for a few months."

It made me have a think about young birds, how important it is that they have liberty to explore and even just poke around. I don't mind them sitting on the roof surveying the world. Does it turn them into slow trappers or pigeons that will not listen? I don't think so.
When it's time to start basket training them, a few days on tight rations makes them sharpen up quick smart!

What do others think? Do you put them on a tight reign from day one, or let 'em go for a while?

I wean them then 7 days later they go on the board after being released 3 times from a few yards one at a time so they run through the trap mainly through fear but i think that installs the safe place is the loft in them
They get about 2 1/2 weeks to sit in the loft and do as they like then they must fly
They can do all there exploring from the sky
I can’t stand seeing pigeons sat in a roof or pecking around the garden or with poor habits
Then my ybs know that soon as they finish the fly they must be in
When they run they can be gone a hour but soon as they appear there down and in at times there in without me seeing them if I’m in the old bird loft
This stays with them I think so from racing they know it’s straight down and in . From training I have had them filmed and there out the sky and falling off the board as there are to many trying to get on it

You would hate my place then Neil

It’s not for me Murray
Maybe one day when I pack in being competitive and enjoy the birds I would

[NeilA]

I don't like bob wires, I hate seeing them hesitating about going in. I have sputniks and the little ones have seen the older ones going in and out. when they go out for the first time I leave the front open and sometimes they go back in the front, and other times they go in through the bars.
It's entertaining to see a small one out for the first time flap up onto the roof and drop onto the sputnik and straight in

Shouldn’t hesitate Murray if trained should be straight in like walking in as ignore g is there
we have our pads on the boards so as long as the boards folds up so no bird can be clocked if the trap is closed its legal
It’s all in the training
Sputnik here wouldn’t win a sprint unless they clock on a board outside that can be folded up after

[Murray]

Here the pad must be within the walls of the loft. Having the pad on the board outside the loft is not legal. So some have a walk in so the pigeons walk over the pad then go in the bob wires.
I reckon my pigeons are as quick or quicker landing on the sputnik and tipping straight in onto the pad. You are right, it's training, routine. In Bendigo I could get 30 young birds in through the sputnik in 30 seconds every day of the week.
One of the most enjoyable things I can imagine is taking them about 35 kilometres for a toss, racing them home and dropping them in the toft in the time it takes to say it!
And then on Sunday afternoon, if it's sunny, they can have a bath and lie on the lawn