UkPigeonRacing

Morning all, do members fly pigeons out over the winter period or are they locked up until spring. BOP maybe an issue for some that don't want to risk letting them out. Has anyone noticed any difference with flying out over winter other than fitness, or the same with pigeons being locked up for a few months anything that crop's up possible wing lock.

Used to fly them all year but now mainly kept in

CHARLTON34 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 06, 2024 9:23 am Morning all, do members fly pigeons out over the winter period or are they locked up until spring. BOP maybe an issue for some that don't want to risk letting them out. Has anyone noticed any difference with flying out over winter other than fitness, or the same with pigeons being locked up for a few months anything that crop's up possible wing lock.

I haven’t for a good while not since the hawks got worse here , never really seen a issue cocks go out with me standing guard late February never had wing lock

If I never had the hawks I would probably have them out once a week but only for a quick fly still with the in the air or in the loft rules none of that being allowed on the garden walking
I may let my hens out January this year a couple of times to get the yearling used to the new section .

I prefer them to be out - but not in the wet/damp weather

I try to get mine out on better days if I can but not this morning it's been damp & mist here, just low level cloud cover all this week.

Before they start rearing I liked to get them as close to full fitness as possible (without them seeing the basket)

It's a bit different here as the winters are milder. In Bendigo I tried to fly them every day of the year, rotten weather being the only reason to keep them in.

I try and let them out as often as possible, but come January they'll be out every day that the weather is fit.

I haven’t had mine out for weeks now since losing 4 to the hawk after racing had finished. Mine are all separated now. As my hens are virtually all widowhood hens and only go out when paired up they only know to trap into the widowhood section. So if I was to let them out that’s where they would want to go into. The cocks are all in the widowhood section and also kept in at present. I will be pairing them up on Boxing Day and will then be let out every day while sitting and rearing.

Mine are shut up now until February/March, I was letting them out at the weekends just while I clean them out, but having lost 2 in 2 weeks they are now locked in.
I'm planning on splitting them up this year but will probably leave that until I've had my vet inspection in December. They will be paired up mid to late February, I don't want youngsters flying out much before April to limit the risk of losses to the Sparrow Hawk, my old birds will start going out again once they are paired up. It does mean that they are unlikely to be fully fit for the early races but I'll use those races to get them fit for the longer ones, which are the ones I'm really interested in.

In answer to your other question Dave, if it wasn't for the bloody hawk they would be on an open loft all through the winter too, whatever the weather.