UkPigeonRacing

So this morning I basketed up my youngsters for their third trading toss. I took all 23 including the one that was missing from Monday but turned up yesterday. I opened up the traps for them if they managed to beat me home. I let them go at just after 7am. I got home at around 7-30. Roxanna was in the summerhouse.watching out for them. They weren’t back at this point. Roxanna said that the old birds were going mad to get out. Usually I let them out with the youngsters in the morning but because of training this week they have only been going out in the afternoons. So I decided to let them out as I thought I would still notice when the youngsters arrived as only a few old birds would come out. I went up to the loft and opened the front. The birds shot out. I went into the loft and there was a cat sat on top of the box perches, just one pigeon was still sitting on her eggs and one small youngster was in the loft. Everything else had flown out. I chucked the cat out. The old birds were flying all over the place and I think at some point the youngsters joined them. The cat must have gone through the Sputnik trap. It is a cat that has been around for a few years and often sleeps in the garden but doesn’t usually both with the birds. I do think that the cat was probably just as frightened being in the loft as the pigeons were it being there. I think what was upsetting the birds more was the cat frantically trying to get out. There was no sign of any of the birds being injured. I cleaned the lofts out and tried feeding them in. Most of the youngsters came in as they had been oblivious to what had been happening while they had been away. But the old birds wouldn’t even come down on to the loft. Eventually during the morning the odd one started going back in. By lunch time they were all back in and when I went into the loft all was calm and the birds were either back on their nests or around my feet as normal.
On counting up the youngsters all 23 of them were there too. So the one that had been missing done ok this morning.
So in the end all is well. But as I said in the title “it could have been much worse”

That certainly could of been worse thankfully all is well and well done on a good trainer

Lucky man. You better do the lottery tonight mate!

Banjo goes in the lofts and visits the birds. They don't worry about him much. I think they can sense that he doesn't mean to hurt them.
Any other cat in there would not be good.
Yep, it could have been worse.

You wouldn’t think anything untoward had happened this morning. All birds seem happy. Wandering around the garden and happily going in and out of the loft.

Andy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 20, 2023 3:23 pm You would think anything untoward had happened this morning. All birds seem happy. Wandering around the garden and happily going in and out of the loft.

That's good mate

As you say Andy it could have been so much worse !!! Good to hear that no damage was done and that your youngsters all got home ok well done.
Just hope the cat was frightened enough to stay away now

Murray wrote: ↑Wed Jul 19, 2023 10:42 pm Banjo goes in the lofts and visits the birds. They don't worry about him much. I think they can sense that he doesn't mean to hurt them.
Any other cat in there would not be good.
Yep, it could have been worse.

I had a cat years ago that used to wander in and out of the loft and lay in the garden with the birds. I had her from a kitten and trained her from the word go to leave the birds alone, she also kept other cats out of the garden too. This worked well for years until a new entire Tom cat moved into the area and started terrorising my cat and subsequently the birds, I lost several birds before they realised not all cats were their friends

Trev wrote: ↑Thu Jul 20, 2023 7:03 pm

Murray wrote: ↑Wed Jul 19, 2023 10:42 pm Banjo goes in the lofts and visits the birds. They don't worry about him much. I think they can sense that he doesn't mean to hurt them.
Any other cat in there would not be good.
Yep, it could have been worse.

I had a cat years ago that used to wander in and out of the loft and lay in the garden with the birds. I had her from a kitten and trained her from the word go to leave the birds alone, she also kept other cats out of the garden too. This worked well for years until a new entire Tom cat moved into the area and started terrorising my cat and subsequently the birds, I lost several birds before they realised not all cats were their friends

I purchased some birds off a guy when I started back up about 12/13 years ago who was the same his cat used to go and lie with birds in garden and loft, I nearly had heart attack first time I seen it when I said to him he said never touches them and same as you keeps other cats away