washington86
6 posts
Jan 27, 2006
12:39 AM
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I've been keeping rollers for several years. I pull out some of their wings so that they can't fly so that they can get use to my yard and come back. I've been doing this for a while. is there another way to train a roller to come back home without taking some of its wing off. I remember not taking wings out and one just flew away and never came back.
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J_Star
207 posts
Jan 27, 2006
4:37 AM
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Tape their wings instead of plucking the feathers. Grap the last five or six flight feathers togther and apply either masking tape or electrical tape. Do it for both wings. If you use the masking tape, the birds still be able to fly up to five feet only but electrical tape is very heavy and would not let them do any flight. They will hop from place to place.
I recomend if you use electrical tape, just do it for one wing. Let the birds out every day to mingle around the loft and get used to the surrounding and in about 10 days, they will be fine. Good luck...
Jay
Last Edited by J_Star on Mar 08, 2006 4:56 AM
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Vibey
21 posts
Mar 02, 2006
7:13 PM
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I find that a mth of lock down is more than enough time to keep a roller penned up, b4 releasing it to fly for the first time. Ive had birds stay after just 2 weeks , but i prefer a mth to be safe . Also when your ready to cut new birds loose , fly tem very hungry , and don't scare them up to fly for the first two or three releases. Ive been told the safest way to get your birds to stay is allow them to raise a set of young in the new location b4 you release them. This makes perfect sense to , as , even if they don't stay ...you still have their young ...lol
Happy Breeding kids.
Vibey
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Mount Airy Lofts
125 posts
Mar 02, 2006
7:36 PM
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I use the tape method. Learn it from watching those old school Ohio Videos.
Great method so far. 9 out of 10 will stay. Of course, it all ways seems like that one that doesn't is the one that catches your eyes the most. What's new?
Hands down I would use the tape method over the plucking of flight feathers. Reason, the flight feathers do not go back fast enough and when they do, they are not of the normal health. The new feathers will be slightly off compared to the un plucked ones. The longer you have the birds on the ground, the longer it will take to get them up and flying.
Just my opinion,
Thor
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upcd
162 posts
Mar 02, 2006
11:38 PM
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God has blessed me here In San Bernandino. Noone seems interested in pigeon over here. But when I lived in Santa Ana it was a differnt story. Between pigeons, bikes and purses. Something was stolen every 6 months. Got 3 dogs now. Many locks and I am home most of the time. Most important is Prayer to the Most High For protection and a graud of Angels. Start again and do things differently.
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Ballrollers
290 posts
Mar 04, 2006
5:46 AM
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Jay, I am settling my A kit after moving, and I would like not to lose any! I haven't tried the taping method, but it sounds like good insurance. Do you pull the five wing feathers together into one feather width before taping, or do you wrap the tape around all five feathers, maintaining the five feather width? And is the tape applied to only one surface, top or bottoem, or is it wrapped around compeletely? Will it damage the feathers when removed? I am hoping to fly them in the World Cup this year, in only wix weeks! YITS, Cliff
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Velo99
240 posts
Mar 04, 2006
11:29 AM
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Cliff.
I tape the last four together almost in a bunch so they can`t spread them and develop lift.I use a 4 inch piece of tape go over both surfaces, wrapped around the end of the wing right on the ends of the feathers, so you can pull it off.Don`t mash it on too hard .
YITS
Kenny H
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motherlodelofts
618 posts
Mar 04, 2006
2:01 PM
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Tie a kite string on thier little legs and then use a spinning reel when you want then down.
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Mount Airy Lofts
130 posts
Mar 04, 2006
2:19 PM
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Cliff,
I down grade one feather every four days. I start with 6 flights, altho you can work with 5 easily and work my way down to three. After 4 days of having only 3 flight feathers taped, every thing comes off the next time I release the birds. I would keep my releases down to a small core of birds - say 3 at a time. Keeping them very hungry is key to controling them if they take off. After all 3 birds as settled, I would release the next say 3 on so forth. I find it very important to start letting the birds come out by themselves once you hit the 4 feather taped mark.
Make sure you have enough tape to go around twice. Pinch all the feathers into one solid width and tape. It should look like one solid feather after being taped.
I have settled my birds in about 2 weeks with this method. Two weeks is on the safe side.
Thor
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Ballrollers
293 posts
Mar 04, 2006
4:54 PM
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Thor and Kenny, Thanks for your input. I'm going to give it a shot next weekend. Wish me luck!
Scott, if I thought that would keep me from loosing any, I'd try it!!
My brother kicked out his young kit of Jacs today for the first time...no tape. It looks like two have strayed away.....maybe they'll make it back tomorrow, though. I don't have that kind of brass ones with my A-kit, though! I'm using tape!!
TITS, Cliff
Last Edited by Ballrollers on Mar 04, 2006 4:54 PM
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J_Star
284 posts
Mar 05, 2006
9:21 AM
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Cliff, sorry did not get to your post earlier. But like everybody told you it will work. When you don't pull enough flight feather together, the bird will still fly sluggish. For this reason I put the tape to go three times over and do it for both wings if using masking tape. The feathers get some damage a little around the tape when pulled off but it grows back quickly. If using electrical tape, use on one wing. Let the birds out after a few days and they will fly to the roof of the kit box. Then after a while call them back to eat. After a few days, they are good to go.
Jay
Last Edited by J_Star on Mar 05, 2006 9:22 AM
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Ballrollers
294 posts
Mar 06, 2006
9:32 AM
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So should I expect to spend the day chasing low-flying pigeons all over the pasture? LOL! Cliff
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J_Star
285 posts
Mar 06, 2006
12:44 PM
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No you don't. They know that they are unable to fly so they stay put. When you use the tape on both wings, they will only left to 3 feet max.
Jay
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ron
7 posts
Mar 07, 2006
9:03 AM
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I herd it mentioned that you can soap the feathers ? Can anyone explane this ?
thnx ron
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J_Star
287 posts
Mar 08, 2006
4:46 AM
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Ron, I don't think soap is a good idea. Pigeons like to clean their feathers using their peaks. Soap acts like laxative when swallowed. My common sense tells me that if soup used, your birds will become dehydrated very soon and their droppings become liquid.
Haven't you notice sometimes when you go to a nice restaurant and spend some big bucks on a nice meal. When you go home your stomach acts funny and you have to use the bathroom right away to relieve yourself. Or out of a group outing only one person might feel that way while the others don’t. That is because when they washed their dishes did not rinse them properly to wash out the soup completely and in turn your visit to that restaurant becomes a bad experience. Hope this helps.
Jay
Last Edited by J_Star on Mar 08, 2006 4:50 AM
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Opinionated Blowhard
19 posts
Mar 08, 2006
8:53 AM
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Never pull out a pigeons wings. It will bleed to death.
Ive soaped the wings and never seen a problem. Just use dishwashing liquid and quickly run it over the bird's last five or six flight feathers, between your fingers. When it dries, the pigeon wont be able to fly well. But it will take the moult or lots of baths for the soaped flights to recover.
Better bet is tiny rubber bands around the last four or five flights for a few days.
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on a roll
2 posts
Mar 08, 2006
8:12 PM
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are you using any kind of settling cage on top of your kit box. i use a 2x4 welded wire cage, that allows the birds to exit the kit box and fly to the roof without ever getting out. do this for 2 to 3 weeks. they learn to trap in also. the first time out into the real world i let them out the trap door and let them come out on their own, also they should be hungry. do this for a week or so. hopefully they will get up and fly around on their own, if not they may need help. you can get a trash bag and tie it to pole or something ,you want them to be scared of the trash bag and not you. be patient the first couple of weeks are tough but they will come together. Jerry
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Sourland
43 posts
Mar 09, 2006
4:48 PM
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Scott, how about the kite string and spinning reel as in fishing for skysharks? What size hook should you use?
Geo.
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