CooCoo
43 posts
Feb 18, 2007
1:56 PM
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How old should your birds be for their first fly?.Do you fly them alone ,like same age or with a few older birds.How do you get them ready for the first release into the air? ,thanks .Dave
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MCCORMICKLOFTS
1193 posts
Feb 18, 2007
8:43 PM
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Dave, I move mine over to the kit box when their feathers under their wings haven't filled in yet. I have a wire cage on the front of the kit box so they can go in and out. When you see them in the cage in the morning, you know it is cool to just open the door and let them do whatever they want to do which is usually just loaf around on the door or roof. I let mine hang out all day long and close the door at night. By about the sixth or seventh day of doing this they will come rushing out to get out on the roof and some will take to the air for a few moments. Once they are at the point where they all rush out and you have seen them make a few laps around the yard, I will often tap the roof and make them fly. They know where home is because they have been going into it every day. It is a few week process and you have to just let them be and have patience. They will be ready to fly when they are ready.
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CooCoo
44 posts
Feb 19, 2007
5:39 AM
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Thank you very much for the info...........Dave
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MILO
169 posts
Feb 19, 2007
9:43 AM
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Hi Dave.
Brian's simple formula is really all there is to it. I would like to add one thing however. I think it is important to be able to control and trap youngsters in at a young age. The earlier good habits are formed, the easier getting the kit going and developing in the long run. New fanciers can become very frustrated in the beginning, and lose excitement just as quickly as they got motivated due to lighting birds on trees, poles, or phone wires. There is a fine line between keeping youngsters hungry enough to trap and proper nutrition. As the squeakers begin to venture up onto the roof of the box, they need to learn to trap in very quickly. Whether you fly English style or Bob Traps, this must be done soon. This can be done with the rattling of the feed can, a whistle, or whatever method you prefer. This sound they will remember for the rest of their flying lives! lol Once the birds take to the sky, and begin taking their first initial flights, they should be just hungry enough to respond to the command sound and come in quickly. It's all about control. I give full feed for squeaks until they hit the kitbox roof, and then as they progress, once a day, or twice a day, just enough to keep them the right nutrition and to respond to my commands. Good luck Dave. This is half the fun of it.
c
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CooCoo
45 posts
Feb 19, 2007
4:06 PM
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Thank you Milo..............Dave
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Huey
48 posts
Feb 20, 2007
8:12 AM
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I have a 75 foot pine tree within five foot of one end of my kit box and a power line within 10 foot of the other end. Kit box is 16 foot long.
I got BHRs last April and have spent most of my first year learning how to get them out of the kit, into the air for twenty minutes, flying above tree top high, and trapping in without landing in the tree or on the power line.
All you can eat week. I put them in the kit at 25 days old plus or minus a day or two. I feed them all they will eat for a week or two weeks depending on when other young birds come off the nest. Each day I set them on the trap door and let them trap in. I do this one pigeon at a time.
Cage week, I put them in a cage on top of the kit. I let them set between 10 minutes and a half day. Half day is better. But sometimes time don’t permit it. The first day of cage week I feed them their fly rations when they trap in. I hold the cage over the trap so they go in instead of flying into the tree. Each day I cut their feed down so that by the end of the week they are getting half rations or less.
First fly week, I open the door and let them fly onto the roof; it takes a few minutes sometimes. I don’t scare them at all.
They will be hungry. I let them set a couple minutes then whistle them in and give them just a hand full of feed. Wait a half hour and let them out again for a couple minutes, whistle them in for another handful of feed. Wait an hour or so and let them out again. The third time I may let them sit longer but if they start to fly I go whistle them in and feed them the rest of their feed. They get full fly rations now. At this time they think they are starving. They will try to fly to me if I am around in the yard and end up in a tree or on the power line. So I try not to let them fly. I follow this same three time feed the next day. Usually Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the week I let them out and after 15 minutes to half hour I whistle them in and feed them their flying ration. Usually by the end of the week they are flying five or ten minutes and not landing in the trees or power line.
Second week I let out some older birds, for me that is four to six months old. I let the older birds fly for twenty minutes then turn the youngsters out and let them fly with the older birds. Birds go everywhere. But they all trap in correctly. Sometimes I separate the youngsters from the older birds after they trap. This lets me fly the older birds a few minutes each morning before turning out the younger birds. By the end of this week they are all flying together for the full time.
Last Edited by on Feb 20, 2007 8:16 AM
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CooCoo
47 posts
Feb 20, 2007
1:24 PM
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Thank You Huey...............Dave
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