CooCoo
65 posts
Mar 09, 2007
4:38 AM
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Both my buddy and i have 2 young birds from the same family that seem to be extremely friendly when you are with them .His will come and sit on his head mine will come right to me.
The rest of the birds shy away .Have any of you guys ever experienced this type of personality trait ?
Thanks
Dave
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Flyin Hawaiian
93 posts
Mar 09, 2007
6:41 AM
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Flighty birds are just that. Temperament is bred for
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J_Star
811 posts
Mar 09, 2007
6:47 AM
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I don't think that if the bird is handled while young make that difference. Maybe it does but I have birds that I didn't handle very much as young and they are the friendliest and not afraid at all while some others are just nervous and jumpy. All my birds are inbreed and related in every way. But each bird has their own personality.
Jay
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Santandercol
854 posts
Mar 09, 2007
7:47 AM
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Whatever,but if you're trying to tell me handling your birds when young doesn't make a difference to how they react when you go inside the loft or open the kitbox door you must have brown eyes cause it's all backed up inside you.LOL.----------
Kelly
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Frankie
137 posts
Mar 09, 2007
8:22 AM
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Kelly I agree with you my experience the more you handle the bird the tamer they are but I do not know if that would be a good thing in a roller becasue if they are too tame they may not perform as good as they should. Frankie
Last Edited by on Mar 09, 2007 8:48 AM
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smokey
130 posts
Mar 09, 2007
12:37 PM
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i have a habbit of finding a youngster that i like for one reason or another more than the others. this bird always becomes more tame then the others because i spend alot of time in the loft handeling it. from that sometimes other young birds tame on there own but never quite as calm. smokey
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Santandercol
855 posts
Mar 09, 2007
5:02 PM
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Sorry Ivan and Jay,
Didn't mean to be rude,but I do notice a difference with birds I spend more time with are generally tamer.Handling,whistling,talking to them helps to make them calmer,as well as almost any animal man has domesticated.I can't see how having your rollers glad to see you and willing to be held without alot of struggling can be detrimental to their performing in the air.When I'm around the kitbox I like them to be calm(except when hungry).When the red flag is flapping,they know what that means.
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Kelly
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Flyin Hawaiian
94 posts
Mar 09, 2007
5:30 PM
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Kelly,
Definitely you can calm a birds demeanor by handling them alot just as providing low ceilings will do much of the same. Some family's of birds no matter what you do to them will be of the nature to be pressed and flighty. Those are the types you want to stay away from at all costs. The stock bird that gets off the nest immediately when you are present the bird that eludes you at all costs those are the types that will fly for hours on end when a feral bird fly's by and not land. Temperament is a must and the good ones that have this characteristic are the ones you want to cultivate more of the same. The true aerial champion is the ones that covet this temperament and are a bit cocky about it without being to stuck up but demand you to look at them and aren't afraid of thier surroundings and environment. Temperament must be bred for it isn't going to happen by massaging them at an early age.JMHO
Ivan
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birdman
316 posts
Mar 09, 2007
6:16 PM
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Which temperament do you guys prefer?
Calm, but will stand their ground when approached by you or by another bird invading their space. Struggle just a little bit when handled but relaxed after a few seconds. Cocky temperament/ mildly quarrelsome.
Or
As calm as doves and won't get startled or flighty over anything. When handled they don't squirm or tense up. All around mild mannered but will strut their stuff. Not quarrelsome at all.
PS: I'm talking about natural temperament. Not birds that have been conditioned to handling, etc...
Russ
Last Edited by on Mar 09, 2007 7:05 PM
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luis
217 posts
Mar 09, 2007
6:51 PM
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I handle my birds constantly from the time they hatch and some are very untame.Temperment is in the genes and some birds will be that way no matter how much you play w/um!
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smokey
131 posts
Mar 09, 2007
7:23 PM
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i like calm birds. i think birds that r nervous i think would be lost easier. just my thoughts but im not right very often. smokey
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Shaun
454 posts
Mar 09, 2007
11:34 PM
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I'm with Luis. My Mason birds are, bar none, flighty little buggers. Whilst they're not actually afraid and certainly don't get off nests, nor do they behave badly as flyers, they just don't like to be handled. They're perfectly calm with me standing in the loft, but if I make an approach to pick one off a perch, they're all over the place.
I experimented by handling certain youngsters more than others, but it made absolutely no difference. I don't even bother feeling them up any more, as I know that once they can fly, they're going to be flighty.
Shaun
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Velo99
972 posts
Mar 10, 2007
2:48 AM
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Depends on the bird. I handle most of my birds pretty regularly. Some freak out and some don`t. I do believe some of it is genetic. I have one of my older squeaks likes to jump off the top of the breeder boxes onto my shoulder when I go in the loft to feed. His dad is pretty mellow too.
Handling squeakers might get them used to human touch but it doesn`t make them like it.Once they get bigger and can fly well the honeymoon is over.
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V99
Flippin`The Bird!
http://www.bluedotloft.50megs.com
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Santandercol
859 posts
Mar 10, 2007
5:52 AM
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OK,
This is new to me,to be able to have the extra time to spend this season with my YBs.The 3 pair of pumpers I'm breeding from are all quiet birds,easy to catch and handle,Neible strain.At this point the 17 squeakers I have in the kitbox are very tame and calm whenever I open the door whether they are hungry or not they are all over my hand.I'll let ya'all know how they turn out temperment wise in a few months.I'm glad I have a family of rollers that seem quite tame.Now my white racer breeders are flighty and nervous as hell,all 4 pair.The 16 ybs I have from them are all really cool when I go into the loft.I walk right by them even brushing up against them sometimes as my loft is narrow and they don't mind at all.Seems handling does affect those guys.
YITS
Kel.
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CooCoo
67 posts
Mar 10, 2007
5:23 PM
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Thanks for all the replies guys.......Dave
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sundance
74 posts
Mar 12, 2007
6:26 PM
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Dave, I`m not sure about it affecting their performance. I personally havent seen any evidence of it, with my birds. I do like a kit to be calm when I`m in the kitbox for whatever reason. With some of my kits I begin while they are youngsters in the box after a couple weeks. I begin by hand feeding them when I know they are hungry. If I get a couple to begin eating out of my hand every day, it is`nt long before the whole kit is doing it.
To me one advantage is that when they are flying and are hungry I can go to the box and they will come right to me without being afraid of me. I do have to be careful not to walk to the box while the judge is here though.LOL. It is also a pretty cool sight for people who dont know pigeons and seeing them for the first time up close. They come down and will land on my head and arms.Kids love it and I`m sure it makes an impression on them they will remember a long time. Again , Im not sure what this does to affect performance in a kit but it is good public relations. LOL Just my 2 cents worth. OK, ...so I threw in about a bucks worth........ha, ha, fly onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
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