bertie
198 posts
Apr 23, 2008
6:50 AM
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I'm wondering what happened to the homing instinct to rollers over the years? I had rollers in the 70's and 80's and they were a lot better than the birds now days(homed that is). I guess just breeding for the roll and nothing else made them stupid!
I had rollers back then would roll 20 to 30' easy and go frequently. I fed them a lot so they would go very high like little specks in the sky but back then I didn't know that you cut their feed enough they would be so hungry they don't fly high.
I sold or gave many of my birds to people at least 20 miles or more away and I had many, many of my rollers come back from that far, when they would escape or someone wold let them out too early.
And that's another thing, the birds now days NEVER get homed like they use to. I would buy new birds and with in a month they were pretty well homed.
Now if rollers get blown a block away their history! I don't ever remember losing a bird back in the 70's and 80's other than to Owls in the evening and a few BOP here and there.
Bert
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SAT Roller
104 posts
Apr 23, 2008
7:06 AM
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Bertie,
I think today you have many more predators that affect the birds thinking. For instance, I am just getting back into rollers and it has been tough to say the least. I lost 12 or so birds that I was trying to loft in, you guessed it on their very first release I had a BOP attack, I have not seen anyone of those birds since then. They went up up up and away.
Yesterday I had my first 5 youngsters starting to take to the air along with 1 old bird I lofted in and 4 younger birds onto of the loft, I had a cat kill 5 of the 9 yonusters and the old bird was left for dead and I had to kill him. Now I have 2 of the 5 and 2 of the 4. I am starting to think that I need more bands and hopefully the parents will stay in good shape to continue breeding in our heat down here in Texas during the summer.
I don't think they are getting stupid, I think they just have a lot more to worry about....
When I had birds before I had a dog, don't have her anymore, maybe I need to get another one. She was 16 years old when we had to have her put dowm, it was tough to loose her. The wife and I are not sure we want to go through that again...
Richard
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nicksiders
2735 posts
Apr 23, 2008
10:57 AM
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I don't think we train for it nor breed for it because it is not a part of the equasion.
But, I have given people birds who lived 20 or 30 miles away then have the birds show up at my lofts after several weeks.
Nick
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luis
828 posts
Apr 23, 2008
4:09 PM
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Do you guys believe the kind of inbreeding(brother x sister for example) that has taken place with rollers over many years have something to do with their poor homing ability?
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smoke747
858 posts
Apr 24, 2008
12:00 AM
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Bertie, you are right. Back in the day the birds had better instinct or did we just raise different. Back then we used to home our birds not train them. We let our birds, just be pigeons. hang around loft full of feed on the wires as long as they came in before dark. The thing is we don't have that luxury today because of the bops.
smoke747
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Keith London
ICRC
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wafer kits
90 posts
Apr 24, 2008
2:01 AM
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Bertie;
Many times birds who have been blown off course by heavy winds, fog, BOP's etc. will stay around an area that looks familiar to them such as a park or ball-field. If they don't learn how to forage they will starve to death in 3 or 4 days or become weakened and easy prey for predators. If you have your name and phone number on their bands sometimes you can recover several lost birds by finding out where one is roosting. Although I sometimes lose a bird, while flying portable, I have recovered hundreds that I had thought were lost because they tend to hang around the area they land in for a few days. Al
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smoke747
865 posts
Apr 24, 2008
9:40 AM
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Luis think about the commies, they probably breed closer than our rollers and you catch one, take it away and it will return to the place where you caught it.
smoke747
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Keith London
ICRC
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wafer kits
91 posts
Apr 24, 2008
10:24 AM
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Keith;
While a commie may often find its way home, does anyone know how great a distance this is? I have lost birds that were released just over the hill (maybe a mile by air) due to predator attacks or inclement weather. On the other hand, I once had a grizzle return from 60 miles away that had been lost for 6 weeks. The birds fly in gradually expanding circles that, each day, may bring them closer to or further away from familiar territory. Most of these lost birds are inexperienced youngsters. Would you drop your own baby off in unfamiliar territory and expect him to find his way home? Al
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Hector Coya
102 posts
Apr 24, 2008
5:13 PM
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Last month i flew 2 birds that i put away in Sep,to save them from the Hawks,i let them go with the kit and i wached them fly away,they didnt even try to get in the kit.Hector Coya
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smoke747
872 posts
Apr 24, 2008
11:23 PM
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wafer, I wouldn't drop my baby off at a familiar place an expect her to find her way home. they barely walk home from around the corner..lol we drop them off at school and pick them up, there are preditors otu there that can hurt them too.
question; do you think temperament has anything to do with homing instinct?
smoke747
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Keith London
ICRC
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mrupnem
2 posts
Apr 25, 2008
12:37 AM
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do you think back in the days we didn't have all the wireless phone servers, could it be the frequencies in the air confuses their homing abilities?
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wafer kits
92 posts
Apr 25, 2008
11:57 AM
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Keith;
Temperament may play a role in some cases but certainly not all. If your birds use a local landmark (such as a water tower) for a reference point what happens when they can't find it? If they are carried, by circumstances, into another area with a similar water tower they may become confused and use that landmark for their navigating. Al
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smoke747
889 posts
Apr 25, 2008
12:02 PM
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wafer I'm going to start a new topic on homming instinct.
smoke747----------
Keith London
ICRC
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