pigeoncrazy
13 posts
May 02, 2008
5:28 AM
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A little while back, I posted some questions about portable kits and got a lot of really helpful information from the folks here. I have been reading, looking at lots of websites, and watching video about training birds - and I know this is something I want to do, and can learn how to do with some practice.
I still have not gotten any birds though. Because there's one big question still nagging me...
For those who fly portable -
How much time per day would you say that you need to spend training and exercising your kit? And does this always have to be done at the same time of day?
Before I get my birds, I want to make sure that I really have enough time to devote to it. If I have to wait until I am retired or win the lottery, then so be it...so please be honest with your answers. How much time do you spend training and exercising your portable kit?
Thanks again!!
~Karen
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sippi
214 posts
May 02, 2008
9:42 AM
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Hey Karen. How much depends on you. It wouldnt be fair to ask me how much because I spend about five to six hours a day with mine. But I fly six to nine kits and I dont work. That said you would need at least an hour a day to begin with and after that depending on how far you have to go to fly at least a half hour. Once the birds are trained to the box it gets a lot easier. I start out flying my young kits together while training then after a month I seperate them by breed and family. If you are flying one breed only it will be much simplier for you. I am flying four breeds with ten families so mine is more time consuming. I assume you are going to fly Birmnighams so I would guess you still need to plan on an hour a day. Once you get them up and rolling though the fly time cuts back to every other day or every third day so then you are cut back on time required. That is why I fly so many kits. That way I can still fly every day which is what I like to do. Also depends on whether you want to have a young bird kit in training and an old bird kit etc. Also there will be those days when they just wont come down. I had a kit fly three and a half hours the other day(Orientals) I didnt get to fly anything else cause I didnt want to mix the kits. I try to keep my Birms at about thirty to fourty five minutes. Sometimes they will go an hour. But I would rather have them fly longer than risk a DQ.
sippi
Last Edited by on May 02, 2008 9:45 AM
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pigeoncrazy
14 posts
May 02, 2008
9:53 AM
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Thanks Sippi!
Good point...I should clarify that I want to start with one small kit of Birmingham Rollers. So it sounds like I'm maybe looking at an hour a day for a couple months and then cutting back to 1/2 hour a day?
If I fly in the evenings during the week, can I switch to morning or afternoon on the weekends? Or does it always have to be the same time? That's another thing I am worried about, because of my work schedule and my commute...
One source said just to time things carefully so that the birds will always be hungry when they go out. I can handle that, but if it always has to be the same time, I don't know if I can do it.
Last Edited by on May 02, 2008 9:55 AM
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maxspin
222 posts
May 02, 2008
11:12 AM
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Karen,
I don't think that you can schedule flying time. Especially if you are portable.
Feed and weather play a huge role in how long your birds will fly. Just when you think that you have it figured out they will stay up for 2 hours for no particular reason. Even without flying portable I end up with BOP induced overflys. I can not even imagine what this would be like if I was portable and on a schedule.
- I am at a park
- there is a Cooper hawk circling under my kit
- my kit just skied out
- I need to be home getting ready for a dinner engagement……...
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wafer kits
99 posts
May 02, 2008
1:59 PM
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Hi Karen;
If you start out by keeping the birds in a small settling cage on top of your kit box, you can put them out any time of day and anywhere you want. When you begin flying without the cage choose a time when you are not busy such as on a weekend. Initially you may have to be patient and wait for youngsters to find their way back to the box. After they have become used to the routine you can regulate their time out by the amount you feed them. If something keeps them up too long or they won't trap in, you can go home and leave them. Come back in a few hours and they will still be there waiting for you! Al
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pigeonflipper
34 posts
May 02, 2008
5:18 PM
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hi all,,,could someone please post the address of those web sites that cover mobile flying,,,or the video like karen mentioned,,any info would be great,,thanks,,
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FLY HIGH=ROLL DEEP
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sippi
217 posts
May 02, 2008
6:08 PM
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Here is one in English. Most are in German or French. One of the best is in French but I cannot find it. Google fluegrollen (I think that is how to spell it) that is German and will give you some sites even though you cant read them or at least I cant.
http://www.rolerklubsrbije.com/roler%20klub%20srbije%20en/trening%20na%20lecaki%20pokretni%20kavez.html
Sippi
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sippi
218 posts
May 02, 2008
6:13 PM
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I didnt answer your question but Al did and yes you can fly anytime you like just make sure they are hungry. Training them to a dropper is good also. You can get them down when you want. I am raising some white fantails now for droppers for my Euro kit. Also for a Euro box (same as a wafer kit) you need to start with very young squeaks and have them very tame.
sippi
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pigeoncrazy
15 posts
May 02, 2008
6:30 PM
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Thanks all for your quick responses!!
I really think I can do this then -just need to have a wafer kit built and get the squeekers. Incidentally I will soon be attending some of the preliminaries for the World Cup here in New England and am very excited to meet everyone and see the birds fly.
My weekday schedule is a little tight, but where there is a will there is a way. Especially now with the days getting longer.
~Karen
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Electric-man
1531 posts
May 02, 2008
6:50 PM
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Once you start getting things figured out and your birds start performing, you will find it easy to find time to spend with them! Its hard for me to find time to spend time on all the other stuff now! LOL
Expect a few headaches and heartbreaks at first though, just part of the learning!
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Val
"Site Moderator"
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pigeonflipper
35 posts
May 02, 2008
6:55 PM
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thanks a heap sippi,,,
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FLY HIGH=ROLL DEEP
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