Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1792 posts
May 29, 2010
6:12 PM
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I have nine in my weaning pen. I place them all in together and then check their crop to make sure they are eating on their own. Sometimes I will place them back with their parents for a feeding if they are not getting enough. This works 90% of the time but when the parents decide enough is enough, they refuse to feed. I do exactly as the parents, I keep feed in front of them but refuse to feed them by hand.
Tonight, a shoulder bird ( one that seeks you out each time you enter the loft ) flew to my hand and tried to feed from between my fingers. Cute, YES, did I feed it, NO!
I tried to make this point awhile back. If you want a pet then get a budgie. If you want a strong stud of rollers, then keep the very best. This selection starts from the day you chose your breeder pairs, through the day you ultimately decide the fate of your young bird crop. Some will make the holdover kit, some may make the stock loft, many will not.
I have lost very good birds from flying in the face of the hawk. I do everything within my power to give my birds the best fighting chance. I don't want a kit box full of non-flying pets. I want hard spinning, good kitting, well behaved rollers and there is only one way, they fly!
Thom
Last Edited by on May 29, 2010 6:13 PM
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Snake Doctor
GOLD MEMBER
458 posts
May 29, 2010
9:01 PM
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Well said, my Brother!
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"Semper Fi"
SD
Roy
Georgia
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steve49
509 posts
May 30, 2010
9:07 AM
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i do however enjoy the tameness of some of my kit birds, and these have already flown well and proven their worth. my granddaughter loves to come and 'feed' the pigeons, which i encourage by offering a small amount of feed in my hand. some even fly to the screen where i'll offer a pea or such and they'll take it thru the wire. i'm just offering this to prove that they can be tame enough to eat from your hand and still spin and roll and make you proud.
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Steve in Blue Point, NY
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1793 posts
May 30, 2010
9:27 AM
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Steve, My birds are all tame to hand. I walk into the loft and they are all over me. To manage a proper kit you must be able to distance yourself from turning them all into pets. They can fly and roll and be pets but can you do what is right and necessary?
I tame them all, they are equal in my eyes until they prove themselves in the air. Then if I want to choose a special breeder to call my own, I can.
It's simple really. No special treatment, they fly until I can't stand the thought of losing one and by then they have earned their place in my stock loft.
Thom
Last Edited by on May 30, 2010 9:28 AM
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Pogohawk
143 posts
May 30, 2010
9:31 AM
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I have found that the more tame homers I have have proven themselves in competition over my more "flighty" pigeons. My kit is also very tame but not at the cost of performance. Though some of them are tame, I do not let it effect my opinion of the quality of the pigeon. A tame pigeon and a flighty pigeon both have potential for cull in my loft.
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1794 posts
May 30, 2010
11:16 AM
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I want all of my birds to be this tame. No pets, just easy to handle birds. I have my favourites but I wait to pick them until after they are proven.
Thom
Last Edited by on May 30, 2010 11:20 AM
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DeepSpinLofts
1669 posts
May 30, 2010
7:10 PM
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Re: "I don't want a kit box full of non-flying pets. I want hard spinning, good kitting, well behaved rollers and there is only one way, they fly!"
Amen to that Thom.
Marcus
Deep Spin Lofts
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1795 posts
May 31, 2010
5:52 AM
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Hey Marcus, If the don't fly they might as well be rabbits. That does not mean they can't be tame and well behaved. I just don't name them.
Thom
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JDA
GOLD MEMBER
842 posts
May 31, 2010
6:13 AM
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My seven young bird,s that made it through paratyphoid,Yesterday were on the loft roof and all over the neighbor's roofs for the first time.I did named them the lucky seven. All trapped in.No shark's with wing's in the neighborhood yesterday.JDA
Last Edited by on May 31, 2010 6:14 AM
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1796 posts
May 31, 2010
7:16 AM
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Great Joe! They will get settled fast now.
Take care
Thom
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
4059 posts
May 31, 2010
5:20 PM
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Hey Thom, a great feeling when they will let you place your hand underneath them and scoop them up...
I think you have got it right to not become attached to any particular bird until it has proven itself. I have a beautiful young black self hen that wants to land early and pulls down the 4 others with her. She has done this for 3 or 4 days. I will feed her up 2 days and if she cannot give my 20 minutes without me chasing her back up, she will be removed from my stock.
Even though I would love to have a sold black self in my young bird team, if she cannot cut it she is gone. BTW, she is on the flighty side.
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FLY ON!
Tony Chavarria
The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.” – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
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RodSD
408 posts
May 31, 2010
6:34 PM
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My tamest birds are the ones that get taken by hawks so I try to minimize their tameness now. I want them to be a little flighty so they still are on survival mode. I hate very flighty birds though.
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JDA
GOLD MEMBER
843 posts
May 31, 2010
10:35 PM
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Tony...I have one young black self hen on the roof out of ruby 08 mo (131) cock Red ck self black ticking, and ruby 08 mo (280) lavender self hen. They are now on two more black self youngsters that I banded three day's ago.These birds put out some fairly deep youngsters last season on other breeders.(131)on 278 and 220on (280).Last year's young were all very good kitting birds.Strong on the 644D hens blood.Thank you for that foundation. JDA
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1797 posts
Jun 01, 2010
4:56 AM
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Hey Tony, It is a great feeling when you are showing a bird to the kids or a neighbor and it lies quietly in your hand. It's not that the birds are to tame but that I become attached and then start making excuses for not flying them. My hawk problem is fierce and will probably never go away. Everyday they fly I know it's possible to lose one. So I choose to make them all as tame as possible, but not to place one above the other. So far it does not affect their performance but it's does make life easier in the loft and kit box. With a very limited list all of my birds fly, breeders also. It is the only way to be sure they will hold up over the course of time.
Hey Joe, Tony will not admit it but he lost a very good bird when 644D flew over the horizon. I'm raising good black also and they are heavy in 644D.
Take care my friends
Thom
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
4074 posts
Jun 01, 2010
4:59 AM
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644D DOH!
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FLY ON!
Tony Chavarria
The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.” – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1798 posts
Jun 01, 2010
8:07 AM
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Tony, I'm not sure about your 4074 post but if you have forgotten. You said Black Check Self NBRC-95-644D, out of LPRC-93-994 and a S. Estrada Black Check Self hen. Was lost due to someones fumble fingers and escaped trying to fly back to California. That was the gist of it, not a direct quote. :) Wherever the spin comes from, they do indeed spin their little feathery butts off! :)
Thom
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Tony Chavarria
Site Publisher
4075 posts
Jun 01, 2010
9:40 AM
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sniff...yeah Thom those were my fumble fingers. I remember it like it was yesterday. Sad day for me. It was one of my favs.
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FLY ON!
Tony Chavarria
The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.” – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
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Oldfart
GOLD MEMBER
1800 posts
Jun 01, 2010
11:20 AM
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Tony, I can only imagine you have plenty of her blood spread throughout your brood loft. If you don't, I have her grandson RUBY-MO-07-009 Red Bar Black Ticking if you would like him back. He is an outstanding bird and blacks run heavy in my loft.
Thom
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Squabby*32
274 posts
Jun 02, 2010
1:08 AM
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My favorite "Pigeon Quote" was adapted from a living legend in this game, "If the birds are wild in the hands, it will be wild in the air and wild in the breeding pen" (from Norm Reed himself). I only breed from the "tame" proven birds as I do not like my hands getting pecked and wing batted when I check on my squeeks or the eggs. More times than not, the "untame" birds will break the eggs or injure the squeeks when they sare perturbed by my presence in their area. Just my thoughts.
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DJJeffman Spinners
ATAPWGIYAHTLY
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