Homing in tumbler pigeons?

Question

i got some tumbler pigeons from about 5 miles away and taped one of the wings on each one to stop them flying away and let them out in the garden,when will it be safe to take off the tape and any other tips please,thanks

Answer 1

Tumblers have little to no homing ability. There is no need to tape the wings. I hope that you have some sort of cage or loft to put them in. In that case, keep the tumblers in the cage for 3-6 weeks depending on age. During that time, get them accustomed to a feeding schedule and some kind of command while feeding them (ex. whistling). If you have some kind of trap door, train them to that as well. Settling cages are best for this. They are wire cages that you can attach to the outside of the trap door. Most racers use these to quickly settle and trap train their birds, but it works with any pigeons as long as you have a bob trap door. Open the door and let them all into the settling cage, then drop the bobs, put feed in the loft, and command them in to eat. By the time you let them out, they should know how to get in the trap and know the food call. A key thing is to always let your birds out a little on the hungry side, never full. This way you'll always have control over your birds. It's really good for if you see a hawk or storm coming, then you can quickly get them to trap by calling them to eat.

Good luck with your tumblers. I'm sure you'll enjoy them :)

- Becky

Answer 2

Usually with rollers and tumblers, I don't even try to settle them until they've had at least two rounds of babies bred in my loft.  There are two reasons for that.  One, they are now comfortable in the loft.  Two, if I happen to lose one settling it, then I still have the youngsters to continue the bloodlines.

Make sure that your birds know how to trap before you let them out to fly.  Make sure that they know your food call and that they are hungry and will come when you call them in.  

Give them a bath the day you actually release them so that they are heavy and stay down rather than just leaping into the air.

It depends on whether your original birds are squeakers or adults.  If squeakers, you can settle them within a week or two.  If adults that have been flown, it may take longer or never if they are close enough to see their old loft and flock when they're in the air.

You might also want to question some of the roller guys at both the NBRC forum.  http://www.nbrconline.com

as well as the roller guys at the Flying Oriental Roller club Forum.

http://com3.runboard.com/bflyingoriental...