Pigeons, Homers to be precise

Early in 2006, I began to get interested in homing pigeons and through the encouragement and help of my wife, Tammy, and her father, I decided to try keeping a few, just to see if I could do it. I have discovered one thing for sure. These birds are amazing creatures, especially in the way God has created them and put in them the instinct and ability to find their way back to their home loft. It is very interesting, that ability, because try as they may, no one has been able to really determine how they navigate back to their home loft. A lot of theories are out there, but no one knows for sure. They are also individual creatures, alike in their ability to fly and find their way home, but individual in their habits and personalities.

I started with Big Red (BR) and Little Red, two red check birds that were already grown. The breeder I bought them from told me to never fly them because they would not come back to my loft. They were unable to fly when young because of a hawk problem and he said they would not learn to find their way back to another loft. Well, I kept them up in a small loft before I was able to get a bigger one and one day, Little Red escaped because I didn’t shut the door properly. My fault entirely. I reasoned that I would not see her again, but the next morning, my wife found her in the yard, wanting to be let back in the loft. Needless to say, both of them did learn to home back to my loft and they have raised several birds that are as smart as they are.

Now, let’s take Scooby. My father-in-law gave her to me and you can find a picture of her on My Pigeons. That picture doesn’t really do her justice. She is really a pretty bird, what is called a Blue Bar Piebald. She can really fly well and he is one smart cookie. She is usually the first one out of the loft when I open the door and when I hit the whistle to call them in to eat, she is usually the first one through the trap door. When I open the loft door to pour out the feed, she is standing there looking at me and cooing at me. I think she is wondering what is taking me so long to get her food in the feeder.

I also have Jessie, Squeaky, Checkers, Bossy, and Rosco and they all have their own personalities. Bossy, for example, is one of the youngest of the entire crew, but she has no fear of the other birds. They have their own little pecking order, but when Bossy was introduced to the loft, it didn’t take long for her to make her mark. Her even chases Big Red away from the feeder. That’s why I call her Bossy, after Boss Hog, from The Dukes of Hazard.

One of the funnest times of having homers is when the young are learning to fly and to know their surroundings, outside of the loft.  Some of them have to really be coaxed outside and some I actually had to put outside myself.  It’s important to get them on the landing board, in front of the trap door, in order for them to know where they are and how to get back into the loft.  When they finally take to the air, it is very funny to watch them take to their wings.  They have flown inside the loft, but that doesn’t compare to the amount of air they find under their wings when they finally make it outside. Watching them fly erratically until they figure out how it’s done, and then start ranging away from the loft, in order to see where they are is one of the greatest thrills I have ever had.  It is truly amazing to watch them fly and it is even more amazing to watch them come back to the loft of their own free will.

My favorite time to have homers is when they are raising their babies.  I won’t get into the genetics of the colors and patterns, because that may be the subject of a later post.  I will say this. If you have seen one Robin, you have seen them all. The same goes for just about any other species of bird, but not for pigeons. While females can have only one color, males can show one color and carry another. Most of the time, the second color will not show at all, but sometimes, it does.  Such is the case of Smokey, one of my red-checked cocks.  He shows red, but he carries blue and it shows up as blue specks in his tail and flight feathers. All pigeons are unique, in one way or the other and there is no problem in telling them apart, no matter how much they may look alike.

Of course, there are sad times to have homers, as well.  I have had birds that didn’t come home from flights and one was killed by a Cooper’s Hawk, right in my front yard.  Those things happen, but it isn’t easy to realize that bird you have raised or nurtured isn’t coming home.  However, the fun times far outweigh the sad times, and all things considered, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  I can’t tell you the times I have sat out in my back yard and watched them range completely out of sight for minutes or hours.  It is the thrill of a lifetime to see them come swooping back and land on their loft.  It is truly amazing.

That’s my take!

Larry

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