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Post by featherduster on Sept 27, 2009 10:05:37 GMT -5
PIGEON: you mentioned earlier on another page a story you were going to tell about releasing pigeons near the
KANKAKEE FISH AND WILDLIFE AREA.
You post your story and them I will reply with my story.
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Post by pigeonflier on Sept 27, 2009 14:39:51 GMT -5
When I am racing them,, the routine of keeping them in shape consists of training them 3-5 times per week. Anywhere from 40-70 miles. We race on a SW course from South Bend. On that course a few of the FWA's are in that flight path. One day after work a bud and I were training together and we ended up going to The Kank for that day. We were parked right on 39 and 8 where the waterfowl viewing area is at,, you know,, the parking lot right in front there. We had the birds ready for release,, just waiting on the traffic to clear. Finally we had a break in traffic and BAM,, we opened the doors and let the birds loose. Just as we did that in pulls a CO. He comes up to us and says" Man you boyz are mighty brave." Both of us were a little coRnfused and asked him what he was talking about. He proceeds to tell us,, "Today is opening day of dove season" Hmm,, it was kinda ironic and funny at that point in time. This was before I was a bird hunter and didnt really know the bird hunting dates. But in all reality,, the birds fly much higher that anyone would be shooting at them. Sometimes on windy days if they have a cross or head-wind they will try to tuck down low to the ground,, but they wont be stopping anywhere. So,, actually,, there is not really much danger from hunters getting them.. I have a tougher time with them running into power lines. I have had birds make it home ripped from 1 side to the other,, open wounds big enough to see lungs breathing. I have had them come home with both legs broken from catching a wire. Hawks are a pretty big problem as well.
I probably went through 250 pigeons the first year I trained my little princess also. That was pretty much how she got started on birds!!
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Post by duff on Sept 27, 2009 18:12:22 GMT -5
Where do you get your birds? Anything special to them or can you just use the ones you can catch under the overpasses.
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Post by pigeonflier on Sept 27, 2009 21:02:43 GMT -5
Where do you get your birds? Anything special to them or can you just use the ones you can catch under the overpasses. The over-pass pigeons are not the same. Homing pigeons are the ones I raise for racing,, but in reallity,, there is tons of different breeds of pigeons. www.ganusfamilyloft.com |
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Post by duff on Sept 27, 2009 21:41:03 GMT -5
Interesting. How do you train them to return? Never known anyone who raced pigeons, but we've shot a ton of them though!!!!
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Post by pigeonflier on Sept 28, 2009 5:52:12 GMT -5
Carefull,, shooting homing pigeons is illegal....
Its a natural instinct for them to find home. The only training the recieve is for being in shape. It takes a tough and well conditioned bird to stay on the wing and fly 500 miles home in 1 day..
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Post by duff on Sept 28, 2009 6:56:04 GMT -5
I wouldn't know the difference between a homing pigeon and a barn pigeon. If fate happens to bring it within range of where I am hunting....well sorry. Calk it up to natural predation I guess. None that we have ever shot were wearing bands, but you can't tell untill you pick them up.
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Post by featherduster on Sept 28, 2009 7:09:48 GMT -5
The reason I asked is about 9 years ago I saw a man release approx. 40 birds from a pickup truck along SR.8 1 mile west of the Kankakee Preserve this was around July of that year.
On September 2nd of that year while hunting doves I shot a pigeon (bonus bird) this bird had more bands on him then
pro staff goose hunter.A month later I am riding my bike around the Game Preserve during the split season and I stop to take a break at the Kankakee side spillway.While there a pigeon lands on the railing and he too is banded to the hilt.This pigeon was very friendly because he followed me for several miles.
As I recall the 2 birds had 3 plastic bands and a rubber band.
I don't recall any telephone number to call because I would have, just to let the owner know.
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Post by featherduster on Sept 28, 2009 7:14:19 GMT -5
Can you post a copy of that law I am curious to see what date it was written.I would think this might be an old law written to protect pigeons during lets say the first world war.
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Post by pigeonflier on Sept 28, 2009 16:54:00 GMT -5
I wouldn't know the difference between a homing pigeon and a barn pigeon. If fate happens to bring it within range of where I am hunting....well sorry. Calk it up to natural predation I guess. None that we have ever shot were wearing bands, but you can't tell untill you pick them up. Its kinda like shooting only 1 black duck per person,, its really kinda hard to tell when they first come in if they are for sure BLACK's or not...... But one must be able to disinguish the difference if hunting them.. |
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Post by pigeonflier on Sept 28, 2009 16:54:57 GMT -5
Can you post a copy of that law I am curious to see what date it was written.I would think this might be an old law written to protect pigeons during lets say the first world war. Pg. 18 [glow=red,2,300]Other Wild Birds English sparrows, starlings and feral pigeons (except homing pigeons) may be killed at any time. Brown-headed cowbirds, common grackles, red-winged blackbirds, rusty blackbirds, Brewer’s blackbirds and crows may be controlled when they are damaging trees or crops. All other nongame species of birds not otherwise covered in this regulation are protected by state or federal law and may not be killed.[/glow] |
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Post by pigeonflier on Sept 28, 2009 17:06:00 GMT -5
Maybe I should clarify also,, if it is a HOMING PIGEON and it is living wild in somebody's barn,, or under a bridge,, or who knows where.. Then 99 times out of 100,, the owner of that pigeon could care less if you shot it or not.. Once they go A-stray and stop coming home instantly,, we usually just pull their heads anyway......  |
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Post by john1977 on Oct 15, 2009 9:58:52 GMT -5
i have a band and tracking device on my lanyard from a pigeon...any way to tell what the numbers mean>?
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Post by pigeonflier on Oct 16, 2009 15:01:31 GMT -5
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Post by john1977 on Oct 23, 2009 13:46:12 GMT -5
AU 2007 DOW 1268
It's on a white band the other is a blue band with some sort of chip all it has on it is TauRIS 2000...........Thank ya
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Post by pigeonflier on Oct 23, 2009 14:46:40 GMT -5
AU 2007 DOW 1268 It's on a white band the other is a blue band with some sort of chip all it has on it is TauRIS 2000...........Thank ya DOW comes from Dowagiac, Michigan. They are about 20 miles over the border into Michigan. I raced with these guys a few years back. They race on a course that runs straight south, right down US 31. Then they kinda go off to the east side of Indy the farther south they go. If you want I can track down the owner and give you his phone # and he can tell you the birds life history until it met you. 2007 means the bird was hatched in 2007. The AU is the American Pigeon Racing Union. The 1268 # is how you would track down the original owner. The Tauris 2000 is a chip band. THose are how each bird is timed and clocked for racing. Its kinda like when you go to the store and scan your items at the checkout. Each loft has a scanner at the entry door and when the bird passes through the door it is scanned and timed. Those are stored in a computer clock. |
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Post by john1977 on Oct 23, 2009 15:06:13 GMT -5
thats neater than *hit This bird was shot in covington in
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Post by featherduster on Oct 23, 2009 18:47:50 GMT -5
2 days ago I was making cell call while sitting in gas station on US6 near Nappanee. I looked and there was a pigeon picking through the gravel in the lot.The bird had 2 bands on one was pale blue the other was white.
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Post by pigeonflier on Oct 31, 2009 11:20:45 GMT -5
The birds do go A-stray,, I have had them come home after living wild for well over a year. Its easy to tell when they are living wild,, cause the will be covered in lice and the feathers are most likely well worn out.. I have started seasons with 100 young before and ended with only 10.. THey are kinda like women,, they come and they go....
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