Introduction Let me start by telling you that I am not going to pretend to be the greatest roller flyer in the world, There are many poeple that know much more about flying rollers than I do, but I doubt that many get more enjoyment from their birds than I do. My intention is to help those just getting started flying to get more satisfaction out of their birds. I started raising rollers in the early 70's and have had birds most of the time since then. I have kept other breeds, but rollers have always been my favorite. These are the basic training methods that I use with my kits. If you are looking for info on competiton flying I have included a list of resources at the end of this article that should help you. If you follow these basic guidelines, I think that you will enjoy your birds too. You can't train a roller to roll, but with proper training you can get the most out of your birds. Without proper training and handling you can ruin even the best birds, they will become lazy, seldom in the roll, and generally not much fun to watch. Acquiring Birds To begin with you will need birds, either through your own breeding. or through a knowledgable fancier. Preferably you should start with squeekers as they are much easier to train than older birds. If you start with older birds these training methods will work, but it will take more time, and breaking bad habits can be difficult. What I recommend is to purchase breeding stock from a loft known for good birds and then raise and train the youngsters that you have bred. Click here for Gary Taylor's Starting Out Info. Training Starts When They Are Still In The Nest When my babies are starting to move around in the nestbox I will put a little feed in the box for thier parents. When I do this I whistle at my birds and they associate this with food. Before long the babies will peck at the feed, and soon realise that I am the food source. Soon they will squeak and beg for food whenever I am in the loft. My breeding pairs and young kit birds get fed twice a day. Out of the nest After the babys are eating pretty well on thier own, I take them out of their nestbox and place them on the lower perches of the breeding loft. Here they will get to know the other youngsters and their parents can still feed them. Soon they will be going to the flying loft and I think that it is less stressful if they know other birds. I feed them twice a day and always whistle. Make sure that they are eating and drinking enough, or put them back with thier parents for a few days. Also watch for scalping from the cock birds. I have a box near the floor for them to hide in and this seems to help. To The Kitbox Some fanciers remove youngsters to the flying loft as early as 18 days, I prefer to wait until around 25 days myself as I feel that the extra size and feathering will keep them more comfortable in the flying loft. At any rate move them before they are flying well as they will be hard to control if you don't. Hopefully you will have a group of several youngsters around the same age, If some are a week or so older you can hold them back and train them with the rest. If the ages are much different you should probably train them separately. Trap Training After a couple of days in the kit box it is time to start trap training. A trap will allow the birds into the loft, but not out. The simpelest traps are just small windows that the bird can squeeze through. There is a landing board on the outside but not on the inside of the loft. The birds can't get out because their flapping wings won't fit. Your landing board can be hinged to fold up to form a door for the trap. I simply cage the birds on top of the loft so that they can see their surroundings. My training cage hangs ovet the loft so that they can get to the trap. I show each bird how the trap works and push them through it several times. When I do this I am whistling and food is available in the loft. My kit box is set up so that I can retrieve birds out of the loft and easily put them back into the training cage. As they trap in I let them eat just a little then back to the training cage they go. I get kind of an assembly line going with birds going to the training cage, through the trap, a little food, then back to the training cage, Five or ten minutes of this and every bird has trapped many times. The slower ones won't get as much food and will trap faster the next time. Keep this up twice a day for a couple of days and your birds will trap readily. Releasing The Birds After your birds are setteled you can just open the door and clap your hands, and some of the older more adventureous birds will fly out on thier own. For a few days I will still set the other birds on top of the loft. After a couple of days the ones that stay in the loft will be lightly tossed . Be careful at this point so as not to scare them too much. They will soon understand that clapping means time to fly. Getting Them To Fly At this point you may have a few birds that are fluttering around above the loft when you release them. The ones that are not flying can be lightly tossed into the air and they will usually fly for a short time. Do not fly any birds that are strong flyers with this young kit yet. After a short fly the birds should land back on the loft. Once you have a group of birds flying, insist that all of the youngsters fly a little after release them. Some birds will require tossing for several days to get the idea. My point is that when the door is opened and you clap, the birds know that they are going to fly like it or not. Don't insist that they have to fly very long, and let them land when they want to. Just make sure that they all fly a little. At this point you will have birds all over the air, some hovering, some roaming a little and some that do almost nothing. Performing rollers love to fly and will soon do so without your encouragement. Landing Area When your birds have finished flying you should insist that they land on the loft. One problem with my yard is that some of my birds would rather sit in the trees than fly. If you let this happen you will have real problems later on. I make note of the birds that like to do this and when I release the birds these get a good toss, If they still land in the trees or on the house roof I will throw balls or frisbees at them. Some fanciers use a flag and this is known as flagging. This is a last resort and I certanly do not want to scare birds that are behaving. Whenever I throw things at them I clap my hands as I want them to understand that clapping hands means FLY. If you are consistant most birds will straighten up If they don't you will want to separate them from the rest of the kit as the other birds will pick up these bad habits. Problem birds can be trained together and you may get them to behave later, just don't let them ruin your kit in the meantime. I give problem birds a few weeks and If they don't straighten up by then they will not be used in a kit. When your birds have all landed call them in and feed them. I like to go through this procedure twice a day. Flying Your Kit After a week or two your birds should be starting to kit and should be flying for several minutes to half an hour or so. At this time you can introduce a couple of older birds to the kit. I like to fly the older birds first and when they start to slow down release the youngsters. Your old birds should like to fly fairly slow and stay close to home. If you can, fly your kit twice a day in fairly nice weather, and in a month or so they should be kitting well and starting to roll. My family of birds start rolling around two months old, and are spinning well at four months. I've read of familys that take over a year to develop into spinners. It is important to know your family of birds so that you know what to expect from them. Feeding For Performance Proper feeding is very important for top performance. Your birds will kit and roll better when hungry. When your birds are mature you should cut back their food and only feed once a day. Some fanciers will even give separate measured rations to each bird, adjusting the quantity according to the way the bird flew. I just measure feed in a coffee can. Figure out how much feed your birds will quickly eat at one feeding, and adjust from there.If the birds fly too long and are seldom rolling I will cut the rations for the whole kit. If the birds don't fly for at least 45 minutes, I will give them a little more food. Each family requires a different amount of food to be at peak performance and if you fly several different families together adjusting feed will be difficult. Feed requirements will also vary depending on the weather and several other factors. Your birds may also perform better with different mixes of grain. Most fanciers cut back on protien, and some will feed only wheat or milo before a competition. I feed a pigeon mix with 10% protein. In the winter I add popcorn to the mixture.Click here for a Kaytee Feed dealer near you.
your pigeons are looking really good now did the garlic work or did you get 3,1??? and hes right a says you should cover the feeder as thats how thay catch canker and other diseases
I would recommend putting a cover on your feeder. So that the bird dropping don’t fall inside ☺️
Introduction
Let me start by telling you that I am not going to pretend to be the greatest roller flyer in the world, There are many poeple that know much more about flying rollers than I do, but I doubt that many get more enjoyment from their birds than I do. My intention is to help those just getting started flying to get more satisfaction out of their birds. I started raising rollers in the early 70's and have had birds most of the time since then. I have kept other breeds, but rollers have always been my favorite. These are the basic training methods that I use with my kits. If you are looking for info on competiton flying I have included a list of resources at the end of this article that should help you. If you follow these basic guidelines, I think that you will enjoy your birds too. You can't train a roller to roll, but with proper training you can get the most out of your birds. Without proper training and handling you can ruin even the best birds, they will become lazy, seldom in the roll, and generally not much fun to watch.
Acquiring Birds
To begin with you will need birds, either through your own breeding. or through a knowledgable fancier. Preferably you should start with squeekers as they are much easier to train than older birds. If you start with older birds these training methods will work, but it will take more time, and breaking bad habits can be difficult. What I recommend is to purchase breeding stock from a loft known for good birds and then raise and train the youngsters that you have bred.
Click here for Gary Taylor's Starting Out Info.
Training Starts When They Are Still In The Nest
When my babies are starting to move around in the nestbox I will put a little feed in the box for thier parents. When I do this I whistle at my birds and they associate this with food. Before long the babies will peck at the feed, and soon realise that I am the food source. Soon they will squeak and beg for food whenever I am in the loft. My breeding pairs and young kit birds get fed twice a day.
Out of the nest
After the babys are eating pretty well on thier own, I take them out of their nestbox and place them on the lower perches of the breeding loft. Here they will get to know the other youngsters and their parents can still feed them. Soon they will be going to the flying loft and I think that it is less stressful if they know other birds. I feed them twice a day and always whistle. Make sure that they are eating and drinking enough, or put them back with thier parents for a few days. Also watch for scalping from the cock birds. I have a box near the floor for them to hide in and this seems to help.
To The Kitbox
Some fanciers remove youngsters to the flying loft as early as 18 days, I prefer to wait until around 25 days myself as I feel that the extra size and feathering will keep them more comfortable in the flying loft. At any rate move them before they are flying well as they will be hard to control if you don't. Hopefully you will have a group of several youngsters around the same age, If some are a week or so older you can hold them back and train them with the rest. If the ages are much different you should probably train them separately.
Trap Training
After a couple of days in the kit box it is time to start trap training. A trap will allow the birds into the loft, but not out. The simpelest traps are just small windows that the bird can squeeze through. There is a landing board on the outside but not on the inside of the loft. The birds can't get out because their flapping wings won't fit. Your landing board can be hinged to fold up to form a door for the trap. I simply cage the birds on top of the loft so that they can see their surroundings. My training cage hangs ovet the loft so that they can get to the trap. I show each bird how the trap works and push them through it several times. When I do this I am whistling and food is available in the loft. My kit box is set up so that I can retrieve birds out of the loft and easily put them back into the training cage. As they trap in I let them eat just a little then back to the training cage they go. I get kind of an assembly line going with birds going to the training cage, through the trap, a little food, then back to the training cage, Five or ten minutes of this and every bird has trapped many times. The slower ones won't get as much food and will trap faster the next time. Keep this up twice a day for a couple of days and your birds will trap readily.
Releasing The Birds
After your birds are setteled you can just open the door and clap your hands, and some of the older more adventureous birds will fly out on thier own. For a few days I will still set the other birds on top of the loft. After a couple of days the ones that stay in the loft will be lightly tossed . Be careful at this point so as not to scare them too much. They will soon understand that clapping means time to fly.
Getting Them To Fly
At this point you may have a few birds that are fluttering around above the loft when you release them. The ones that are not flying can be lightly tossed into the air and they will usually fly for a short time. Do not fly any birds that are strong flyers with this young kit yet. After a short fly the birds should land back on the loft. Once you have a group of birds flying, insist that all of the youngsters fly a little after release them. Some birds will require tossing for several days to get the idea. My point is that when the door is opened and you clap, the birds know that they are going to fly like it or not. Don't insist that they have to fly very long, and let them land when they want to. Just make sure that they all fly a little. At this point you will have birds all over the air, some hovering, some roaming a little and some that do almost nothing. Performing rollers love to fly and will soon do so without your encouragement.
Landing Area
When your birds have finished flying you should insist that they land on the loft. One problem with my yard is that some of my birds would rather sit in the trees than fly. If you let this happen you will have real problems later on. I make note of the birds that like to do this and when I release the birds these get a good toss, If they still land in the trees or on the house roof I will throw balls or frisbees at them. Some fanciers use a flag and this is known as flagging. This is a last resort and I certanly do not want to scare birds that are behaving. Whenever I throw things at them I clap my hands as I want them to understand that clapping hands means FLY. If you are consistant most birds will straighten up If they don't you will want to separate them from the rest of the kit as the other birds will pick up these bad habits. Problem birds can be trained together and you may get them to behave later, just don't let them ruin your kit in the meantime. I give problem birds a few weeks and If they don't straighten up by then they will not be used in a kit. When your birds have all landed call them in and feed them. I like to go through this procedure twice a day.
Flying Your Kit
After a week or two your birds should be starting to kit and should be flying for several minutes to half an hour or so. At this time you can introduce a couple of older birds to the kit. I like to fly the older birds first and when they start to slow down release the youngsters. Your old birds should like to fly fairly slow and stay close to home. If you can, fly your kit twice a day in fairly nice weather, and in a month or so they should be kitting well and starting to roll. My family of birds start rolling around two months old, and are spinning well at four months. I've read of familys that take over a year to develop into spinners. It is important to know your family of birds so that you know what to expect from them.
Feeding For Performance
Proper feeding is very important for top performance. Your birds will kit and roll better when hungry. When your birds are mature you should cut back their food and only feed once a day. Some fanciers will even give separate measured rations to each bird, adjusting the quantity according to the way the bird flew. I just measure feed in a coffee can. Figure out how much feed your birds will quickly eat at one feeding, and adjust from there.If the birds fly too long and are seldom rolling I will cut the rations for the whole kit. If the birds don't fly for at least 45 minutes, I will give them a little more food. Each family requires a different amount of food to be at peak performance and if you fly several different families together adjusting feed will be difficult. Feed requirements will also vary depending on the weather and several other factors. Your birds may also perform better with different mixes of grain. Most fanciers cut back on protien, and some will feed only wheat or milo before a competition. I feed a pigeon mix with 10% protein. In the winter I add popcorn to the mixture.Click here for a Kaytee Feed dealer near you.
sorry its a bit long hahaha but training rollers is not as easy as some think i fancy getting racers aswell rollers can be a nightmear at times ha
your pigeons are looking really good now did the garlic work or did you get 3,1??? and hes right a says you should cover the feeder as thats how thay catch canker and other diseases
The garlic words and I have the the 3in 1 tablets
where are u located?
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
@@jslofts8449 nice
are sorry just herd you say they had 4.1 haha
😂
@@jslofts8449 was 3.1 hahahaha