I have a question about my fantail pigeons

[Animal-lover339]

so I have some fantail pigeons and they have chicks the chicks are pretty big and they fly I wanted to know can I let them loose will they not fly away? like will they stay at my house?

 

[backyard pigeons]

so I have some fantail pigeons and they have chicks the chicks are pretty big and they fly I wanted to know can I let them loose will they not fly away? like will they stay at my house?

Yes, they will come home, but you run the risk of losing them. Hawks love pigeons, and fantails are very weak flyers. So they couldn't fly away fast enough. Cats also will catch them if they land on the ground. So if you like them, don't fly them since they are an ornamental breed.

NEVER FLY A BIRD YOU CAN'T BEAR TO LOSE

 

[cavemanrich]

so I have some fantail pigeons and they have chicks the chicks are pretty big and they fly I wanted to know can I let them loose will they not fly away? like will they stay at my house?

If you feel that the predator threat is low,,,,, then try and loft fly them. Not sure what the predator threats on the island are. Not sure if there are hawks???
If there are feral cats,,,,,, they most certainly are a valid threat. My feral cats do not bother my chickens. For some reason even those chickens that are size of pigeons. (view Avatar) They most certainly ALWAYS were licking their chops when looking at my pigeons.

 

[Animal-lover339]

Yes, they will come home, but you run the risk of losing them. Hawks love pigeons, and fantails are very weak flyers. So they couldn't fly away fast enough. Cats also will catch them if they land on the ground. So if you like them, don't fly them since they are an ornamental breed.

NEVER FLY A BIRD YOU CAN'T BEAR TO LOSE

ohhhh okay thanks for the info I was planning to but their are a thousand cats out here also hawks

 

[Animal-lover339]

If you feel that the predator threat is low,,,,, then try and loft fly them. Not sure what the predator threats on the island are. Not sure if there are hawks???
If there are feral cats,,,,,, they most certainly are a valid threat. My feral cats do not bother my chickens. For some reason even those chickens that are size of pigeons. (view Avatar) They most certainly ALWAYS were licking their chops when looking at my pigeons.

ohhhh I see thanks very much it was very helpful and the same happens to me my chickens eat my dog food and they'll eat any food but my dog just ate a ring neck dove

 

[jak2002003]

OP, if you make sure they are used to seeing their surroundings outside for a week or to before you let them out.

Also train them to come back into their coop / cage / dovecot, when you call them to feed them.

I would never leave them out unsupervised because of cats.

When I had fantail pigeons I kept them in a large aviary style flight with nest boxes in there. I used to let them out when I got home from work to fly about and have a bath in the garden while I had a cup of tea and sat with them on the patio. Nice and relaxing to watch. After about an hour I would call them back into the coop for their food and lock them back up.

Only one time a hawk tried to get them, and they surprised me by being very good at escaping by all dropping down off the coop roof and diving into the thick bushes and plants to hide and the hawk just few off.

If you only have a few birds I would be cautions and breed more so if you loose one or 2 to a predator the loss won't be so much.