Tansporting Pigeons

Don · Post by **Don** » Thu May 31, 2007 9:00 pm

Had a bad expeience today. Sold 36 pigeons to a pro trainer in Oregon yesterday. He showed up to get them with two small animal plastic crates, they were smaller than the boxes I make for myself. I told him they were to small and I'd loan him two boxes to take his birds home with. Asked if he had a pen at home and he assured me he did. My son went by his place this morning and picked up my boxes to bring back. Got a call from him at 4 pm this evening, all the birds in one box had died, he needs 18 more.

We loaded the boxes up at about 1:30 yesterday afternoon and he left here for home about 4pm, about 85 mi home. This morning befor my son arrived, he took the birds out of my boxes and put them in the small animal crates, all birds were fine he claims. At 4pm he calls me and tell's me 18 birds, all from the same box had died and the other 18 were alright.

It was my incorrect assumption that he was going to take them home and release them in his pen, he didn't. The birds ended up spending 26 1/2 hrs in crates, 7 of those hours in the to small crates in 85 degree weather. 26 1/2 hrs without food or water in crates. Any wonder so many died?

Pigeons sweat really bad when they get confined to long. I suspect that he'd transfered the birds to his crates then got one crate in a worse spot than the other and suffocated the birds. If your transporting birds, especially in hot weather and tight quarter's, get them out ASAP!! Don't let them go 26 1/2 hrs without food and water either. Don't over load crates and keep them in good ventilation.

He's out a good bit of change and now needs to make another 170 mi round trip for 18 birds. Getting pretty expensive for him. Sure hope he learns something from this. I know that he's been training for at least 15 yrs, that's how long ago I met him. I would have thought he'd known better!

Chaingang · Post by **Chaingang** » Thu May 31, 2007 9:14 pm

Hope he takes better care of the dogs he gets in for training. Yikes...

Casper · Post by **Casper** » Thu May 31, 2007 10:20 pm

I use to have one of the big orange plastic bird crates till I lost it but I have a similar size crate I built from a 1" x 2" welded wire fencing material. I can put 30 birds in it without worrying about overheating. I much prefer the big plastic crate though. Gonna have to order me up another.

Thats to bad that a pro trainer can be that careless. Hope you can perswade (sp?) him to make better decisions with the next bunch of birds you sell him.

Buckeye_V · Post by **Buckeye_V** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 2:42 pm

I'm mulling over some plans for a transport box for quail, piegons, chukar, etc. I want it to be portable, but pig enought o house birds for a weekend with food and water stations. We frequently go to events for a weekend and I want to be able to sit the crate in the shade under my truck and have food and water there for the birds. I was thinking of something like 2' x 3' by like 10-13" high. A space underneath for droppings to fall on a removable tray, an overhead door for bird removal and a side door for bird farm use (loading en masse). And, easy access doors for the feeder and waterer. I expect when it is fully loaded for it to be a 2 person job.

I have a bunch of scraps from other projects sitting around that I want to put to use.

Has anyone ever done anything like this?

NVgsp · Post by **NVgsp** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:29 pm

Don-
Curious to who this trainer is????