Tethering Pigeons?

[cpinkert]

I'm picking up 20 pigeons tomorrow to use for training. I thought I saw a comment somewhere about tethering a pigeon to a launcher so you can reuse it. What does that all entail? Any downside to doing that? Wouldn't the dog catch it or at least see you catch it and think it did the right thing because we "got" the bird?

Any other pigeon conservation tricks you all know that might help a guy save some money?

[Dashin Gun Dogs]

The best thing to do is teach the pigeons to "home". Then the dog will never catch and they will fly home. I am not a big fan of launching the bird and then having it fall down so many yards away. I prefer to have the fly home quickly.

[brad27]

One thing I like about having a tethered bird fall not far from where it flushed is teaching the dog NOT to go back to it for a delayed chase. The dog learns the only time it's allowed to go to the bird is when I send it.

[fishvik]

Any other pigeon conservation tricks you all know that might help a guy save some money?

I like the rubber hose and parachute cord harness on the legs trick. I cut my hose in different lengths for the flying strength of the bird.

[4dabirds]

Use a light string with an elastic cord for last three feet make the total about fifteen feet long never use the bird in the launcher as the scent bird set the scent bird far enough away so the launch bird will not reach the scent bird this will guarantee your dog will not catch any birds birds sometimes will fly to the dog this prevents that lock wing the scent bird and cover it well so the dog does not see it the dog will see what it should see a bird goes up you shoot and the bird is hit every time

[4dabirds]

Attach elastic above what would be the birds elbow on the birds leg I use compression clips the kind you would find on an elastic draw string on a sweatshirt or back pack

[bwjohn]

I use cheap yarn to tether the bird to the trap or even a bush if not using traps.

use only on dogs that you feel are either broke or very close to being broke. it is used in my opinion to really put a lot of pressure on the dog to stand still.

you can also tie a small piece of cardboard onto the bird. that will limit the range that it can fly and usually make it easy enough for you to catch. use the card board when you are working the dog on cc but you still want the bird to fly away. still not a good situation to let a dog chance in this instance b/c they will be able to catch.

brandon

[Vman]

DSCN0760.JPG

I make my own hobbles.
You can add or subtract chain links as needed. Goes in the launcher with the bird. Works great.

[cpinkert]

Ok, so you use something like that and then what? Take note of where the bird flies off to, put the dog away, and go get the bird? That looks like a great homemade idea that I'll use! I'm just trying to work through potential problems prior to starting this. I think this weekend I will probably just burn some cash and make sure she can't catch anything the first few times through this whole deal, but it would be nice to be able to recycle birds once she figures out she can't catch them and holds steady.

[Sharon]

Not to criticize your method; if it works for you that's great.

Never ceases to amazing me though how some one can buy a $1000. dog and hoard $2.00 pigeons.

I get good flyers.I dizzy the bird, so that it will jump up and fly when the grass is moved. The dog chases and learns that chasing is not going to get him a bird. He starts creeping, then he's pointing. Check cord goes on ; he watches the bird fly away or go boom. I don't use pigeons for all that long before I switch to chukar. (Those I hold on to.):)If I didn't live in the city, I'd use homers.

[gittrdonebritts]

http://www.gundogsonline.com/video/hunt ... ng-dog.htm

[kninebirddog]

I also do some work with hobbled Pigeons help them to learn how to mark and also begin to help teach a dog to come off and work for another bird...

I also make my own hobbles

http://www.kninebirddog.com/uploads/7/2 ... 16?9790548

[4dabirds]

Not to criticize your method; if it works for you that's great.

Never ceases to amazing me though how some one can buy a $1000. dog and hoard $2.00 pigeons.

I get good flyers.I dizzy the bird, so that it will jump up and fly when the grass is moved. The dog chases and learns that chasing is not going to get him a bird. He starts creeping, then he's pointing. Check cord goes on ; he watches the bird fly away or go boom. I don't use pigeons for all that long before I switch to chukar. (Those I hold on to.):)If I didn't live in the city, I'd use homers.

It never ceases to amaze me that people on this board think that their experience is the same as everyone else . Where I live they charge 4 dollars for pigeons. When you launch 25 in one session that can add up. For those that cant do the math thats 100 dollars for one session . With this in mind you could see why we tether birds. The dog in my avatar has gone through at least a thousand dollars worth of pigeons plus another thousand worth of chucker and pheasant. A coop is not really an option for me so this is where I am at. Also tethering is not just for saving the birds . as I said in the previous post when the bird is on a tether and the dog is pointing a scent bird if the tether is shorter than the distance to the scent bird the dog has no chance of catching the bird. with any other method there is a chance that the bird will land close to the dog. This can be alleviated with good flying birds but is no guarantee especially for some one without a lot of experience with pigeons, which I assume the op is.

[Sharon]

R e l a x............. You can tether all you want. I'm sorry your pigeons cost so much.

[nj gsp]

It's been said before - the cheapest part of owning a bird dog is the price of the dog.

I use birds that home, or if I tether birds I use a 25' cord. LCS has a decent pigeon tether for very little money or you can use parachute cord. I usually tie it to a small bumper.

[cpinkert]

thanks for all the advice! i'm going to hold off on tethering this weekend and hopefully will be successful in trapping my own starting next week so i don't have to tether at all. just trying to learn some new stuff and keep some options open in case i start burning through pigeons like crazy!

after a few months on this board i'm convinced this forum is more opinionated/contentious than the musky fishing boards i'm on...and that's saying something! lol.

don't worry about hurting my feelings, i have a thick skin and have been called worse things than cheap!

[Sharon]

I like your attitude.

[gittrdonebritts]

Whats wrong with being cheap, not sure how the Canadian economy is but its not so good here in the USA gotta save were ever we can.

[Scott Linden]

Unless I missed it, nobody mentioned the best reason to tether pigeons: homers you just bought will home to their original loft and you'll be buying them again.

[Munster]

Just wondering if you have a training system that you are going to use or have you decided on one yet? I used the Walker method and by the time I had my yard work done, I didnt have to worry about him catching a bird. Of coarse he has slipped up a little from time to time, in that case he has learned that unless I tell him to fetch the bird, it bites.

I tether and card birds. I wish we could have homers, but my city wont allow it. They let me have ducks, pheasants,quail and a few other game birds but not homers. I guess a guy in town had some and just let them run amuck.

right now I have 1 pigeon that I use sometimes. I have had it so long that the dog and the pigeon know each other by name.

Things are tight right now and I am lucky enough to have a husband that wants to make me happy by letting me train and test my pup. We have had to make sacrafices to do it. Enough to where I dont want to ask him for anothe 100 bucks for ducks or pigeons. I try to make them last. DOes it affect my dog? I believe so, his point has gone from staunch high tail, to staunch low tail. He is bored staring at the same old stale pigeon week after week. Mom pops the gun and we walk away. Same stale routine.

But if I can get him through this test, then it is green pastures and real hunting for him. But in the mean time Bob(pigeon) and Max(the dog) greet each other in the mornings, punch thier time cards and go to work.

[nj gsp]

Unless I missed it, nobody mentioned the best reason to tether pigeons: homers you just bought will home to their original loft and you'll be buying them again.

Bird rental is lways an option when you can't keep them at home!

[gonehuntin']

I use pigeons three ways and there are advantages to all three.

Method 1: tether the bird to the trap with 20' of black ice fishing line. As 4dabirds said, a piece of shock cord is used to soften the impact when the bird hits the end of the line. The advantage in this method as others have said is that it leaves a lot of temptation in the field and you get training in making the dog hunt in a different direction away from the bird.

Method 2: Weight the birds. Depending on how hard the bird flies, I tie a 1 ounce or less pyramid sinker to one leg of the bird using orange yard. When the bird is launced, it flies anywhere between 50 and 75 yards before the sinker brings it down. I then use a second dog to find that bird after the other dog is back in the truck. I like this method more than method 1 because it more closely simulates what a wild bird does.

Method 3: I let my homers fly home. No secret there. This method puts far less stress on the dog than the other two methods.

[fishvik]

Method 2: Weight the birds. Depending on how hard the bird flies, I tie a 1 ounce or less pyramid sinker to one leg of the bird using orange yard. When the bird is launced, it flies anywhere between 50 and 75 yards before the sinker brings it down. I then use a second dog to find that bird after the other dog is back in the truck. I like this method more than method 1 because it more closely simulates what a wild bird does.

I agree with Gonehuntins analogy that this works best at duplicating wild birds. The length of rubber hose system works the same way only I like to use parachute cord for a harness around both legs with simple overhand knots, I think it is easier on the birds legs. Only one warning though don't train near utility lines or trees.

[Sharon]

Good advice. I had a piece of hose on a bird long ago. It wasn't heavy enough;the bird got hung up in a tree on a small island in a pond. While i was figuring out how to get to the island, the Bird Watcher's Club walks by :roll: - true story.

[4dabirds]

Gonehuntin I like that method two thanks. My only problem is we get such lousy fliers sometimes but I'll keep that in mind for when I'm sure it will work.

[stlgsp]

On the few occasions I'll weight or tether, I use the fishing weights and for a portable tether base I use horse shoes. They come in all different weights, I get them free from a friend that owns a boarding stable, and they're flat so they don't take up a lot of space in the vehicle. I have four or five from a light weight mini horse to a draft shoe. Even the heavier weights will give a when the bird hits the end.

[nj gsp]

Another method I've seen used with quail is to tie a 4-6' piece of surveyor's tape to one of the bird's legs. After the bird lands, you can find it easily and then catch it just by grabbing the tape. Once you have hold of the tape it won't matter if it flushes again.