Training

We are putting more than one style or method of training rollers, but you will note there is a common theme in all of them.  If you are a new Roller breeder make sure you read and listen and then develop a program that works best for you and stick with it.  If you change every time you hear of a different way you will never develop.

It will take years for you to become all you want to be in the Roller world so be patient and work at it until you have tweaked your program well enough to get the results you desire.

Like any other sport or hobby not everyone can and will become a champion no matter how hard you work at it.  Just enjoy the birds and the people who also enjoy them.

Roller pigeons can be a delight to watch as they turn and tumble in the air. A favorite breed to many pigeon trainers, the birds are a fascination to many. Though you can’t actually train a roller to roll, as it is part of its intuitive nature, with proper training, you can get the most out of your birds’ talent. On the opposite end, without proper training and handling, you can ruin even the best birds–they will become lazy and less entertaining.

Acquiring Birds
To begin with you will need birds, either through your own breeding. or through an experienced fancier. Preferably you should start with squeakers 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.

Training Starts When They Are Still In The Nest
When my babies are starting to move around in the nest box I will put a little feed in the box for their 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 realize 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 babies are eating pretty well on their own, I take them out of their nest box 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 their 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 Kit Box
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.

The Kit Box
A kit box is simply a small loft for flying rollers. Its small size prevents birds from flying much inside it .It is usually built on legs and has doors that open wide for releasing birds. Most kit boxes can be shut to keep out most of the daylight, as this will help the birds to kit and perform better. I think that it is good to be able to let light in after the birds have flown for the day. I recommend that you have a separate section in the kit box for your young birds. Ideally the kit box should be placed out in the open where it is highly visible from the air. My yard is obscured by trees, and this creates problems training and viewing birds. I have been told that I should just cut down the trees, but I also enjoy my trees and gardens too much to do that. To add visibility to my loft I have a bright colored windsock on a flagpole.

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 simplest 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 over 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.

Settling The Birds
At this point I remove the training cage. and carefully place the birds on top of the loft. They have not eaten recently and are quite hungry. I close the trap so that the birds have to spend some time outside. At this point the birds still can’t fly well and are easily caught if they try. They usually just lounge around on top of the loft. After a short time I open the trap and call them, they should trap right in. There is food waiting in the loft and again the slow ones won’t get their full share. Again they should be faster next time. I try to do this twice a day, but feed them lightly in the morning or they will want to loaf around. Also I would only put the birds out on fairly calm days for the first few weeks.

Releasing The Birds
After your birds are settled you can just open the door and clap your hands, and some of the older more adventurous birds will fly out on their 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 fliers 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 at them. Some fanciers use a flag and this is known as flagging. This is a last resort and I certainly 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 consistent 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 families 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.

Birds Behaving Badly
No matter how well you train, or how good your stock is you will have some individuals that just don’t get with the program. One of the major problems will be birds that don’t stay with the kit (out birds). Out birds may perform well but if they won’t kit you will have to get rid of them or they will ruin your whole kit. Birds that like to land early or just don’t seem to like to fly will also have to go. Some very deep birds will have trouble catching up with the kit after they have rolled, but if they are always trying to kit I will usually keep them. Some birds will roll loose and sloppy, I will keep them only if I need more birds to fill in. Some birds will not have much depth or may not roll very often. You can fly some of these birds so long as they are not effecting the rest of the kit. One problem bird that I should mention is the roll down (no air brakes)these birds will usually cull themselves and save you the trouble. Some birds are not quite roll downs but will sometimes bump when taking off, or may hit a tree now and then. You can hand toss these birds and fly them often and sometimes they will grow out of it. I will sometimes fly problem birds, but they will never make it to the breeding loft. If you want to get the most enjoyment from your kit get rid of all of these problem birds, or at least fly them separately from the main kit. Last year I separated out my best and flew a kit of only 6 birds. These birds kit tightly, spin together regularly, and really put on a show. I get more satisfaction out of this type of performance than a large kit of mediocre rollers.

 

In Conclusion
Rollers are basically easy to keep and train, and I think that if you follow the suggestions outlined here you will get much enjoyment from your kit. One thing that needs to be mentioned is consistency, your birds must know what you expect from them. If you follow the same routine every day they will be much more predictable. It is best to fly them in the morning as the winds are usually lighter. Feed them right after they trap and you will have less loafing. Now all you have to do is get out and Enjoy Your Rollers…Jon Lahman (edited)

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Another Method

1. Choose the right birds. Gain roller pigeons either through your own breeding or through a experienced fancier. Start with squeakers (babies), since they are more easily trained than older birds. Training with older birds can and does work, but it takes considerable more time. Part of this is the fact that breaking bad habits can be difficult. Purchase breeding stock from a pigeon loft known for bearing good birds; then, raise and train the youngsters that you have bred.
2. Begin training while birds are still in the nest. Place a little feed in the box for the youngsters parents. As you place the food, whistle at your birds; they will learn to associate this with food. Before long, the babies will peck at the feed, and soon realize that you are the food source. Soon, they will squeak and beg for food whenever you come near in the loft.
3. Take the babies out of their nest box and place them on the lower perches of the breeding loft once they are eating well on their own. Here, they will familiarize with the other youngsters, yet their parents can still feed them. At this point, they will be going to the flying loft soon, and that transition can be less stress-inducing if they already know other birds.
4. Feed them twice a day, always whistling as you place the feed. Make sure that all are eating and drinking enough; if this is not the case, put them back with the parents for a few days. Watch for scalping from the cock birds. Keeping a box near the  for them to hide in seems to help.
5. Place the young pigeons in a kit box, which is simply a small loft for flying rollers. The small size prevents birds from flying much inside. Most kit boxes can be enclosed to keep out most of the daylight; this will help the birds to kit and perform better.
6. Start trap training a few days after the kit box process. A trap allows the birds into the loft, but not out. The simplest traps are small windows that the bird can squeeze through. There is a landing board on the outside but not on the inside of the loft. Show each bird how the trap works, and push them through it several times. Leave a little food in the loft as you train them to go through, and continue to associate the whistle with the food. Repeat this process twice a day for a couple days.
7. Place the birds on top of the loft at a time when they are hungry. Close the trap so that the birds have to spend some time outside. Open the trap and call them, and from training, they should trap right in. Only put the birds out on fairly calm days for the first few weeks.
8. Release the birds. After your birds are settled, open the door and clap your hands. Some of the older birds will fly out on their own. After a couple of days, lightly toss the birds that stay in the loft rather than trying to fly. Be gentle so they aren’t scared too much. Soon, they will understand that clapping means it’s time to fly.
9. Introduce a few older birds to the kit once the majority of the young are staying in the air from a few minutes up to a half hour. The young will learn from their advanced flying friends. – unknown