Pigeons in Bad Light

Jack Prescott
(Internet Published) Jun 2000

Training Tipplers, or indeed, any other pigeons to be UNAFRAID of darkness, is a matter of plain common sense and logic. It is not natural for pigeons to be out after dusk, because that is roosting time, when pigeons find a safe place out of reach of predators. The night visual capacity of pigeons is not as good as that of a human. Pigeons, therefore, are extremely vulnerable in the darkness and that is why any pigeon that is away from home and consequently having to roost in a strange place is likely to be grabbed by some person, cat, owl or whatever it is that takes advantage.

We cannot improve on the night vision capacity of pigeons. Like humans some individuals have a better than average night vision eyesight. Some stains of Tipplers were selectively bred for their ability in the dark.

Nevertheless we can train them to be accustomed to being out in the dark to some degree. Usually, at night time, it is not completely dark. There is almost always some trace of light from the Moon or street lighting. The twilight period often extends for a long time in England.

Pigeons that have never been caused to be out and active in the twilight and bad light will become very upset and tend to not have the courage to enter the loft. The obvious thing to do then is cause them to get used to being out and on top of the loft, along with approaching darkness - regularly. Normally, one would let them come down 1/2 hour before darkness and keep them out on top of the loft, only allowing them to enter when it gets dark - but of course using a lighting system. It is remarkable how pigeons get used to that.

A serious attempt at a really long time with Tipplers means that we must turn the kit out as early as possible on the day of the attempt. Tipplers that are used to darkness at evening time can also be launched into flight in the poor light of an early overcast morning and they will fly. However if the Tipplers have never had experience of such poor flight in the evenings, they will not fly well in the bad light of early dawn. Such pigeons will most likely drop in confusion upon a building or even in the trees to be disqualified before they have even started.

Therefore, if anyone seriously wants to fly marathon times, then they MUST train to darkness, to droppers and to the use of loft top flights.

Jack Prescott.