Clicker Training Pigeons? Yea or nay?

I'm back with another question.

Has anyone here ever used the famous clicker training method with their pigeons? I understand that with big racing/showing lofts it probably wouldn't have much use, but what about when you have a couple pigeons as pets? I use clicker training for training horses and dogs and it has been very effective with them. Is there any reason it would be different for pigeons?

TIA,
Cheers

hi flyaway, yes ive heard of pigeon fanciers using clicker training with their birds, never done it my self, so I cant say if its good or not, but I dare say it works just as well as anything else..personally I have just bought a pigeon whistle off ebay for my young birds, how good it will be I don't know, until I try it.

David wrote:

hi flyaway, yes ive heard of pigeon fanciers using clicker training with their birds, never done it my self, so I cant say if its good or not, but I dare say it works just as well as anything else..personally I have just bought a pigeon whistle off ebay for my young birds, how good it will be I don't know, until I try it.

Cool, yeah, the whistle probably works well for recall; really loud

ive found there are a few types of whistle, the one called a pigeon whistle, not suree what sound it makes yet though, and the referee type with a pea, which I personally don't like...then theres the type walkers / hikers use for emergencies which our member bluesky suggested, he says he prefers this type.

Never heard of a clicker for training, but I’m sure it would work fine, it dosnt take long to get them used to anything.

Boosey wrote:

Never heard of a clicker for training, but I’m sure it would work fine, it dosnt take long to get them used to anything.

OK. You should check it out; it's a really good concept.

yeah iv heard of clicker training,just another signal for food. I use a version on my dog Ra for hmmm ehh
night time walkies in the fields i use the clasp on his leash to make a clicking sound.
Very similar to a call from a coot (thats a bird knackeroo ).

Steve the clicker type is the same as shaking the can

markevans wrote:

Steve the clicker type is the same as shaking the can

That's all I do Mark shake the can not very scientific etc but it works most of the time at least & when it doesn't I tend to throw the thing, but I will not say, at who .  

The advantage of a clicker or a whistle are that if you train your young bird to a whistle and your old birds to a clicker are if you have your old birds out and use the clicker to call them in the youngsters won't bother thinking they are being fed

We used a Dog Training Clicker one year before we went to frogland.

We used the clicker for the young birds and I whistled and shook a tin with corn in for the Old Birds.

It worked very well and unlike just using ONE type of calling them in etc - you don't wind up one lot of birds whilst feeding the other lot.

Try it it really works.

Phil

Thanks for all the replies! The idea to use a whistle for one group and the clicker for the other group is good. I never thought of that, but it does make sense.

Cheers

Correct me if I am wrong but think I have already posted about using the whistle and clicker system before ????

Don Webb wrote:

Correct me if I am wrong but think I have already posted about using the whistle and clicker system before ????

I did a search before I posted, and I couldn't find a thread on clicker training...

FlyAwayHome wrote:

Don Webb wrote:

Correct me if I am wrong but think I have already posted about using the whistle and clicker system before ????

I did a search before I posted, and I couldn't find a thread on clicker training...

No worries at all FlyAwayHome remember posting about it, either way the whistle or clicker are both effective when used especially with youngsters