31. Responsibility for Training

The commanding officer of a signal pigeon company, or the officer in charge of a pigeon unit, will prepare a training program to serve as a general guide for activities of the unit. Weekly training schedules for the guidance of the enlisted personnel will be based upon this approved training program for the unit.

32. Qualifications for Pigeoneers

a. General. Minimum specifications required for a pigeoneer are——

(1) Skill. That required for a basic private, plus the ability to care for, feed properly, catch, and hold pigeons; to attach messages; and to train birds for messenger service.

(2) Knowledge. That required for a basic private, plus a thorough knowledge of capabilities, limitations, and habits of homing pigeons.

(3) Personal traits. A pigeoneer who is boisterous and of a turbulent nature tends to frighten and upset pigeons and thus reduce their effectiveness. The successful pigeoneer should possess——

(a) Dependability. To perform all his duties regularly and promptly.

(b) Kindness. To obtain confidence of the pigeons.

(c) Patience. To spend much time and repeated effort required for training pigeons.

(d) Neatness. To maintain a sanitary and attractive loft for the pigeons.

(e) Firmness. To enforce control over pigeons.

(f) Power of accurate observation. To note and learn characteristics of individual pigeons in the loft by observing details readily and accurately.

b. Basic training. Only qualified basic privates are selected for pigeoneer training. Skill and knowledge to be attained in this course may be based on this manual.

c. Advance training. Qualified pigeoneers who complete basic training prescribed in b above, and who possess the ability, may be selected for advance training which will prepare them to become specialists or non-commissioned officers. This training will teach:

(1) Skill. (a) Ability to manage a training loft and to train both young and old pigeons.

(b) Ability to manage a breeding loft and supervise breeding activities after schedules have been prepared.

(c) Ability to instruct others in (a) and (b) above.

(2) Knowledge. A pigeoneer should possess a thorough knowledge of loft management; feeding, training, and breeding of pigeons; and employment of pigeon communications described in this manual.

33. Introduction to Pigeon Training

It is almost impossible to prescribe any one method for training homing pigeons. There are certain steps, however, that must be followed if the birds are to give reliable messenger service. The methods for training Army homing pigeons are prescribed in this section. However, they are not the only methods by which birds can be trained. Success with the birds depends largely on the individual pigeoneer’s experience and technical knowledge. This is particularly true concerning operation of combat lofts.

34. Settling Pigeons

Settling is the process of conditioning a pigeon to return to its home loft when released. Best results can be expected from young birds just out of the nest because settling and resettling become more difficult as the age of the pigeon increases. Many different methods are used to settle pigeons to lofts, and no ironclad rules can be set down to cover all situations. The age of the birds, type of loft, and experience of the pigeoneer will determine the method used and success achieved. Two settling procedures will be explained in this section. The first will be for young birds not strong on the wing, and the second for older birds that are strong on the wing. These procedures are general and may be used, with slight variations, to settle birds to all types of lofts. In the case of the combat loft, however, remember that pigeons are trained to recognize a certain type of loft rather than terrain features or geographic locations. A combat loft is moved daily during training so that the birds do not become accustomed to one location. Otherwise settling to a combat loft is the same as settling to any other loft.

a. Settling birds not strong on wing. The expression “not strong on the wing” means that pigeons do not have sufficient strength in their wings to stay in the air for sustained flight, for example, youngsters removed from the nest when 28 to 36 days old. These young pigeons are tame and easy to handle; they are not as excitable as older birds because their sense of fear has not yet developed. For these reasons they can be easily settled. They are not strong enough on the wing, however, to stay away from the loft for prolonged periods.

(1) Feed and water. Feed birds liberally on the first day they are placed in the loft, but never feed them heavily at any time after that. Make sure the water fountain is placed where it can be found easily. Young pigeons should be kept prisoners for about 2 days. During this time watch them carefully to determine whether all have learned how to drink. If any bird appears sleepy it may not have learned how to drink or where to obtain water. This bird can be taught to drink by forcing its entire beak into the water.

(2) Learning to trap. It is of the utmost importance that pigeons used for delivering messages trap promptly. A bird may be the fastest flyer in the loft yet be useless because it will not trap immediately upon return to the loft. The message cannot be removed from the pigeon’s leg if the bird stays on the roof of the loft instead of entering the trap. For this reason it is essential that trapping exercises be carefully carried out. The best time for this training is when birds are being settled. Install the trap late in the evening of the second day of confinement and allow the youngsters to go out on their own initiative and look around. This enables them to become familiar with the outside of the loft and the surrounding territory. On the third day catch the youngsters, place them on the landing board, and gently push one at a time through the trap. Some birds may take to the wing but they will only stay in the air a few minutes at any one time. These pigeons will not fly away; they are merely learning the use of their wings and will return when tired. Place a small amount of feed in the loft during this training and repeat the trapping exercise until the youngsters overcome all fear of the trap. After the birds have learned how to go through the trap allow them to remain outside the loft for about ½ hour and then persuade them to trap into the loft themselves. The birds are especially nervous at this time and should not be frightened. While persuading the birds to enter the loft, the pigeoneer should give them a small amount of feed by hand, and at the same time acquaint them with the feed call.

(3) Exercising. On the fourth and following days of training the birds may be turned out morning and late afternoon for approximately ½ hour of exercise. After each exercise period continue training the birds to trap promptly upon their return to the loft. At this time they should be fed only enough to assist in trapping. On these first few days the pigeons may exercise singly or in small groups. On the eighth day or soon after, however, most of the birds will begin to take their exercise flights in one compact flock. As soon as they do this, exercise the birds at noon as this will condition them faster and also accustom them to flying during the heat of the day. If after the seventh day there are a few birds that do not leave the loft for exercise, induce them to fly by pushing them gently off the loft with a bamboo fishing rod or similar pole. After all birds have learned to exercise in a flock for ½ hour or more and then return to the loft they may be considered settled. They are now ready for their first training tosses (par. 35).

b. Settling birds strong on wing. The following method is suggested for settling pigeons that are 36 days of age or older. It is assumed that these birds have been trained to trap and that they are familiar with the feed call. If they have not been taught to trap, then such training must be carried on in conjunction with this method of settling. It is necessary to use a wire inclosure such as a settling cage in teaching these birds to trap because they will fly away if not confined.

(1) Hunger and tameness. These are the two most important factors in settling birds strong on the wing, and the extent to which they are developed and controlled will greatly determine the speed with which the pigeons can be settled.

(a) Hunger. Never feed pigeons a full ration of feed at any one time during the settling period. Keep them definitely on the hungry side at all times. This serves to impress upon them that the loft is the place to find food. Hand-feeding will control the distribution of feed and, at the same time, encourage the birds to become tame. Pigeoneers are urged to hand-feed their birds at all times if possible.

(b) Tameness. The pigeoneer should spend as much time as he can in the loft with the birds. The loft should be arranged so that the birds will be near the pigeoneer. This will serve a double purpose: the pigeoneer becomes better acquainted with his birds, and they in turn lose all fear of him.

(2) Confinement. It may be necessary to confine these birds for several days, depending on their age. A settling cage to fit on the landing board and roof of the loft may be constructed from wood and wire mesh (fig. 27). This confines the pigeons, but at the same time allows them to become acquainted with the roof, landing board, trap, and immediate territory around the loft. The qualified pigeoneer can anticipate by the tameness, hunger, and actions of the birds, when they are ready to be given their first freedom.

(3) First freedom. Days with overcast skies or light rains are most favorable for first releasing the birds. Best results can be expected if birds are released in the late afternoon when they are hungry. When the pigeoneer determines that the birds are ready to be given their freedom, or on the third or fourth day of settling at the new location, the following procedure is observed:

Force all of the pigeons into the settling cage, except for three or four birds chosen in advance for their tameness. Give this small group of birds their freedom. Pigeons love company; therefore, after taking to the air, these birds will usually be attracted back by the remaining birds in the settling cage. After the pigeons circle the loft a few times call them in to prevent them from straying. For this first liberation move the settling cage on the loft far enough to one side to expose approximately half of the trap. This permits the pigeons to enter the loft as soon as they return.

When the first group returns satisfactorily, give another small group their freedom. The number of birds in the subsequent groups may be increased if satisfactory results are obtained with the first few groups. If the first group, or any part of it fails to return, however, no other birds should be given their freedom that day. Repeat this procedure the following day.

At no time during the first 2 days of liberty should the entire flock be given its freedom at one time. After approximately 50 percent of the birds has been given their liberty one or more times, the entire flock may be given open loft and permitted to go in and out at will during the late afternoon. Give open loft again the next day at the same time. On subsequent days allow the birds their freedom each morning and evening for approximately ½ hour of exercise.

Any birds that fail to take to the air should be gently forced to exercise. Noon exercise periods will accustom birds to flying in the heat of the day. When all birds have learned to exercise freely in a flock and then return to the loft they are considered settled and ready for further training as message carriers.

(4) Summary. These essential points are to be remembered in settling young pigeons:

(a) Teach birds to enter loft immediately after each exercise flight. Loitering outside may become a fixed habit which will make the birds undesirable for messenger service.

(b) Never drive pigeons from the loft during the first few days of settling.

(c) Be sure pigeons are exercised and fed regularly.

(d) Keep birds as tame as possible and do not overfeed them.

(e) At no time allow the birds to become frightened.

(f) Do not interpret these instructions on settling as ironclad rules. It may be necessary to vary them from time to time, depending upon the situation.

35. Training for Messenger Service

This training is started as soon as the birds have been settled to the loft from which they will be distributed. All pigeons except those specifically reserved for breeding purposes may undergo training continuously from the time they are 28 days old until they are no longer suitable for messenger service. Fundamentally, the methods for training pigeons to mobile combat lofts are the same as those for stationary lofts. To avoid confusion, any difference in method will be noted in the following paragraphs.

a. Conditioning. The first step in training homing pigeons for messenger service is to develop the health and strength necessary to endure sustained flight. This process is called conditioning. The degree of training necessary to condition the birds will vary with the mission for which they are being trained. Birds that will be required to fly long distances will necessarily be given longer and more intensive training than birds that will be required to fly only short distances.

(1) Health of the pigeon is dependent on proper care. Overcrowding of birds should be avoided at all times. Good loft sanitation and ventilation, together with proper diet and uncontaminated drinking water, are factors in health that are under the control of the pigeoneer. He is therefore largely responsible for the over-all health of pigeons in his loft.

(2) Strength is developed by exercise flights around the loft, and by training flights made from distant points.

b. Training flights. Pigeons may be given training flights in groups, in pairs, or singly. This training procedure is sometimes called “taking the birds down the road for a training toss.”

(1) Group tossing. Three or more birds are released at one time. Young birds are gregarious and will work more satisfactorily when released in small groups rather than individually. For this reason birds being given their first training flights should be group tossed.

(2) Double tossing. A flock of pigeons is released in pairs; each pair is permitted sufficient time to disappear before the next pair is released.

(3) Single tossing. One bird at a time is released and permitted to return to the loft alone. This is valuable training and all birds should be given two or more single tosses of 10 or more miles before being used in messenger service. Single tossing should not be practiced at distances in excess of 10 miles until the pigeons have been well settled in a particular location.

(4) Use of cage PG-50 in training. Preliminary training of pigeons should include several brief periods of confinement in the 10-bird training cage PG-50. After a period of confinement open doors carefully and allow the birds to emerge of their own free will. The release point should be within sight of the loft.

(5) Use of pigeon equipment PG-103/CB and PG-105/CB. Pigeons to be used for carrying messages should be released from these 2- or 4-bird containers after a brief interval of confinement. This will accustom them to the boxes before combat use. Make sure fresh water is available for the birds during confinement period.

c. Advanced training flights. Advanced training of military pigeons is primarily directional flight training, that is, releasing training pigeons to fly back in one general direction from various distances along the same course. The course may be north, south, east or west as determined by the location of the loft in relation to the point of release. Directional flights are the most suitable for military use, since speed and reliability of the bird are considerably increased and the time involved in training is comparatively short. If properly trained, however, pigeons will return to their loft from reasonable distances in any direction. A return flight from a direction different from the trained line of flight would be called a nondirectional flight. The speed from nondirectional flights will usually be slower and less reliable than from directional flights. This is particularly true when the pigeon must fly from the opposite direction of the trained line of flight. For nondirectional flights to be reliable, pigeons should be given training tosses from varying distances from all points of the compass. Since this type of training is not stressed in the Army Pigeon Service the subject will not be discussed any further.

(1) Directional training to stationary lofts. The stationary loft training chart (fig. 32) will aid the pigeoneer in directional training of pigeons when the loft is in a permanent location. During training, flight speeds will average 30 miles an hour from distances of 13 miles or more if a direct line of flight is followed. When the training flights (fig. 32) have been completed, the speed of pigeons will usually be faster than 37½ miles an hour. To maintain this speed approximately once a week give pigeons one flight from 40 to 50 miles and two or more short flights from 15 to 20 miles. Such flights will keep the birds in condition for messenger service from distances up to 125 miles. Any bird returning in bad condition will be benefited more by a rest of 3 or more days than by further training. If birds exceed 40 miles an hour on their first training flight from release points of 13 miles or more, they may be failing to observe variations in topography. Therefore, to be conservative during this training period, release them again from the same point in order that they may learn thoroughly the physical characteristics of the region over which they fly. This second liberation from the same point greatly assists in avoiding losses at future liberating points from greater distances. A second liberation is also recommended if the birds return at speeds of less than 20 miles an hour, since it can be assumed that they did not follow a direct line of flight. A second flight over the same course gives the birds an opportunity to learn a more direct line of flight. Unless adverse weather conditions exist, pigeons generally continue to fly in a direct line once it is learned. Strong head winds and the need to fly around local storms will slow the birds down.

(2) Directional training to combat lofts. Combat (or mobile) lofts are used during combat when it is necessary to establish immediate pigeon communication. Since pigeons may be required to furnish reliable messenger service within 8 days after moving to a new location, their training must be carefully planned and skillfully accomplished. Flight training begins as soon as the loft is established near the headquarters to be served. Until this time, however, the birds are not given any training tosses. They are, of course, fully settled to the loft and have been taking daily exercise flights around the loft at each new location to which the loft has been moved. Give the birds their first exercise flight shortly after establishing the new location. After the birds have had a brief rest they are given their first training toss. If weather permits, group toss the birds many times each day thereafter. Increase the distance and reduce the size of the group each day so that the birds may be trained to distances of 25 to 50 miles in 5 days. When giving this flight training, follow the combat loft training chart shown in figure 36.

d. Remobile training. (1) Remobiling. After combat birds have been moved into a stationary position and have been flown from this location, it is desirable to train them to mobility again before moving them into a new location. This process is called remobiling and can best be accomplished by moving the loft only a few feet at a time until the pigeons again become accustomed to having it moved. The birds will seem quite nervous and a few may settle on the ground or fail to enter the loft the first few times it is moved. The birds should become accustomed to searching for the loft regardless of its location. After this stage of training has been reached, the loft should be moved farther and farther away from the old location. Work the pigeons as a regular mobile team from this point on, always making sure that the birds are allowed plenty of time in the settling cage before they are released. This process of remobiling homing pigeons can best be accomplished with young birds that have not been settled in one location for more than 6 weeks. If there is a shortage of young birds and it is necessary to use older birds which have been remobiled numerous times, transport them to the new location as many times as possible. Feed the birds at the new location and never at the old home loft. The birds will thus learn to retrace their flight to the new loft if they return to their previous location. This method is useful only when the new location is known in advance. Birds that fail to perform properly as message carriers and are unsuitable for breeding purposes should be destroyed. Birds showing symptoms of sickness should be removed from the loft and forwarded for hospitalization, or destroyed if hospitalization facilities are not available.

(2) Reestablishing new location. If the tactical situation requires the message center to be moved forward, a new loft with birds that have been trained in mobility will be placed in the new location. The old loft may continue to operate until the new loft has established reliable communication. This method of operation insures continuous message service. As soon as the new loft has established reliable message service, the old loft will be removed, and if the birds are still suitable for combat loft flying the loft will be remobiled. If the birds are no longer suitable for combat flying because of numerous resettling at different locations, or from being settled in one location too long, they may be returned to the base camp and put in one of the breeding sections. The combat loft will then be restocked with new youngsters from the breeding lofts and training in mobility will begin.

e. Training precautions. (1) Overtraining. Care should be taken during flight training not to overtrain the birds. Such training does more harm than good, particularly if long distances are involved. Overtraining can be detected by the slightly dizzy, sleepy, and unbalanced appearance of the birds while resting. When this condition occurs, allow the pigeon to rest for a few days with open loft but no forced exercise.

(2) Feed mixtures while training. The birds should have access to fresh water and grit at all times. Make sure that the feed is clean and in the best possible condition. Never change the mixture during training or while the pigeons are being used for messenger service because the change will throw the birds out of condition.

(3) Training losses. Forcing the birds to undertake distant flying before they become properly settled to a location causes frequent losses during the training stage. Care should be taken to limit the first few training flights to distances of approximately 1 mile or less.

(4) Catching pigeons. The pigeoneer should avoid quick or sudden movements in the loft and should never chase the birds in order to catch them. When it is necessary to catch pigeons during daylight hours, close the blackout windows or insert the shutters to darken the loft. The pigeons may then be picked up easily with the aid of a flashlight. The pigeoneer should avoid catching the pigeons in the loft immediately after their return from a training flight.

36. Delivering Pigeons by Parachute

a. Equipment. Parachute equipment PG-100/CB consists of a collapsible, cylinder-type, 4-bird container and a 6-foot hemispherical baseball-type parachute with a quick release clip. Parachute equipment PG-101/CB is of similar design except that the container has an 8-bird capacity and is attached to a 9-foot parachute. This equipment is specifically designed to supply initially or to resupply pigeons to infantry parachute troops, infantry glider troops, or any isolated forces requiring delivery of pigeons by air.

b. Instructions for use. To insure safe delivery of the pigeons, caution must be observed when attaching containers to the parachutes.

The instructions printed on each parachute pack should be strictly adhered to.

c. Results. Best results will be obtained when pigeons are launched between the altitudes of 200 and 1,000 feet with air speed not exceeding 125 miles an hour. Pigeons launched within these general limits are less likely to become lost because of excessive drift. The possibility of injury to the birds from high speed air rushing through the container, or from shock when the parachute opens, will be reduced to a minimum.

d. Instructions for repacking parachutes. The following method is suggested for repacking either 6- or 9-foot parachutes for future use after they have been used once for dropping pigeons to ground troops.

(1) Stretch parachute full length, with one man holding the canopy at the center of the top and another man holding the shroud lines taut at the shroud line separator disk. Straighten all shroud lines, making sure none are twisted. Lay the parachute on a flat surface and pick each fold of the canopy as one would pick petals from a flower, dividing the folds and associated shroud lines equally on each side (fig. 35). Eliminate creases by running the hand between the folds.

(2) Make an “S” fold in the canopy lengthwise from the crown (fig. 36). The hem will form a large letter “S” if the fold is made properly.

(3) Lay the shroud lines in small “S” folds on the canopy starting approximately 10 or 12 inches back from the hem, making a sufficient number of folds to bring the shroud line separator disk close to the hem of the canopy. The parachute is now ready to be folded into a pack. To do this, make three accordion folds in the canopy (fig. 37).

(4) Tie the folded canopy in position with two tie cords of not more than 15 pounds strength. Place one cord approximately 2½ inches back from the hem and the other cord 2½ inches from the end of the pack. Attach the static line to the tie cord near the end of the pack, leaving enough tail for another tie to be made to the other tie cord near the hem with 3 inches of slack left between the two ties (fig. 38). The static line must have a tensile strength of at least 200 pounds and be 15 feet long. The 3 inches of slack left between the two ties are necessary for each tie cord to receive a sharp individual snap; otherwise both cords will break simultaneously.

(5) Push the remainder of the static cord between one of the folds in the parachute. The parachute is now ready for reuse.

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