by Suzi Taylor
From the 1998-99 4-H Clover Project Selection Guide

Racing Home...

Dave Rewitz was just 12 years old when he trained his first homing pigeon. Today, the Manhattan Chief of Police is helping young 4-H'ers learn more about the sport he enjoys so much.

Last year, Rewitz developed the 4-H Homing Pigeon Project in Gallatin County. Several area 4-H'ers signed up to learn more about this unique pastime, in which homing pigeons, sometimes called "the racehorses of the sky," are bred, raised and trained to compete in sportsmanship races of up to 1000 miles.

Goals for the project include learning about the history and origin of the domestic pigeon, learning how to care for and keep records on pigeons, and learning to show and race pigeons. Members build their own lofts, acquire breeding stock, raise young birds from nesting pairs, keep records and band youngsters with seamless bands. The 4-H'ers also trap and loft-train young birds to return home, distance-train the birds five to 200 miles from home, and exhibit the pigeons at the annual county 4-H fair. They require feedings, water, baths, vaccinations and, of course, training.

Homing pigeons are typically trained as soon as they leave the nest (around 30 days old) and gradually work their way up to longer and longer flights home. Young birds will often "disappear" for a few hours while they circle over their homes, checking out the landscape for about a 20-mile radius, sometimes criss-crossing back over their lofts while they investigate the territory from high in the area. "The first couple of weeks are the hardest!" said Mr. Rewitz.

Exactly what causes this "homing instinct" is somewhat of a mystery--through wilderness, unfamiliar territory, storms, rain, snow and darkness, the homing pigeons are able to successfully navigate back to their home loft where their food and eggs remain.

Josh Plachy, a ninth-grader from Manhattan, is in his second year of the Homing Pigeon Project. "I just thought it would be neat to try," he said. Josh currently has nine birds in training, and believes they will be ready to try some races this year.

For Kimberly and Kacey Brownell of Manhattan, interest in homing pigeons came about when they saw a demonstration at the Gallatin County Fair last year. The sisters currently have 17 "young birds," meaning pigeons that were hatched in the current year. "Old birds" are all others from previous years.

"I really like to fly them, and I like to train the young birds," said Kacey, a ninth-grader.

Sixth-grader Kimberly agrees. "I like flying the birds. They're really nervous at first, but you just push them out!" In order to "encourage" the birds to return home they are often fed in the morning and flown in the afternoon, when they're more likely to be hungry.

"The thing I like most is that you release them and they can go anywhere," said Mr. Rewitz. "It's that they choose to come home."

Did you know...

• Homing pigeons often fly up to 500 miles in a day, reaching speeds of 50 mph.
• Both male and female pigeons take turns sitting on their eggs, and both form pigeon milk to feed the babies once hatched.
• The longest homing pigeon flight ever recorded was 7,200 miles, from Arras, France, to Saigon, Vietnam. The flight took 24 days.
• Since pigeons in a race each fly to their respective home lofts, the winners are judged by their "yards-per-minute" speed.

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