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You can keep pigeons in Ottawa. My brother -in-law does legally. Now you may not want a coop outside, but I trained successfully with 6-8 a week in a dog crate in the garage. You must use them up every week. Small animal auctions sell them for around 2$ a bird. It's a bit of a pain but you only need them for maybe 8 + weeks and you can switch to small quail, depending on the dog's progress.
http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/animal...ts-and-pigeons
My original question was "Has anyone used them as a training aid" If you use them in lieu of game birds.... Do they flush well when released?....As long as a spices is not found in boreal forest e.g. pigeons there is no risk of your dog bumping something that is not in the habitat you are hunting....Starlings are mostly gone south during hunting season and are not found in boreal forest habitat....Again i will use the example of the pigeon....Its not found in the bush you hunt....So arbitrarily you could use a gray parrot....I used pigeons to train my GSP on ruffed grouse....In the bush when he found himself in the sent cone of a grouse he stood on it....All he knew it was a bird....Later that day he stood on a spruce grouse....And when i bring him to the duck pond he is a statue....All he knows is a bird is a bird....Starling or pigeon makes no difference....All i want to know is how close do starlings sit when released? and general behaviour of the bird....
Starling are a scourge in the bird world. They are the ugliest and I understand the British brought them over. I dislike them very much. I'll thank you in advance for any you kill.
Your the man dude! Where is the auction your talking about? I'll Take 100!
I don't think your going to find anyone using them for training, but i think you should try it..... and then let us know how it goes.......
I think if you use a wild starling the second you but it down for your dog its going to fly away. Even if you dizzy it, once it snaps out of it it will fly away. They are not comfortable on the ground. You would need to get a bird trap launcher for sure.
To answer your question, no I have never used starlings as a training bird.Quote:
Originally Posted by steelshot
on another note, my dogs can tell the difference between song birds and game birds. They figured it out while they were very young and I assisted in discouraging them from bothering with them. Your idea is silly. You have 9 posts and have already come off as confrontational. Go find some pigeons...and it is spelled province not Provence.
Your dog knows more than you think he does. A dog with any experience quickly learns the difference between grouse, pheasants, etc. & will start handling them differently as he learns. This doesn't require genius; hunting is what hunting dogs do, and they're good at it. You ought to have some respect for your dog's intelligence.Quote:
Originally Posted by steelshot
But it seems you've already made up your mind to use starlings. So go ahead and use them. You'll find out how close they sit when released soon enough.
A starling would be the last bird I would use. You don't want your dog hunting them. Pigeons are not hard to find anywhere in Ontario especially around Ottawa. Keep looking ;)
Not to be rude but it appears you already have all the answers so doesn't make much sense that you're asking us. As for starlings going south, I am currently looking at 3 in the cedar hedge outside my window. By the statements you made, you may not know what you don't know....Quote:
Originally Posted by steelshot