Starlings

[steelshot]

New to the provence and ottawa....Finding it hard to get pigions to train my GSP....Did some research on using different training birds and starlings kept popping up....Before anyone replies to this thread about using starlings as a training aid....They are an invasive species....They are displacing native species at an ALARMING rate....They are as big a problem as zebra muscles....And not to put to fine a point on it....If i can help native species and train my dog well that is win win....Like killing two birds with one stone Has anyone used this bird as a training aid?

[Snowwalker]

New to the provence and ottawa....Finding it hard to get pigions to train my GSP....Did some research on using different training birds and starlings kept popping up....Before anyone replies to this thread about using starlings as a training aid....They are an invasive species....They are displacing native species at an ALARMING rate....They are as big a problem as zebra muscles....And not to put to fine a point on it....If i can help native species and train my dog well that is win win....Like killing two birds with one stone Has anyone used this bird as a training aid?

You want them "alive"? Or is a hole in them ok?

[trkyhntr21]

Surely pigeons or pen raised birds can be found for the off season and wild birds the rest of the year . The problem I could see with starlings would be when hunting he is out hunting song birds as that is what you are training on and are abundant in the wild.

[Sharon]

X2
plus I think it would be illegal to keep starlings in a cage or launcher, but maybe not as you can keep one as a pet from what I read.

Welcome to Ontario.

[DDT]

forgive me but a Starling is a song bird??I guess so but a pain in the butt just ask my wife when she hangs out the wash to dry

[welsh]

The problem I could see with starlings would be when hunting he is out hunting song birds as that is what you are training on and are abundant in the wild.

That was my first thought. If you train the dog to hunt tweety birds he's going to hunt tweety birds. I'd think that'd give you no end of trouble.

[steelshot]

Your dog is smarter then mine... if he can tell the difference between a "song bird" Chickadee,robin,crow,blue jay,pine siskin,finch Or a game bird....quail,rough grouse spruce grouse,pheasant,ptarmigan,snipe,wood and pigeon and mourning dove.... pigeon is actually a dove....Bird is a bird to a dog....This town has bylaws against everything including pigeons so keeping them is Illegal....So starling it is!

[trkyhntr21]

Yeah my dogs can tell the difference between song birds and game birds and pigeons . I have had to break a dog from stopping and flagging song birds it is a frustrating thing I don't know why anyone would want to ever go down that road.

[steelshot]

Where did your dog get his degree? Starlings are actually in the mina family....Which in some countries are game birds....But thats cool your dog let you know that...

[Mount Sweetness]

Are you asking for advice or giving it?