UkPigeonRacing

Mine aren’t let out now and won’t be for sometime. The risk of BOP attacks is too high and as King said fitness doesn’t come into it. A sparrow hawk is so quick and stealth like that if a bird is down it will have little chance of escaping before being hit. I have late breds that have only recently started flying and these won’t be going out either. They will still be fine come spring.

Mine is simply an opinion based on the experience of losing 2 good birds within the first 2 weeks after keeping them in over the winter. The theory being that if bop gets one "easy" meal, he will cotton on and make regular visits.
Appreciate what everyone is saying about the success of bop strikes but don't see how you can deny that the bird that has been going out over winter will be "sharper" than those that have been kept in.

I flew all mine 365 days a year for many years.
Now I let some of them out for a fly but not every day and they know there's hawks around and don't go far. Most of them have a spin around for a few minutes and back in.
All mine are stock pigeons and there's no real need for them to be flying all the time but they like a spin around sometimes.
It's up to the individual I guess.

Mine used to go out all year round weather permitting, man by me his are out in all weathers all year round even high winds and lashing rain

Personally I don't think there's a need to loft fly, but they go out once a week for a bath.

If anything locking up especially if you've had your birds on the darkness is one of the best things to do to force the moult through especially with small grains.

my few still go out if they weather is ok, my view is no animal or person wants to be locked up lol