In cases when there is a loft assigned to it since its young age, it will always come back no matter what happens. This ability of the pigeon to return to its nesting places despite great distances is what is taken advantage of by the pigeon racing enthusiasts. Training a Young Bird The basic training of a youngster must be done by the handler himself. In fact, some even consider it a business from which they earn a healthy profit. Historically speaking, even the king of England, George V, kept a loft that had many racing pigeons in it. The others are of course not known to many but one thing is for sure. That is, those who race pigeons are tough competitors. That's why you need to deliberate on many factors in order to become a successful breeder and produce potential champions. It's already a given that you need to use quality stock in order to increase the chances of breeding champions. There are three types of breeding: cross breeding, in breeding, and line breeding. Whichever is goal, you must remember that you can always enter your pigeons into a race provided that you know of the basics to ensure that their health is in its best shape to enable them to train and compete eventually. So, what you must ensure are to clean the loft, make sure there is no damp area which can become the breeding place of fungus and bacteria, give your pigeons fresh water and clean food at all times, and check with a vet to keep them healthy and strong. Thus, keep working on repetitions even when there are times you already feel frustrated. Training the Bird to Sit on Your Hand If you want your pet bird to be able to sit on your hand, then, you better let it get used to the presence of your hand inside the cage or loft. In that way, it will not be a cause of stress or alarm to the bird. This breeding method is more expensive than line-breeding because of the generation gap (the bigger the generation gap, the more expensive) but relatively more effective than in-breeding. Line-breeding allows the mating of pigeons with smaller generation gaps (ex. grandchild to grandparents or cousin to cousin) than those for cross breeding.