DIY Pigeon Backpack

by adamvas in Outside > Birding

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DIY Pigeon Backpack

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What if your pigeon could transfer a message, a USB disk or even a mobile phone (or camera)

Your dreams can now become true!!!

What is a homing pigeon?(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homing_pigeon)

The homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica) derived from the rock pigeon, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distances. The wild rock pigeon has an innate homing ability,meaning that it will generally return to its nest, using magnetoreception.
This made it relatively easy to breed from the birds that repeatedly found their way home over long distances. Flights as long as 1,800 km (1,100 miles) have been recorded by birds in competitive pigeon racing. Their average flying speed over moderate[clarification needed] distances is around 80 km/h (50 miles per hour) but speeds of up to 140 km/h (90 miles per hour) have been observed in top racers for short distances.

Because of this skill, homing pigeons were used to carry messages as carrier pigeons or messenger pigeons. They are usually referred to as "pigeon post" or "war pigeon" during wars.

Materials

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miffinal

Here 's all you will need:

1.a piece of cloth (e.g. an old t-shirt)

2.scissors

3.needle and thread

4.a zipper

5.a ruler

6.a marker

7.

two pieces of elastic ribbonv

8.a rectangular object (e.g. a cell phone)

9. of course a...........pigeon

Measuring

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  • Place the rectangular object on the cloth and trace it΄s shape. I used a mobile phone but I suggest using something smaller
  • Draw a second line leaving some space from the previous one (that will be where you will need to cut).

tip:you don't need to be too accurate, but the more accurate you are, the better the aesthetic outcome will be...

Cutting

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  • Now carefully cut along the outer line.

Sewing

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  • sew up three sides (leave the forth one for the zipper)
  • carefully sew the zipper on the upper side

The Straps

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You are almost there!

Now you should sew the elastic ribbons strongly onto the "backpack" from corner to corner.

The length of the straps should be somewhere between 10-15 cm, but you'll probably need to try it on your pigeon first...

tip: As you can see in the picture, I temporarily used a stapler in order to try the length of the elastic on the bird, before sewing it shorter at its final length.

Finished

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