coop to loft?

[NicoleRM]

I'm thinking about getting a small group of white racing homers. Maybe 6 to start and no more than 10-12 total after raising a few babies. I keep most of my chickens in hoop coops now, but still have this one that was my first:

(I swear that turkey is ALWAYS in the way LOL)

It is 4'x5' in the coop, with attached 5'x9' run (not counting what's under the coop). I'm thinking if I move these birds to a hoop coop of their own, I could convert this for pigeons. Add a trap on top of the aviary, and modify the inside.

Here's looking in the door, showing the front window/chicken door side of the inside:

And the nestbox side (they hang off the back):

I'm thinking I can add dowels to block off the nest boxes and put my feeders and waterers in there were the birds can access them but not sit in them, and I can change them out easily since the roof lifts as that's currently how I collect the eggs.

The problem is that I'm not sure if once I add nest boxes and find somewhere to put perches if there is enough space. The only wall available for nest boxes is the back wall, which will be a bit inconvenient to access for cleaning or banding babies, but I can make it work (by climbing inside basically LOL). I could mount some perches above where the feeders will be and also in front of the window. Not to mention they will have the big aviary available at all times.

So will it work for what I want to do? A small group of hobby birds to enjoy and fly occasionally?

 

[pigeonpal]

Hi Nicole,

The setup is good, I just don't know if it's suitable for the amount of birds you're thinking about. The pen/flying area is GREAT, but the loft/covered area is a bit small. Generally speaking, pigeons require about 2 square feet per bird of actual covered housing. And like chickens, pigeons breed very fast!

In my opinion, this setup is only suitable for 2 pairs, maybe 3 tops. And yes, you would have to add a trap onto the aviary.

LOL@ your turkey getting in the way of the pictures!

It's a good setup and looks like there is hardwire cloth on the aviary and very suitable for some pigeons, the question is...how many?

 

[NicoleRM]

Well the coop is 20 square feet, meaning 10 birds by the formula, which is the reason I had hope it would work. I suppose I could fairly easily wall in and add a roof on the last third of the aviary near the coop to provide more cover.

 

[pigeonpal]

Hi Nicole,

Well I was talking about actual floor space and without perches or nest boxes included in the actual dimensions. And don't forget when it comes to housing any animal, bigger is always better.