CacklingRanch
Songster
Howdy all!
I have been researching and studying for the last six months or so. Trying to regain the knowledge I lost after a 15 year absence without pigeons.
I have a 9x9 aviary that we built a few weeks back with hopes of keeping my black Australorp breeders in there. Well Jostin and his ladies kept returning to their old coop so the aviary is open for business.
I’m going to start installing roost ledges and breeding boards in the following weeks. I’ve got some gaps that were fine when it was full of chickens but will not be fine with it full of pigeons. Including a gap in the tin on the roof where we used recycled tin.
The aviary has two walls. South and West. In Texas these are the two walls I’m most concerned with because of the summer HEAT. It bakes birds in the afternoon. Most of our coops are kept under shade cloth during the summer months to keep the direct sun off of our birds. I’m no stranger to the work involved in keeping a healthy flock.
A little about me: I’m a fifth generation poultry keeper. I’ve had chickens over 30 years. We show several bantam breeds and have a few large breeds. My great grandma had pigeons (she was Czech) and gave me several as a child. I had them until Hurricane Rita when my loft went under water. When I was about 15 I found a stray homer that I named Jet. He was a young bird and had a broken wing. This was before the internet was so accessible so I never did trace his leg bands. Jet stayed with us for a few years until he was taken down by a hawk. I cried. He went everywhere with me, and I would just let him fly home when I couldn’t keep him with me.
I’m a photographer by nature so I am hoping to also have a few white homers to release at weddings.
I’ve got quite a bit of work to do on my aviary/loft to make it ready for some pigeons but I’m hoping that this is the year I finally get back into them.
PS. Don’t tell my husband.
I have been researching and studying for the last six months or so. Trying to regain the knowledge I lost after a 15 year absence without pigeons.
I have a 9x9 aviary that we built a few weeks back with hopes of keeping my black Australorp breeders in there. Well Jostin and his ladies kept returning to their old coop so the aviary is open for business.
I’m going to start installing roost ledges and breeding boards in the following weeks. I’ve got some gaps that were fine when it was full of chickens but will not be fine with it full of pigeons. Including a gap in the tin on the roof where we used recycled tin.
The aviary has two walls. South and West. In Texas these are the two walls I’m most concerned with because of the summer HEAT. It bakes birds in the afternoon. Most of our coops are kept under shade cloth during the summer months to keep the direct sun off of our birds. I’m no stranger to the work involved in keeping a healthy flock.
A little about me: I’m a fifth generation poultry keeper. I’ve had chickens over 30 years. We show several bantam breeds and have a few large breeds. My great grandma had pigeons (she was Czech) and gave me several as a child. I had them until Hurricane Rita when my loft went under water. When I was about 15 I found a stray homer that I named Jet. He was a young bird and had a broken wing. This was before the internet was so accessible so I never did trace his leg bands. Jet stayed with us for a few years until he was taken down by a hawk. I cried. He went everywhere with me, and I would just let him fly home when I couldn’t keep him with me.
I’m a photographer by nature so I am hoping to also have a few white homers to release at weddings.
I’ve got quite a bit of work to do on my aviary/loft to make it ready for some pigeons but I’m hoping that this is the year I finally get back into them.
PS. Don’t tell my husband.
You will have to post some pictures when you get them. Satinettes are proving popular at the moment. Come over to this thread. 
