I need help housing my pigeons

[CascadiaRiver]

I have a dad who will build me just about anything and I need a loft where I can have all of my birds able to stretch their wings and have babies and not fight!

Here's my current situation;

I have a small open space where one pair of birmingham rollers and their two almost adult babies are free flying. Inside there also to protect from the weather I have two of these medium sized cages with yearlings in them http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTMxWDE0Mjc=/z/E9gAAOSwZd1VYvZC/$_32.JPG (in the bottom one their is a two who I get along and the top one has a pair with a divider).
Seperate from this area there is another one of those guinea pig cages with my pair of damascenes and in a nearby rabbit hutch there is another adult pair of birminghams. (the rabbit hutch looks like this but much bigger- https://secure.img1-fg.wfcdn.com/im/5fa5a925/resize-h550-p1-w550^compr-r85/3869/38695150/Pawhut+48"+Deluxe+2-level+Backyard+Bunny+Rabbit+Hutch.jpg)

I have 12 birds total and theyre all currently a pain to care for because of their set up, I have to crawl around to get to the guinea pig cages and the rabbit hutch's bottom story is hard to reach around in.

So here is what I need from you guys!

1. Your advice, opinions and experience with housing your (or a friends/familys) pigeons!
2. An Answer to this; Can I house all of my birds in an open aviary? all together? Or will space and territory eventually become an issue? I don't let my birds out-out since they're for show/pets. Will I instead have to have a set up like this for each pair? https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c1/18/89/c1188907c9380dade3189a15e9a6e5e2.jpg if so what will I have to do with the offspring?
3. An idea on how to house my pigeons that includes;
-Easy to clean (I want bark dust bottoms if possible, easy to access)
-Easy to get in and reach all around
-Space enough for them to flap their wings and stretch!


*** The reason I have this crazy set up is because my current birds do *not* get along. My first pair (almond hen + blue spread cock) have four babies, a cockbird and thtee hens, two of the youngest hens are in with the pair in the open part of the loft. The young cockbird always tries to fight his father and resulted in a small baldspot which is something I cannot have on my show birds.

Now the cock from my first pair does not get along with either of the birds in the rabbit hutch, the hen or cock. This second pair is older than the first and have beaten up the other adult cockbird pretty bad before.

I assume they fought when they were all together due to space and extra next boxes (plus just being cockbirds in general) so that is why I need an answer to #2 and why I need a new setup.

 

[Hokum Coco]

1. Your advice,

Bigger is better Pigeons when housed correctly can get by on as little as 2 square feet. When allowed to free fly.
2. Can I house all of my birds in an open aviary? Yes as long as you provide at least 2 square feet of nesting area per each pair.
3. An idea on how to house my pigeons that includes;
-Easy to clean
I line my nest boxes with nylon mesh feed bags when a bag get soiled pop it out and replace it with another. Poop just peals off in freezing temperatures and just flakes off when allowed to back in the sun. I also cover my entire floor with a tarp that acts the same way. Easy Peasy Japaneasy.

How many birds to you plan to have in your flock?

Lofts come in a variety of shapes and sizes here a few you may check out:

https://www.google.ca/search?q=pige...1fnVAhUBayYKHS7HCewQ_AUICigB&biw=1080&bih=558

Here is a video showing my set up.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Well I have 10 birmingham rollers and a pair of Damascenes, at most I plan on having 15-20 birds and hopefully always have less birds than that since that would be a lot. (I am getting rid of about 4 of them after state fair leaving me with 8 birds total.) I wish I had a surplus of feed bags because that seems like a wonderful way to keep things clean! In your open aviary how do you go about old cocks and young cocks fighting? I almost feel like it would be easier to have set-ups like this for my show birds; https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c1/18/89/c1188907c9380dade3189a15e9a6e5e2.jpg ?

 

[jak2002003]

I can't imagine having a set up like you have now.. would be very time consuming and difficult to clean and tend to the birds... and take a lot of the enjoyment out of keeping pigeons!

You also keep them in the cages 24/7? You say you don't let them out to fly ever? Sorry, but that sounds a bit cruel to me. The birds need exercise for their long term health.

I am glad to hear you are improving you set up.. for you and your birds.

I would house all your birds together in a large open aviary.. with the back and one or 2 sides solid wall.. to protect the birds form rain and wind.

Put a 2 foot high 'wall' or board around the 2 open sides on the floor.. to stop rain splashing in.. and protect against rodents and predators.

Have the floor either concrete (so you can scrape up the dry poop), or a layer of dry sand (so you can rake it over and sieve out the dry poops when needed). Sand is the best in my opinion as it looks nice, easy to clean, and does not need replacing... and keeps the birds feet and tail feathers very clean... but make sure the sand stays dry... perhaps have a big overhang on the coop roof to stop rain getting in.

If you don't want breeding simply do not put in any nest boxes. You only need perches... lots of them on the back and side wall.. more than you have birds.. so they won't have to fight over a place to rest.

Once they are settled into their new place (after a couple of weeks).. you can allow them to fly free outside. I use this opportunity to go in the clean up the coop. Also put a washing up bowl outside so they can bath and play in the water without messing up the coop.

If you want to breed some birds you can pick out a pair or 2 from you flock and breed them separate in the cages you have.. and then let them back into the aviary after they have raised their squabs... that way you can control breeding and get better results.... and control you pigeon population.

 

[Hokum Coco]

In your open aviary how do you go about old cocks and young cocks fighting?

My pigeons free fly for the most part every day for about 2 hrs minimum. There is a pecking order that develops in a loft the same as with chickens. In my set up once the "ALPHA MALE" is established the subordinates fall into place and it not much of an issue.