New pideons owner

[biophiliac]

Thanks @RezChamp - very timely info for me as I, well my brother is just beginning constructon of my first loft...and we were discussing whether or not to insulate.

My other coops needed R5 2" rigid foam insulation. Not so much for warmth but just so the walls wouldn't frost-up from breath and poop humidity just to melt and then ice during warm spells in winter and run down the walls to turn poop into slush when it warmed up.

I finally figured it out leaving the bottom vents open didn't harm at all. Actually most of the time the windows are open too. Even though it gets real cold here like -50*C sometimes I've only ever lost very few babies and only sick or very old birds to cold.

If I understand correctly, for a climate like Wisconsin USA you recommend rigid foam insulation sandwiched between outer siding and inner walls of loft? To prevent condensation inside? And will this help keep it cooler in hot weather? I want to keep it nice and dry. My design includes wire screen covered vents with hinged covers along the bottom below nest boxes and perches and I was worried that would let in too much moisture along with the airflow.

It is quite small, only 4 x 8 with 4 x 6 enclosed and the additional 2 x 4 feet wire enclosed
avairy/look-around. The long sides feace north and south, the short sides face east and west.

 

[brettshomestead]

Oh OOOhhh. I actually kinda feel sorry for you. What with feed and lumber and tools.
But you know what?.... It's a much healthier addiction than booze & drugs or slots or BlackJack & other ⚙⛓ we do.
Re: buildings, Square(8x8,10x10,12x12 for example) are way more efficient in material use. A steeper roof sheds water better and a metal clad roof will decrease your birds desire to "strut" up there & in the case of Homers they'll be more likely to go "in" rather than lollingag "on", thusly decreasing your flight times. In racing today even split seconds count.
Good luck young brother

No kidding I'd much rather have this as an addiction! I just need to find some kinda club now local to me for pideons, shouldn't be to hard in oklahoma.

 

[scottcaddy]

Thanks @RezChamp - very timely info for me as I, well my brother is just beginning constructon of my first loft...and we were discussing whether or not to insulate.




If I understand correctly, for a climate like Wisconsin USA you recommend rigid foam insulation sandwiched between outer siding and inner walls of loft? To prevent condensation inside? And will this help keep it cooler in hot weather? I want to keep it nice and dry. My design includes wire screen covered vents with hinged covers along the bottom below nest boxes and perches and I was worried that would let in too much moisture along with the airflow.

It is quite small, only 4 x 8 with 4 x 6 enclosed and the additional 2 x 4 feet wire enclosed
avairy/look-around. The long sides feace north and south, the short sides face east and west.

You might want to read some of the cold weather threads on BYC here. from what I have seen, the more ventilation with out drafts on the birds the better. It's not the temp as much as moving the moisture out of the loft/coop.
IMO of course.
Scott

 

[LamarshFish]

Footnote, all the feral birds where I live are actually Racing Homers gone feral so I just re-domesticated them. If they(actually their offspring)didn't come home, good for them, if they got home eventually, they either went in the sales as "unflown" or "flown" slots or the soup pot.

That's interesting. Another nice thing about incorporating ferals into your lines is I'd imagine they are great breeders. In racing lofts, pigeons get some help with breeding to some degree (they get a nest box, nest materials, sometimes climate control, etc), but in the wild, the pigeon must be a creative breeder. I'd imagine that helps.

 

[RezChamp]

You might want to read some of the cold weather threads on BYC here. from what I have seen, the more ventilation with out drafts on the birds the better. It's not the temp as much as moving the moisture out of the loft/coop.
IMO of course.
Scott

True. Move the air.
Where I live it gets pretty darn damp at night. Like my profile says,"in the swamps". Well maybe not swamp like Louisiana, but wet grasslands and sloughs surrounded by(what's left due to slash & burn and drainage for farming) the Boreal Bog Forest. So I need to close up my lofts at night especially if it's been real hot then cools(fog) and/or after a few days rains. But actual heat and cold don't bother them(pigeons)so much.

 

[RezChamp]

No kidding I'd much rather have this as an addiction! I just need to find some kinda club now local to me for pideons, shouldn't be to hard in oklahoma.

to the pigeon addiction as opposed to "my former addictions".
And yes, according to what little I've read, there is quite a few more clubs in Oklahoma as opposed to Manitoba. I think we have only 2 in Manitoba although there is the national club, CPFA of which we( provincial clubs and/or individuals) can join.
Again, I wish you well.

 

[RezChamp]

Thanks @RezChamp - very timely info for me as I, well my brother is just beginning constructon of my first loft...and we were discussing whether or not to insulate.




If I understand correctly, for a climate like Wisconsin USA you recommend rigid foam insulation sandwiched between outer siding and inner walls of loft? To prevent condensation inside? And will this help keep it cooler in hot weather? I want to keep it nice and dry. My design includes wire screen covered vents with hinged covers along the bottom below nest boxes and perches and I was worried that would let in too much moisture along with the airflow.

It is quite small, only 4 x 8 with 4 x 6 enclosed and the additional 2 x 4 feet wire enclosed
avairy/look-around. The long sides feace north and south, the short sides face east and west.

Yes, insulate against condensation mostly. And yes ventilation for humidity control.
R5 ain't gona make much difference in temp imo. Atleast not where I live. What little I can remember from my time in Wisconsin is the winter temps can get cold (-20to-30*C ???) during a regular cold snap...right?
So I would guess it would make quite a difference there.
That said my parents' parents used cardboard as insulation on the ship-lap walls of there homes and that made s huge difference. Mond you that was when I was a wee guy and I don't remember feeling the cold the way I do now. LOL
All said there is so much info now on the Internet. If I had the Internet when I started I think I would have done so much better than what I did.

 

[RezChamp]

Oh, forgot to mention, in my area, I've found it better to have my lofts face slightly east of directly south east. I don't what the compass bearing would be. I dislike having any windows or opening to the north or more especially the northwest. Too cold, too windy causing drafts.
My coops are on the south interface of a small crescent shaped bluff of WhitePoplar overstory and Nutwillow understory with a small bluff of WildPlum, SaskatoonBerry &Nutwillow about 50 yards south of that. So protection from just about any wind but still open enough not to an oven. Hope this helps.

 

[biophiliac]

I've been to Manitoba , and yes you are right about the winter temps in WI. Also its gets pretty hot and sticky in the summer, maybe not quite as much as where you are. In the summer, I wondered if at least the south exposure could be insulated to prevent excessive heat building up during the day - or will the ventilation take care of that? In my experience with chickens, ventilation is your friend - and heat, not cold is your enemy.

I've been seriously all over the Internet for several months now, so I take your point there
Thanks again for you thoughts.

 

[biophiliac]

Oh, forgot to mention, in my area, I've found it better to have my lofts face slightly east of directly south east. I don't what the compass bearing would be. I dislike having any windows or opening to the north or more especially the northwest. Too cold, too windy causing drafts.
My coops are on the south interface of a small crescent shaped bluff of WhitePoplar overstory and Nutwillow understory with a small bluff of WildPlum, SaskatoonBerry &Nutwillow about 50 yards south of that. So protection from just about any wind but still open enough not to an oven. Hope this helps.

I'm really limited by space available. It has to go with the 6' sides S and N, the 4' sides E and W. :/ It is closely sheltered by a large concrete building [pics in my media].
only planning to keep 9 - 12 homers.