Pigeon loft section question

[biophiliac]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! How big of an aviary are you thinking? If the aviary is larger, I think 4 pairs will fit great. But no more. Can I make a suggustion?

build the loft 8×12. Have a 6×8 section for breeding, and a 6×8 section for flying. I said 8×12 because that his with common lumber\plywood size, the 5×10 does not. Do the aviary as well. Make a large landing pad for easy training on young birds.

I like that you say 4 pairs. Many would say many more. Remember, quality, not quanity.

where are you located? Not by chance TN?

Good post! I was about to tag you. Did you say you might try a few of your birds in races this year?

 

[Pigeon28]

I do lose some to hawk predation, a couple have been hit by cars, … I put some squeakers on Craigslist and gave some away to a guy starting a new loft. Still I have had to pull dozens of eggs. I let them sit on fakes so they don't lay again right away. Racing pigeons are just breeding fools! Lol

Good to know! I never realized how much they lay/breed

 

[Pigeon28]

Hi! Welcome to BYC! How big of an aviary are you thinking? If the aviary is larger, I think 4 pairs will fit great. But no more. Can I make a suggustion?

build the loft 8×12. Have a 6×8 section for breeding, and a 6×8 section for flying. I said 8×12 because that his with common lumber\plywood size, the 5×10 does not. Do the aviary as well. Make a large landing pad for easy training on young birds.

I like that you say 4 pairs. Many would say many more. Remember, quality, not quanity.

where are you located? Not by chance TN?
[/

Thankyou! For aviary I was hoping to do something about 4ft wide, 10 ft long by 6 ft high. Should I go with a bigger aviary? Also I was going with 5x10 because it’s what I have room for and what I have for materials but I could probably squeak a 6x10 if you think the extra foot would make a difference? And when you say landing pad do you mean the landing pad in front of the trap door? I’m from western MA,

 

[backyard pigeons]

Good post! I was about to tag you. Did you say you might try a few of your birds in races this year?

I would love to. I get "The Racing Pigeon Digest" magizine. In it, they had an add for youth only one loft race. it is free, besides shipping bird there. Only 50 birds being raced, limit one bird per person. I am planning on entering one bird. I am soo excited!

but other than that, I don't think I will be able to race any other races. To expensive! I would love to do club races, but the clocks and everything is just a little out of my price range. One loft races are cool, but club races are what I would enjoy more. Because I could train my own bird. Not someone else training my bird.

Thankyou! For aviary I was hoping to do something about 4ft wide, 10 ft long by 6 ft high. Should I go with a bigger aviary? Also I was going with 5x10 because it’s what I have room for and what I have for materials but I could probably squeak a 6x10 if you think the extra foot would make a difference? And when you say landing pad do you mean the landing pad in front of the trap door? I’m from western MA,

I think the aviary would work. just as long as you don't have more than 4-5 pairs in one 5×5 section. With a 4×5 aviary section for them. And then a race team not exceeding 12-15 birds, assuming that they have an aviary section as well. It would also be good if the flyers got a toss\loft fly a day. Though, hawks have different plans sometimes.

The landing pad\board is the flat surface the birds will land on to go through the trap door. you were right. If It were me,,, I would build the aviary on the back, the landing pad on the front. If it were me, I would build the front landing pad where there is wire all around it, but a large door that you can open to let the birds out\in to loft fly and come back. Have the traps inside the cage, so they trap to go from the cage to the inside. Does this make sense? If it doesnt, tell me and I will draw it up. this is the best way in my opinion because the birds every single day are getting to go thru the trap. They should be so comfortable pushing through it. Every single second counts in a race! And, if your birds are comfortable with you, on a race day, they will allow you to slowly walk up and close the cage. That way, nothing will scare them out of the cage such as a hawk soaring over, tires screeching, a cat walking by, etc.

 

[Pigeon28]

I would love to. I get "The Racing Pigeon Digest" magizine. In it, they had an add for youth only one loft race. it is free, besides shipping bird there. Only 50 birds being raced, limit one bird per person. I am planning on entering one bird. I am soo excited!

but other than that, I don't think I will be able to race any other races. To expensive! I would love to do club races, but the clocks and everything is just a little out of my price range. One loft races are cool, but club races are what I would enjoy more. Because I could train my own bird. Not someone else training my bird.
I think the aviary would work. just as long as you don't have more than 4-5 pairs in one 5×5 section. With a 4×5 aviary section for them. And then a race team not exceeding 12-15 birds, assuming that they have an aviary section as well. It would also be good if the flyers got a toss\loft fly a day. Though, hawks have different plans sometimes.

The landing pad\board is the flat surface the birds will land on to go through the trap door. you were right. If It were me,,, I would build the aviary on the back, the landing pad on the front. If it were me, I would build the front landing pad where there is wire all around it, but a large door that you can open to let the birds out\in to loft fly and come back. Have the traps inside the cage, so they trap to go from the cage to the inside. Does this make sense? If it doesnt, tell me and I will draw it up. this is the best way in my opinion because the birds every single day are getting to go thru the trap. They should be so comfortable pushing through it. Every single second counts in a race! And, if your birds are comfortable with you, on a race day, they will allow you to slowly walk up and close the cage. That way, nothing will scare them out of the cage such as a hawk soaring over, tires screeching, a cat walking by, etc.

Well that will be the plan then I guess as of now, but if I wasn’t going to be doing hardcore racing would it be better to not split it up in 2 and just not take my breeders out when I fly? Or does it not work like that. And the cage thing does make sense to me, I have read a little bit about the cage settling with trapping and have bought 3 different types of bobs to find one that I like enough

 

[biophiliac]

I would love to. I get "The Racing Pigeon Digest" magizine. In it, they had an add for youth only one loft race. it is free, besides shipping bird there. Only 50 birds being raced, limit one bird per person. I am planning on entering one bird. I am soo excited!

but other than that, I don't think I will be able to race any other races. To expensive! I would love to do club races, but the clocks and everything is just a little out of my price range. One loft races are cool, but club races are what I would enjoy more. Because I could train my own bird. Not someone else training my bird.
I think the aviary would work. just as long as you don't have more than 4-5 pairs in one 5×5 section. With a 4×5 aviary section for them. And then a race team not exceeding 12-15 birds, assuming that they have an aviary section as well. It would also be good if the flyers got a toss\loft fly a day. Though, hawks have different plans sometimes.

The landing pad\board is the flat surface the birds will land on to go through the trap door. you were right. If It were me,,, I would build the aviary on the back, the landing pad on the front. If it were me, I would build the front landing pad where there is wire all around it, but a large door that you can open to let the birds out\in to loft fly and come back. Have the traps inside the cage, so they trap to go from the cage to the inside. Does this make sense? If it doesnt, tell me and I will draw it up. this is the best way in my opinion because the birds every single day are getting to go thru the trap. They should be so comfortable pushing through it. Every single second counts in a race! And, if your birds are comfortable with you, on a race day, they will allow you to slowly walk up and close the cage. That way, nothing will scare them out of the cage such as a hawk soaring over, tires screeching, a cat walking by, etc.

The OLR sounds fun! Please keep us posted over on pigeon talk? @Pigeon28 - you are invited to join us on this chat thread with other pigeon keepers.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/page-956#post-22330648

 

[Pigeon28]

The OLR sounds fun! Please keep us posted over on pigeon talk? @Pigeon28 - you are invited to join us on this chat thread with other pigeon keepers.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/page-956#post-22330648

Great, Thankyou! I will check it out!

 

[backyard pigeons]

Well that will be the plan then I guess as of now, but if I wasn’t going to be doing hardcore racing would it be better to not split it up in 2 and just not take my breeders out when I fly? Or does it not work like that. And the cage thing does make sense to me, I have read a little bit about the cage settling with trapping and have bought 3 different types of bobs to find one that I like enough

if you aren't gonna do hardcore racing, then I would keep it one area. If you do this, but young birds, settle them and then breed from them. this way you can fly all birds, without sorting through them. which gets OLD! So, if you are racing, I would do 2 sections. If you arent, I would do one section.

Though it may seem like that's the only thing people do with homing pigeons, so many fancier don't ever race, and the hobby never gets old or boring. If you want to race, great! If you dont, great! This is a wonderful hobby. don't feel pressured to race. And don't feel pressured not to!

The OLR sounds fun! Please keep us posted over on pigeon talk? @Pigeon28 - you are invited to join us on this chat thread with other pigeon keepers.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/pigeon-talk.1276029/page-956#post-22330648

i sure will. Nothing's for sure until it happens, so I will probably post when I ship the bird. You can ship a bird under my name if you want.

Great, Thankyou! I will check it out!

please do! Id love to see you there.