Pigeon Talk

[holm25]

I’m going to try to figure out what color he is, but if someone know, that would be great!
View attachment 1563192

Pasted from a friend


Looks like either a heavily grizzled ash red t pattern or a very white washed out Deroy (almond recessive red)

 

[WVduckchick]

Pasted from a friend


Looks like either a heavily grizzled ash red t pattern or a very white washed out Deroy (almond recessive red)

Thanks!

 

[WVduckchick]

So instead of moving out one group of bantam cochins, I decided I’ll sell my Old English bantams. I only have one pen of them, just 9 chickens, and I already know someone who wants them. Plus that pen will be easier to modify for the pigeons, and it already has a door leading into the duck run, which is huge and covered with netting, and I can use it for training purposes also. Win win!

Will be sad to let go of my OEGBs, but I messed them up last year by taking a blue brassy hen, and kept one of her daughters, and continued to mess up my beautiful silver duckwing group. Oh well, all for the best.

 

[WVduckchick]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I need and don't need, housing-wise, so I was doing some googling. Have you guys seen this dream loft?? Holy smokes!

http://www.skylakesions.com/
Click on "New Loft" on the left menu, and also check out "Portable Loft"

 

[LamarshFish]

dream loft

To date, my top dream loft is the one the English guys have in the video where they're showing their loft to Mike Tyson, and all the nest box floors have these conveyor belt things that automatically remove the poop, no human work needed. Pretty nifty.

 

[WVduckchick]

To date, my top dream loft is the one the English guys have in the video where they're showing their loft to Mike Tyson, and all the nest box floors have these conveyor belt things that automatically remove the poop, no human work needed. Pretty nifty.

Wow! That would be cool!

Do the birds need total enclosure for "sleeping" or just perches/shelves to sleep on? Open air? How much wind block?
Why did I think this was going to be easy?

 

[CCUK]

Wow! That would be cool!

Do the birds need total enclosure for "sleeping" or just perches/shelves to sleep on? Open air? How much wind block?
Why did I think this was going to be easy?

If you check out my coop at the bottom there is a link to my loft build. It's not big but it has everything they need. I want to make a bigger one next year! The only thing I'd do differently is not having the mesh floor. A wooden one that can be scraped would be alot easier to clean. I also like the wooden v perches as they keep in theme to the rest of the loft but the plastic ones would also be easier to clean. When you think pigeons, think poop and how it would be easier to clean! I was lucky with my loft in the respect that the pigeons I bought came from a guy who was packing up so I bought a whole load of nest bowls, drinkers, feeders, carry basket and other bits and bobs for next to nothing.

 

[LamarshFish]

Do the birds need total enclosure for "sleeping" or just perches/shelves to sleep on? Open air? How much wind block?

Most adult and young adult pigeons sleep on perches. But, for obvious reasons, brooding hens will sleep in the nest boxes, on their eggs. Cock birds first claiming a nest box may also spend a lot of time in that newly claimed nest box, and may roost there as well. Sometimes, usually due to overcrowding, cock birds and hens not on eggs or squabs, will roost in nest boxes, but sometimes they will do so in an uncrowded loft just because they want to. When lofts are quite overcrowded (to the point where something should be done), adult birds will roost on the floor (not to be confused with fledged squeakers, which almost always roost on the floor after fledgling the nest bowl).

Each cock birds needs a nest box AND a perch. Each nest box should be about 21-24" wide, large enough to comfortably house two nest bowls, as the pairs will stagger their clutches (begin setting a new pair with a few weeks left of the other squabs staying in the nest).

Each hen should have a perch, even if she spends most of her time in her nest bowl.

And you always want an extra nest box or so, per every 8 pairs ish. So, for every 6 or 7 occupied nest boxes, you want one extra nest box for over flow (i.e. for every 6 or 7 cock birds who occupy a nest box, you want about one empty nest box). The empty, unused nest box typically is the one closest to the floor, as the heirarchy/pecking order is usually that the top birds take the top boxes and perches, although this is not always the case.... but they rarely prefer the lowest boxes. Remember, these are cliff dwelling birds. They find safety in high nooks, and associate the ground with danger.

Ideally, in places with cold winters, your aviary opening faces south, and the north side of your loft has an impermeable wall. This is so the opening of the loft is only susceptible to drafts from the south, and south winds are usually warmer air. North winds usually have the cold air. Even yet, in the winter, if there is a south wind it's still cold, and I sometimes close off my south facing aviary. If you cannot face your loft opening south, east is a second alternative. North or west facing openings are problematic in cold climates. If you live in a warm climate it matters less.

Good lofts strike a delicate balance between NO DRAFTS and VENTILATION. On one hand, you must have good ventilation, but on the other hand, you must minimize drafts.

 

[WVduckchick]

Most adult and young adult pigeons sleep on perches. But, for obvious reasons, brooding hens will sleep in the nest boxes, on their eggs. Cock birds first claiming a nest box may also spend a lot of time in that newly claimed nest box, and may roost there as well. Sometimes, usually due to overcrowding, cock birds and hens not on eggs or squabs, will roost in nest boxes, but sometimes they will do so in an uncrowded loft just because they want to. When lofts are quite overcrowded (to the point where something should be done), adult birds will roost on the floor (not to be confused with fledged squeakers, which almost always roost on the floor after fledgling the nest bowl).

Each cock birds needs a nest box AND a perch. Each nest box should be about 21-24" wide, large enough to comfortably house two nest bowls, as the pairs will stagger their clutches (begin setting a new pair with a few weeks left of the other squabs staying in the nest).

Each hen should have a perch, even if she spends most of her time in her nest bowl.

And you always want an extra nest box or so, per every 8 pairs ish. So, for every 6 or 7 occupied nest boxes, you want one extra nest box for over flow (i.e. for every 6 or 7 cock birds who occupy a nest box, you want about one empty nest box). The empty, unused nest box typically is the one closest to the floor, as the heirarchy/pecking order is usually that the top birds take the top boxes and perches, although this is not always the case.... but they rarely prefer the lowest boxes. Remember, these are cliff dwelling birds. They find safety in high nooks, and associate the ground with danger.

Ideally, in places with cold winters, your aviary opening faces south, and the north side of your loft has an impermeable wall. This is so the opening of the loft is only susceptible to drafts from the south, and south winds are usually warmer air. North winds usually have the cold air. Even yet, in the winter, if there is a south wind it's still cold, and I sometimes close off my south facing aviary. If you cannot face your loft opening south, east is a second alternative. North or west facing openings are problematic in cold climates. If you live in a warm climate it matters less.

Good lofts strike a delicate balance between NO DRAFTS and VENTILATION. On one hand, you must have good ventilation, but on the other hand, you must minimize drafts.

Good info. Thank you for taking the time.

I'm going to be moving them to an existing chicken pen, so determining the modifications is where I am now. The current "coop" that the chickens roost in overnight (which has one chicken nest box attached), is basically just a small wooden box (6'x3'x3' ish) with a hinged lid on top to open for cleaning, lengthwise perch pole, and an opening on the front for the chickens to enter through. I think I can remove (or cut a larger opening) the front panel and add boxes inside it. Its only at about half the height of the whole run, which is about 8' or 9', covered by metal roofing. I'm not sure if I will need to increase the height of it, or maybe add perches above it....

Anyway, thanks for giving me thoughts to consider.

 

[biophiliac]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I need and don't need, housing-wise, so I was doing some googling. Have you guys seen this dream loft?? Holy smokes!

http://www.skylakesions.com/
Click on "New Loft" on the left menu, and also check out "Portable Loft"

Wow! That would be cool!

Do the birds need total enclosure for "sleeping" or just perches/shelves to sleep on? Open air? How much wind block?
Why did I think this was going to be easy?

That loft shows just how serious fanciers are about pigeons!

If you check out my coop at the bottom there is a link to my loft build. It's not big but it has everything they need. I want to make a bigger one next year! The only thing I'd do differently is not having the mesh floor. A wooden one that can be scraped would be alot easier to clean. I also like the wooden v perches as they keep in theme to the rest of the loft but the plastic ones would also be easier to clean. When you think pigeons, think poop and how it would be easier to clean! I was lucky with my loft in the respect that the pigeons I bought came from a guy who was packing up so I bought a whole load of nest bowls, drinkers, feeders, carry basket and other bits and bobs for next to nothing.

Very lucky! You are better equipped than me.

Good info. Thank you for taking the time.

I'm going to be moving them to an existing chicken pen, so determining the modifications is where I am now. The current "coop" that the chickens roost in overnight (which has one chicken nest box attached), is basically just a small wooden box (6'x3'x3' ish) with a hinged lid on top to open for cleaning, lengthwise perch pole, and an opening on the front for the chickens to enter through. I think I can remove (or cut a larger opening) the front panel and add boxes inside it. Its only at about half the height of the whole run, which is about 8' or 9', covered by metal roofing. I'm not sure if I will need to increase the height of it, or maybe add perches above it....

Anyway, thanks for giving me thoughts to consider.

One other thing @hokumcoco told me - don't make your loft taller than you can reach or you will have trouble catching your birds.

My loft is 4w x6l x6h and fwiw you can see some pics while my brother was building it for me...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/albums/loft-build.7427737/

Some shots of the property before the loft. Very little space on the ground but a huuuuge expanse of roof that they love!.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/albums/loft-site.7427532/

I'm real happy with the flight pen I added recently...