Building your first pigeon coop.....

[Keith White]

I added a slide out floor tray for easy cleaning.

[Keith White]

And here is pics of the back. I made the entire back open up for easy access to the nesting boxes.

[crazyboy]

Looks good. I see the hardware cloth comes out with the tray too, not just the wood floor, is that correct? So, there's no floor when you're cleaning it.

[Keith White]

The tray Slides in on top of the main floor. When you pull it out you still have floor under it. The wire mesh just sits on top of the tray. It just lifts off for cleaning.

[ACooper]

Keith you did a bang up job! You are obviously much more skilled than I.

[Coveyrise64]

The tray Slides in on top of the main floor. When you pull it out you still have floor under it. The wire mesh just sits on top of the tray. It just lifts off for cleaning.

Pigeons are pretty sloppy eaters and will spill as much food as they eat. I would put a solid catch tray under your feeder so it doesn't fall trough the wire floor, otherwise an awful lot of feed goes to waste.

Coveyrise64

[Keith White]

Thanks ACooper. Covyrise I think i'm finding out your right about that. They've already spilled a bunch and its laying in the bottom of the tray. I think I might sit my feeder in a pie pan or something.

[Coveyrise64]

Thanks ACooper. Covyrise I think i'm finding out your right about that. They've already spilled a bunch and its laying in the bottom of the tray. I think I might sit my feeder in a pie pan or something.

I used a lid from a 5gal plastic bucket, bolted the feeder to the top of the lid.

Coveyrise64

[ezzy333]

I only feed what they will eat in about ten minutes so I have no waste as it is usually gone within a very few minutes and it is all eaten very quickly. If they don't clean it up quickly they get cut back in feed.

Ezzy

[nj gsp]

Here's my flight pen. I built a nesting box with a roost rail, which you can see near the back. I have another roost rail on the opposite side. The hen house is for the chickens. The feeder and waterer are the hanging type. I have a squirrel guard on top of the feeder to keep rain/snow out and keep the birds from perching on top of it. Having an unheated waterer means I have to clean it every day in the winter time, but I put hot water in it so it takes longer to re-freeze. The henhouse has a heat lamp in it. I didn't get a chance to paint it before it got too cold. And yes, it has a cedar shingle roof :roll:

[Coveyrise64]

I only feed what they will eat in about ten minutes so I have no waste as it is usually gone within a very few minutes and it is all eaten very quickly. If they don't clean it up quickly they get cut back in feed.

Ezzy

Can't eat it if falls through the wire floor to clean out tray.......:roll: I think that was what we were discussing.

Coveyrise64

[ezzy333]

I only feed what they will eat in about ten minutes so I have no waste as it is usually gone within a very few minutes and it is all eaten very quickly. If they don't clean it up quickly they get cut back in feed.

Ezzy

Can't eat it if falls through the wire floor to clean out tray.......:roll: I think that was what we were discussing.

Coveyrise64

True but my point is they don't drop or scatter it when they are hungry. You won't see a kernel of anything hit the floor. It is when they are trying to sort out the grain they prefer that they scatter the rest and it is wasted. Just a different way of solving theproblem if you want to try it.

Ezzy

[Keith White]

Thanks Ezzy I'll try that as well. After they get used to the place, I plan to always feed them in the evening anyway. That way they won't linger outside the coop on things I don't really want them perching on. Like the neighbors house.

[ezzy333]

Thanks Ezzy I'll try that as well. After they get used to the place, I plan to always feed them in the evening anyway. That way they won't linger outside the coop on things I don't really want them perching on. Like the neighbors house.

Good idea! I have been surprised with mine that even though I leave some of them out most of the afternoon they never sit on anything but the roof of the loft and occasionally will hop over about 4 ft to the rood of my shed but not often. Have never see a bird on ours or the neighbors houses.

Ezzy

[DonF]

Boy you guy's have some nice loft's. I've got two, one for my ferals is an old tool shed and for my homer's a rather large chicken house. Divided it in two hjalves and keep young birds on one side and captive birds on the other. My captive birds haave a 16x20 ft enclosed area right out the back of the pen, They love it!

Great thing about building pigeon loft's, you could use a cardboard refridgeator box and they would call it home! Any of you guy's seen the trap with no bobs? Got a name but I can't remember what it is. I'm thinking something like a "Belgium Trap".

[ezzy333]

Yea Don, I have one and like them. Think the young birds adjust to them better. Easy to make your own if you want to try them.

Ezzy

[GUNDOGS]

Just curious why this thread is in the HALL OF FAME section?????...ruth

[topher40]

Instruction, pictures, and idead. Every couple of weeks (especially in the spring and summer) this topic comes up. No need to re-hash every other week.

[brad27]

Instruction, pictures, and idead. Every couple of weeks (especially in the spring and summer) this topic comes up. No need to re-hash every other week.

They should make one for dog food then.

[nj gsp]

My flight pen has a roof on it now - I finished the roof minutes before hurricane Irene hit. It held up fine.

[crazyboy]

I built one, only thing I would've done differently so far was cut one of the side doors all the way down even with the floor so I could scrape the crap right out.

[crazyboy]

With the addition of nest fronts & a light.

[Nebraska]

I built one, only thing I would've done differently so far was cut one of the side doors all the way down even with the floor so I could scrape the crap right out.

Now that you mention it, that would be ideal. I might even modify mine because that really would make it a lot easier and faster compared to scooping it all out.

[tjsnipehunter]

Just wanted to thank everyone for this thread. Built a coop based on Nebraska's plans. Turned out a lot better then I thought it would. Well done figuring out a simple easy to build loft for those of us with limited carpentry skills.



Now I just need to find a few homers.

Tim

[AZ Brittany Guy]

Well done! The pigeons are the ez part. Just get a couple of breeders and you got homers for life. Have fun.

[tjsnipehunter]

Thanks AZ Brittany Guy. I hope I end up with a pair or two in these 6 young birds.
Here they are getting use to the view.



They seem to like the coop.

Tim

[RichK]

You'll be building a loft 4x the size of that within a year!

[AZ Brittany Guy]

Thanks AZ Brittany Guy. I hope I end up with a pair or two in these 6 young birds.
Here they are getting use to the view.



They seem to like the coop.

Tim

That loft you have there is good for about 16-18 birds. You'll be building another within 12-18 months.

[tjsnipehunter]

Oh I know I will be. I barely made it out of the guys barn without needing another loft already. If rollers could home a little better I would have had a few of them too.

Tim

[Mulga]

Thanks for the designs. I have nearly finished my first loft. I based it around two 1x3 meter 100mm insulated panels left over from my patio build Decided to add it onto the end of my chook yard to save on extra posts and wall.



Modified Belgian drop trap design. Uses a magnet to hold the flap up to let the birds out.






Poo trap.




Six nest boxes. No perches yet.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

Very nice.

[RichK]

Nice loft, I'm starting on my new loft build this week and think I am going to the belgian drop trap style entrance instead of bobs.

[Mulga]

Nice loft, I'm starting on my new loft build this week and think I am going to the belgian drop trap style entrance instead of bobs.

From what I've read the Belgian traps are the way to go.

[tjsnipehunter]

Mulga,
Nice job. I wish I had thought of opening my belgium trap like that. I'm going to have to modify mine sometime so I can open it like that.

The drop trap works well. This is a video, if it works, of my new birds learning to use it. This is only about a week after I got them and only their second time through it. They figured it out fast, especially if they are hungry.


Make sure you get the measurements right for homers if you build your own. I forgot to add one thickness in and figured 1/4 or so in each slot wouldn't make a big difference. Its a tight fit for that big yellow one but it just manages to wiggle through.

Tim

[Mulga]

Mulga,
Nice job. I wish I had thought of opening my belgium trap like that. I'm going to have to modify mine sometime so I can open it like that.

The drop trap works well. This is a video, if it works, of my new birds learning to use it. This is only about a week after I got them and only their second time through it. They figured it out fast, especially if they are hungry.


Make sure you get the measurements right for homers if you build your own. I forgot to add one thickness in and figured 1/4 or so in each slot wouldn't make a big difference. Its a tight fit for that big yellow one but it just manages to wiggle through.

Tim

Hi Tim. Glad you like the trap design I spaced the dowels for the trap 4 inches apart which should be right, based on what the pigeon forums suggest.

[h&t]

old thread, but I find it most informative on coop/loft construction.

I am going to build a small loft for 1-2 summers, no more, I think.

What's more important for pigeons - floor space or height.

If I were to make it 4x4x2, do I make it flat box with 4x4 floor or tall box with 2x4 floor?

I am trying to make it as 'invisible' as possible and use least amount of materials too.

[tjsnipehunter]

What's more important for pigeons - floor space or height.

If I were to make it 4x4x2, do I make it flat box with 4x4 floor or tall box with 2x4 floor?

If you are going to have enough for training, 8-10, I really think the 4x4x4 with an outside aviary is a minimum. They need both height and floor space. Pigeons can be mean or get sick if kept too tightly packed. I've kept up to 12 in my 4x4x4 coop but I flew them at least once every day, sometimes twice. That helps you get by with a smaller coop. Now I have 7 in my smaller coop since I'm not flying them because of hawks right now. I have a larger one now also, pigeons are addictive...and they breed like winged rabbits.

If you did go the 4x4x2 route I'd make it taller with an aviary to add floorspace.

Tim