Pigeon Coop Question

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ben33127
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Pigeon Coop Question

Post by ben33127 » Tue Apr 14, 2015 3:26 pm

Can I place a coop in the backyard where my dogs roam freely? Not sure if they will be constantly bothering the birds and trying to get in the box?

mask
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by mask » Tue Apr 14, 2015 7:46 pm

bad idea.

RyanDoolittle
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by RyanDoolittle » Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:22 pm

I have my loft in the backyard with no issues.

I talked to Rick Smith at length about this and he thought it was actually a good idea.

Dogs know the difference between backyard, training, hunting, and trialing.

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ezzy333
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by ezzy333 » Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:47 pm

My loft is further from the kennel in the backyard the last few years than it was for many years. One of them is about 15 feet way but it used to be less than 6 feet. Never had a problem other than the dogs worrying the birds.

Ezzy

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DonF
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by DonF » Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:09 pm

Where else would you put one at home? My dog's have always been able to get to the loft's, just don't let them inside! Bodie point's birds that land in the yard, Squirt just ignore's them!

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ben33127
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by ben33127 » Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:11 pm

Don I couldn't make up my mind. I thought about placing it outside the fenced area but my wife didn't love the idea.


Also, if I place it in a forested area will the pigeons have a problem coming back, or does the coop have to be in the open?

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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by V-John » Thu Apr 16, 2015 1:32 pm

Mine is outside of the yard.
Buddy of mine has his in the backyard, and has had issues with the dogs killing pigeons, or pulling legs off. he has since fortified the aviarys, but accidents have occurred.

I would put it in a clear open spot, so the pigeons can get in faster, but that's just me.

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DonF
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by DonF » Thu Apr 16, 2015 3:01 pm

Hey V-John, nice to hear from you!

My pigeon loft's are in very different spots. One is in a place where predator's can land and have a quick shot at the bird's. If I see them around, I lock up the birds. The other is really out in the open, no convenient place for predator's to sit close by. At one time I had a huge loft in the back of my machine shed, had to discipline coopers hawks on two different occasion's. The loft close to perching area's for predators was entered one time by a huge barn owl. That was a long time ago and it never came back. A week or so ago I went to my homer loft after dark and found that a cooper hawk had entered then tried to exit out a small aviary and got itself trapped. I tried to help it out but the "bleep" think kept clawing me and biting. I blocked it in and left it there. Not sure why it died but I suspect it starved. I may not be able to shoot the "bleep"'s but they get in a situation like that I don't believe I'm required to get them out either. So not a lot of problems with predator's over the years, that's 25 yrs here! I do lose birds now and then letting them free fly but when a hawk shows up I lock them in and close the predator door until I don't see the hawk for about a week. Dog's and cat's could be a problem but I have my re-entry well off the ground and I can block both loft's with a predator door. Usually I think that cat and dog trouble come's from smaller loft's built about 4' off the ground with wire floor and low re-entry. If your going to use one like that, enclose the underside with wire mesh and put one of those European style re-entry's on the roof. No bob's required and birds can get in but not out. have a photo somewhere but don't know where it is right now. The only predator's that should have a chance at your bird's are hawks and then only when they free fly if you keep the predator door's close when they are not out flying. I have flown birds a lot from quite a distance and I do lose bird's then and I suspect hawks!

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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by aulrich » Thu Apr 16, 2015 4:16 pm

One thing to watch out for is to have the trap high enough and/or in a spot where the dog can’t unduly harass the birds as they try to go in. It can be annoying to have to keep the dog inside while you loft fly young birds.

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ezzy333
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Re: Pigeon Coop Question

Post by ezzy333 » Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:28 am

aulrich wrote:One thing to watch out for is to have the trap high enough and/or in a spot where the dog can’t unduly harass the birds as they try to go in. It can be annoying to have to keep the dog inside while you loft fly young birds.
My birds trap is about 6 ft off of the ground. The dog does not effect the birds once they have been out a few times and the birds do not worry about the dogs. But it does need to be up at least 5 ft if possible.

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