# My goat pen loft



## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

I have been working on a wall to my goat pen / Loft. I thought some of you can get some ideas. The goat pen is about half finished. It is my four section 16x16 loft. I went low budget because of the finances / Wife. Sometimes I think I would have been better off just building a new. The Pen had three sides open on one end, a dirt floor, and roofing and old plywood for walls. These are pictures of before and after on one wall I am finishing. It needs exterior paint. 

The first pictures are the before

Randy


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

You can see where the horses and goats have eaten the interior wood. The four corners of the loft and middle sections are supported by vertical railroad ties. This thing is sturdy. I reused the old plywood sheets. The other lumber was purchased for the frame $30. I the exterior siding was left over from a garage project of my dads. The perch wood was left over from a previous house. The right side of the exterior was finished last summer. I still need to finish the trap and paint. 

Construction pictures. 
Randy


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

This is the finished wall on the inside and the exterior with siding. I used the plywood from before and used it as the interior siding, I then put roofing cloth over the plywood and then the siding. The window was off my dads house before he remodeled. Just an added touch. I like an open loft with lots of circulation. Many would disagree with the amount of air that flows through my loft, but I have only lost a few birds to health in four years. None of these old birds. I also do not like the dust for my health. I live in the desert where it is hot and dry in the summer and cold in the winter.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

I will be painting the exterior, finishing the trap and landing board on the right section, and adding nesting boxes to the other unfinished wall. The section has two doors. I can put a divider to make two 4x7 foot compartments. My thoughts are if I ever race from this location, that I can race old hens from the wall I just build and widowhood cocks from the other. A small team of 10 or 12 each. Now I can also use the compartment for about 40 young birds. This compartment is like one of those Swiss army knives. 

More pics of the interior. 

Randy


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## tiffanyh (May 30, 2008)

Love it...too bad your birds are just going to poop all over it!


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## Victor (Dec 18, 2004)

*OUTSTANDING Rebuild And Modification!*


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2008)

i think you did a great job there and the pigeons as I see love it already  great work


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Wow! You did a wonderful job. And as you said, it's sturdy. Looks great.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

WOW what an amazing transformation. Too bad you didn't film it all and could put it on one of those house renovating shows.  The birds must love it.


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## Pegasus (Feb 6, 2007)

*Very Nice...*

I like the design you make on your new loft...


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## bzvon (Jul 2, 2008)

Nice transformation...Very neat


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## romanian pigeon (Sep 24, 2007)

great job)))))))))))


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

I think its lovely, and very open/spacious looking, and it looks like your birds like it too!


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

This pen has been a work in progress for about four years. I am down to three wall and two aviaries to finish. I am waiting on my wife to make her mind up on what color she wants to paint the house, so I can paint the loft to match. I will add to the post as I make changes. I am going to build some more nest boxes for this section and add a few to another. My capacity will then be about 30 pair. I only want to breed from about 15, but my mentor is thinking of getting out of pigeons. I may bring some of his key birds down and breed for him so he can play the futurities. Next time I clean, I will take pics of the interior. I have used ideas I have gotten for this post for feeders, nest boxes, perches, traps etc. 

Randy


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

Great job! You would never know that goats and horses lived in it before.


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

That's looking really nice. Aren't new lofts SO pretty when they're new? No pigeon poop? LOL..........that all changes of course.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

One thing I learned by accident is that the paint color I use when scraped looks almost new. This is because it is pigeon dust/poop grey. I blends in. This was my 5 gallon, $15 mistake can from Lowes. It is an exterior latex that is just the right color. It is the same color as the floor that has not been painted. 

Randy


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## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

great looking loft its a great feeling having built something from scratch and compleating it to a standard you can stand back and enjoy it, but as i have learned there is alwas something to do a modification here an extension there, its a time consuming bussness and i love every minute of it


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

Thanks for all the kind words everyone. It has been a major remodel. It is not the loft of my dreams, but safe and secure for the birds. 

My next project will be to add some nest boxes, and paint the exterior. I may add some siding to the right side, add a window, and aviary. Or I could finish the back left breeding section adding an aviary and back wall. It is never ending. I do agree that it is rewarding. 

I will only have a few days window between now and when school starts, but I will try and do some work on it. 

Randy


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Your doing a great job. Please share pics as you add to it. I love checking out different lofts. And you're right. It's very sturdy and secure.


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## KIPPY (Dec 18, 2003)

Very impressive!
I like the pijes in the picture checking the place out, that's cute.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

The front is almost finished. I am slowly making it look presentable.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

Here are some new nest boxes that I put in. I made them to big so I put the section of three in another section. I still have to finish the wall with three more. That will put me to 30 nest boxes in four sections.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

It really looks nice. Great job!


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Beautiful loft! If you have a goat, it probably thought that you won the lottery.


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## ace in the hole (Nov 27, 2007)

Hey Randy,

The loft is really looking good. 

Ace


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Looks good! You mean the nest boxes are too big for the space?, cause they don't look too big to me. Just right actually.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I like the paint color, it really does blend in the poop stain color..


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

I had a section of three nest boxes that I built the six to match. I made them an inch to long. So I put the six one section and the three in the other. I need to build three more to fit in the hole. That will make 9 large boxes in the section.


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

spirit

The paint was mistake paint at Lowes. It is exterior Latex. I found 5 gallons for $15 bucks. The color is perfect. After about six months when I clean the loft, the color blends perfectly with the poop and dust. I even put a few coats on the floor. Time to go and look through the mistake bin again. The outside of the loft was also painted with exterior latex found in the mistake bin at Lowes. I think I paid $10 each. They are both semigloss. The siding was left over from my dad's house, and the plywood under the siding was the old wall. I get most of my wood from construction sites. The windows were also off his house when he remodeled. Contractors are more than happy to get rid of their scraps. 

Randy


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I never would have thought to look for paint there. It's perfect!


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

I have posted some loft pics on my webpage where you can see some interior pics of the loft, perches, nest boxes, etc. Hit the link below and go to loft pics. 

Randy


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

It really looks great. You must feel really good about it. I'm sure the birds love it!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You certainly can be proud of the way it turned out. It's beautiful. You did a really great job. Thanks for sharing the pictures.


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