# My Aussie loft pics



## della (Jan 29, 2009)

I have finally finished adding my nest boxes to my loft, so thought you might be interested in seeing my loft. It started out as a commercial steel and mesh hexagonal shaped aviary (52inchesx7ft 2 inches), enclosed on 3 sides of the hexagon. My husband built 6 shelf units to fit the 3 enclosed sides (they lift out at mid-line for easy cleaning) and then we worked on the nesting box doors which we cut from 2 single pieces of plywood, using a jigsaw (my first jigsaw work ever, so don't be too critical of the wonky shapes) to create the 'bars'. Each of the 8 nesting sections has 2 nesting bowls and a trapdoor that can be closed. The whole nesting box doors hinge outwards in 2 parts for easy cleaning. On the mesh sides of the loft I sewed and installed canvas roll-up curtains that can be closed in inclement weather or when the sun is too hot. One curtain (on the house verandah side) is see-through vinyl to ensure light even when a gale is blowing. You will see my rocking chair on the house verandah (north facing) for sunny morning pigeon viewing over coffee! The floor is not permanent as the loft will not stay in this position: at present the loft is sitting on hardware mesh over bare ground (wired to the aviary sides) to prevent tunneling critters, and covered with builders plastic to exclude damp, then a layer of sand which I rake and clean daily. The landing board is hinged, and we have installed a perspex flap to make a drop trap which we copied from pics from this site. My loft is obviously unlike others on this site, as Australia does not have the extreme cold of parts of the US, and we have tried to create something that works for our milder winters and very hot summers.


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## bcr1 (Jun 9, 2009)

Very nice. Nice looking birds too


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## Kevin (May 13, 2009)

That's awesome! Very creative!!

Thanks for sharing these lovely photos.


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## mr squeaks (Apr 14, 2005)

I agree! WELL DONE, Della!!

Your birds are beautiful and I bet they loooove their home!!

Love, Hugs and Scritches

Shi/Mr. Squeaks/Dom/Gimie/WoeBeGone


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Do you fly them alot?


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## FreeFlyer (Jul 21, 2009)

That's a pretty cool loft. What are the dimensions?


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Are you sure this is a pigeon loft? It’s looking more like up-market shop display. Great job Della!


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## della (Jan 29, 2009)

Thanks guys! Dimensions are 57 inches by 7 foot 2 inches. 
Jay 3 - I try to fly them for about an hour and half daily before dusk, but I have had a few hawk scares which have created some shutdowns...at present all is quiet and they are loft flying well. My next move is to work on road training.
I plan to move the loft down the hill slightly and add a very large flight aviary; won't happen before summer, however. Meanwhile I try to loft fly every day weather and predators permit.
Looks like a shop-front? I guess it's a girlie thing!  My pigeons are so pretty that I wanted to show them off!


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

With a good reason though.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

thanks for showing us, it looks really nice! very well done.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I think they would love the aviary.


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

It looks nice actually and quite creative. For the moment there it reminded me of a military loft--like mobile loft. The green color gave me that idea.


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## della (Jan 29, 2009)

RodSD said:


> For the moment there it reminded me of a military loft--like mobile loft. The green color gave me that idea.


Mmm...possibly the khaki-coloured canvas gives a military tent-like appearance!

Amusing, though - while pigeons have brilliant navigational skills, their ability to remember which darned level they laid their eggs in is severely lacking!


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## Noahs helper (Jul 20, 2009)

della said:


> I have finally finished adding my nest boxes to my loft, so thought you might be interested in seeing my loft. It started out as a commercial steel and mesh hexagonal shaped aviary (52inchesx7ft 2 inches), enclosed on 3 sides of the hexagon. My husband built 6 shelf units to fit the 3 enclosed sides (they lift out at mid-line for easy cleaning) and then we worked on the nesting box doors which we cut from 2 single pieces of plywood, using a jigsaw (my first jigsaw work ever, so don't be too critical of the wonky shapes) to create the 'bars'. Each of the 8 nesting sections has 2 nesting bowls and a trapdoor that can be closed. The whole nesting box doors hinge outwards in 2 parts for easy cleaning. On the mesh sides of the loft I sewed and installed canvas roll-up curtains that can be closed in inclement weather or when the sun is too hot. One curtain (on the house verandah side) is see-through vinyl to ensure light even when a gale is blowing. You will see my rocking chair on the house verandah (north facing) for sunny morning pigeon viewing over coffee! The floor is not permanent as the loft will not stay in this position: at present the loft is sitting on hardware mesh over bare ground (wired to the aviary sides) to prevent tunneling critters, and covered with builders plastic to exclude damp, then a layer of sand which I rake and clean daily. The landing board is hinged, and we have installed a perspex flap to make a drop trap which we copied from pics from this site. My loft is obviously unlike others on this site, as Australia does not have the extreme cold of parts of the US, and we have tried to create something that works for our milder winters and very hot summers.


Nice job! And love your birds!


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## della (Jan 29, 2009)

We are in southern Australia (near Melbourne) so yes, it does get cold here in winter, but most night-time minimums at the coldest time of year don't drop below around 10 degrees celcius (50 degrees F approx). We can have the odd frost, but mostly our position here is sheltered even from frost. Every 10 years or so we can get a little dusting of snow in freak weather conditions. I peg down all the covers each night and also keep them down if the daytimes are windy, wet or particularly cold. This is all pretty new for me, so don't know yet if I have done the right thing, but so far my birds have stayed reasonably healthy. Before I got the canvas covers installed, one bird did come down with a one-eye cold after a day of particularly strong winds, but hopefully that is less likely now. The good news is that in the summer, when our days can be 40 degrees celcius plus (105 degrees F) for weeks at a time, we have an airy structure with sturdy blinds that can be pinned down at strategic parts of the day to shelter them from the sun. 
But...I am no expert yet, so I can't guarantee that it is the right loft for our conditions yet...just hope it is!


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Your birds will appreciate the aviary, when you add it because Pigeons like more wide rather tall and narrow. That way they will be able to walk on the floor and also stretch their wings while inside. That will be especially helpful if they are in lock down because of hawks.


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## della (Jan 29, 2009)

Charis said:


> Your birds will appreciate the aviary, when you add it because Pigeons like more wide rather tall and narrow. That way they will be able to walk on the floor and also stretch their wings while inside. That will be especially helpful if they are in lock down because of hawks.


Thanks for the advice Charis. Yes, the addition of a large aviary is an important part of the plan for this year and I realise that they are too restricted in just the loft; truth is, I got my birds in a wild rush of enthusiasm before I had found this site and I have been altering their living conditions to suit their needs as they (and you people) teach me what those needs are. Not the right way to do things, I know, but I guess I am stuck with my own impetuosity. Soon, however, I intend to have them boasting to all their wild bird acquaintances about the neat place they hang out in!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

When I first came home with mine, I had a fishtank and a cage. LOL. Of course, they were 6 babies scattered all over the ground, in New England, in April, when someones old porch was pulled down. So even that was an improvement over what they had. Amazing we all survived. I don't even want to tell you all the mistakes I made, before finding pigeon talk and so much help and information. That would be one loooong post! God watches over the sparrow. He must watch over pigeon babies also. I know He did mine.


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