# help with my new loft



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

hey everyone 
*i have got a new (to me) building to house my white release birds,
i have included a picture of the shed as it was before i dismantled it,(i can see potential even if my wife cant  ) and i would love to get suggestions from the group as to what you would do to convert it into the best loft, i know
it would be ideal to have a purpose built building but i cant look a
gift horse in the mouth, and the size is perfect for its location in
my yard, (2.5meters/2.5 meters)

my imediate ideas= a mesh floor, nest boxes on one side wall and t perches on the other, a post in the center with more t perches and the ability to drop a curtain trew the center so i can separate it into 2 areas,


*if anyone has photos of their drop traps could you please send them
to me along with dimensions so i can start planning how to build it 


Kingsley Hannah
wings of love
new Zealand


----------



## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

That looks like it will end up being a perfect loft! Congrats on getting the FREEBEE!


----------



## DEEJAY7950 (Dec 13, 2006)

WE will give you many ideas for sure, however today is Sunday and it's off to church I go! One very quick thing before i leave ---consider a solid wood floor if you can instead of wire I say this because i believe a wire floor if not constructed properly leads to many problems if your not able to clean it out frequently!


----------



## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

That is really nice!

I would also put in a solid floor off the ground, but that is because it is best for my area.

Make sure there is plenty of ventilation under the eaves, and that front area that is open, would be nice to add a big aviary and the trap system. Also there should be a good overhang on the roof to keep rain out. Is that a solid metal roof?

It's always good if you can have seperate rooms if you are going to have breeders, they need their own space and have different needs from flyers.


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

thanks for the ideas so far  it is most apresiated to have knowlage fillterd down from experts and expereince people 

i have built a concreate block foundation for the back and 2 sides and will be making up trays that will slide under (about 6" /12 cm) the wire/steel mesh from the front, this way i will be able to clean out ther droppings on a regular (2-3weekly i think???) basis.

it is a solid metal roof at the moment but i am planning on replacing 2 of the sheets with corgated roofing plastic to let a little mor light in as it will be facing away from the sun most of the time!

temperatures here a prety mild in winter (a few frosts and the very ocasional snow) and can be quite hot in summer so i am hoping that as well as ease of cleaning the added ventilatin will be good for the birds,
as for a celing i have been given the materials to make a suspeded celing and the panels to be suspended are ones used to go over llights, they white gridlike with 1cm holes.


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

also thinking of making a cat resistant landing board?

i thought i could have a split trew the middle of the landing board so that if it has too much weight on it it will drop down? 
do any of you have problems with cats getting on your landing boards?
how do you solve it?
i have a bbgun to scare them but they r persistant


----------



## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

Paint it! (you did that?)
Maybe this should be under loft designs?
I would dismantle it, and save the good parts, and build a loft for pigeons. (you did that)
How could you disinfect that thing?  
I started with an old camper (pre internet days)  
How many pigeons do you have, or will have?
What about Monitor Lizards? (just kidding)


----------



## kippermom (Jan 11, 2006)

When my husband built my first "loft", we used a wire bottom...1/4 inch as that is what is required to keep critters out. In theory it seemed like a great plan!!!!  What I found was that while seeds dropped through, all of the poop, feathers and down collected on the wires like cement and it became a real pain to get clean, using water, wire brushes etc.  It was really messy and never really clean. I ended up laying linoleum over the wire so I can scape it clean. This all presumes a "reach-in" design. Wire won't work at all if you build a walk in...When we built the new walk-in we used a plywood floor and it is working out great.


----------



## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

1" weld wire can work on the floor, if it has enough support.
It might be kinda expensive though.


----------



## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

I've also just built another small loft with a wire floor, that has a poop tray under it.
It's not a walk in unit though. (unless I shrink!)  and learn to fly up to it!


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

the tempary plan, is 2" reinforsing steel mesh with 1/2" wire mesh layed over top,
this should give the suport for me to walk on and the gap should be ok to keep it cleen, 
the long term plan is to use expanded steel, the reason there is 2 plans is purely financial,


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

have you got pictures?


----------



## ND Cooper (Mar 4, 2008)

Sorry, I don't have pictures yet, I have to learn how to downsize them first.
How many pigeons do you have?


----------



## The Flying Kiwi (Jun 4, 2007)

it is a solid metal roof at the moment but i am planning on replacing 2 of the sheets with corgated roofing plastic to let a little mor light in as it will be facing away from the sun most of the time!

Hi Kingsley,

Here in Christchurch you will find 98% of lofts to facing North or North/west as you will know rain very seldom comes from the north here.
A dry loft is one of the most important things when it comes to keeping your birds healthy!

Kiwi


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

thanks kiwi,
where abouts in chch are you? i am always interested in visiting other fanciers lofts, to get ideas and gain a little firsthand knowlage 
unfortunatly mu loft will be facing ssw but i will be ensuring that it stays dry i will be exteding the iron on the roof and will make covers for the avery for winter,
i have tonight painted and put a perspex window (coverd with wire mesh) into the door which will face north east so this should let more light in also,
i currently have 35 birds althouh i am trying to find a good home for my mottled kit, ie the coloured birds, i have some tumblers and i cant risk them breading with my white birds,
will post pics as i progress, i agree this thread should have been in the loft design area but i didnt know it existed lol


----------



## The Flying Kiwi (Jun 4, 2007)

Ouch!!! ssw you couldnt get any worse for chch weather but you have to make do with what you have. It sounds like you have the weather proofing sorted.
My race loft is in Brooklands at my fathers place I live in Avonside.
Where abouts are you?


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

i am in avonhead/riccarton, near the race course, its interesting i have read so much about american hawks killing birds, my main prey is the racecourse caretaker, they poison the ferrals their and if my birds are loft flying they useto come back sick and die , despite my pleads to stop poisoning they still do, but he does now give me a call before he does it so ican lock my birds away


----------



## The Flying Kiwi (Jun 4, 2007)

Yes we are lucky that we dont have the birds of prey here in Chch. At least he calls you some people couldnt care less. I guess You need to find a way of stopping your birds from landing over there aswell. My birds know if they are not in the air they are in or on the loft only. But it will be hard to break the habbit if they are all doing it.

Kiwi


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

here is a pic of the foundations that will support my new loft  i am very excited


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

*ok here is the pic*

next i will be concreting some thredded rod to stick up out of every second block and putting rubber matting to stop the moisture rising trew the concreat blocks, and timber on top then building the walls on.
more pics to come


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

*update on my loft and a quick question*

hello all i have been away from this site for a while, and have been busy building my loft which is nearing completion  i have added some photos of the inside as this is now housing my white homers, and will follow up with pics of the outside once the weather is warm enough to put a lick of paint on.
i would like to pose a question? i have 40 odd birds from various locations some i have had out flying and others whom are new to the loft, i would like to pair the new birds up & have them breeding asap so that i can open the trap and have them all flying together, i am planing on building an external pairing cage (where they cant be seen by the birds in the loft) but in the meantime i want to know if using 2 adjoining nestboxes would work as a pairing cage? thoughts comments experience ????? thanks


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

*the new loft floor*

the floor i built is working really well the steel mesh is strong enough for me to walk on and the welded mesh on top is letting nearly all th #[email protected]* fall threw  the trays underneath make it easy for me to clean


----------



## learning (May 19, 2006)

kingsley hannah said:


> hello all i have been away from this site for a while, and have been busy building my loft which is nearing completion  i have added some photos of the inside as this is now housing my white homers, and will follow up with pics of the outside once the weather is warm enough to put a lick of paint on.
> i would like to pose a question? i have 40 odd birds from various locations some i have had out flying and others whom are new to the loft, i would like to pair the new birds up & have them breeding asap so that i can open the trap and have them all flying together, i am planing on building an external pairing cage (where they cant be seen by the birds in the loft) but in the meantime i want to know if using 2 adjoining nestboxes would work as a pairing cage? thoughts comments experience ????? thanks


That will probably work, just keep in mind one thing. The birds will need two nests because they will come down on a second clutch of eggs while the first round youngsters are still in the nest. Judging from your picture, there isn't enough room in one of the boxes for two nests so each pair will need two of your boxes. 

Just a thought.

By the way, your birds and your loft are beautiful!

Dan


----------



## little bird (Aug 11, 2006)

Beautiful birds you have there.


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

thanks very much  there are a few of them i want to pair up and use only as feeders, so its back into the work shop to build a pairing cage, any sugestions on design?


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

kingsley hannah said:


> thanks very much  there are a few of them i want to pair up and use only as feeders, so its back into the work shop to build a pairing cage, any sugestions on design?


My suggestion would be a good size box with a screened removeable divider down the middle. Cock on one side. Hen on the other. When they start flirting, take the divider out. If the cock starts to get rough with the hen, put the divider back in and give them a little more time. If this is JUST for pairing, doesn't have to be TOO big....maybe 3ft x 3ft.........I'm not to good at building stuff but I can tell someone HOW I want it built! LOL


----------



## Grim (Jul 28, 2007)

Wow I am impressed. I use box perches but I really like your perch design. The birds and loft look great. I think one box/ pair is fine. My birds have enough room for two nest bowls. They always end up laying the 2nd clutch as their current babies are leaving the boxes for the floor.


----------



## PHRN252 (May 26, 2008)

I also agree in a solid wood floor. Here is a Idea, that i saw in a loft. The loft had a wooden floor with a small trap door about 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 ft. The purpose of the trap door in the floor was to open it and scrap all the PooP /feathers and what ever else into the hole. He had a large pan / bucket under the hole to catch everything in it. It was quick and easy to scrape the floor and push it right in the hole. The pan was small and light enough to handle. Just an Idea. I am going to put that system in my loft.

Rick


----------



## kingsley hannah (Jan 9, 2008)

*ohh forgot to update pics of the outside of the loft*

a few other alterations have gone on since these pics were taken too, its painted an i took your advice and put a solid floor in, i foud it harder o clean than expected and it was getting to cold and mice were getting in  so th solid floor went over the top and is working well


----------



## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Beautiful inside loft and beautiful pigeons. It is time to paint the outside as well for weather protection.


----------

