# Any small indoor pigeon coops or anything? o:



## Tuffies (Aug 6, 2009)

I'm looking for small pigeon coops in which I can just house one pigeon. ^^ The pigeon will be out of the coop most of the time, so it will just be used for nighttime and times when we're out of the house. Does anyone know anybody that sells small ones, or knows any sites that teaches you how to build a small coop?

Oh - and would those plastic-bottomed ones in pet stores work? x3 Because, like mentioned above, the coop won't be used all that much and stuff. Thanks!


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## birds+me=happy (May 21, 2009)

1 pigeon would not need that much. You said that he'd only be in there a small amount of time every day so the cage/coop would only Need to be about a square yard. You can go to the pet store and get cages like this for pretty cheap. I would recomend a rabbit cage since they're a little less tall and a little wider. For pigeons, it's better to have a short wide cage than a tall thin cage.


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

Here is mine... I do keep it indoors at all times though. SO if you were to use a cage like this or a rabbitt cage as mentioned above, you would need to wrap it with small wire to keep predators out.

This cage is a Dog kennel sold at Pet stores It is 4'high, 3'wide and 6'long.....Hope this helps.


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## Tuffies (Aug 6, 2009)

birds+me=happy said:


> 1 pigeon would not need that much. You said that he'd only be in there a small amount of time every day so the cage/coop would only Need to be about a square yard. You can go to the pet store and get cages like this for pretty cheap. I would recomend a rabbit cage since they're a little less tall and a little wider. For pigeons, it's better to have a short wide cage than a tall thin cage.


Hmm... okays. :3 Thanks a lot! I'll go look in the pet store for the rabbit cages next time I go there.


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## Tuffies (Aug 6, 2009)

Oh yeah, that does help a lot. ^^

Is there any maximum bar spacing size for pigeons? o:


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## Columba livia! (May 4, 2009)

*remember:*

Just make sure rats or rat snakes can't get through the bars if you keep it out side. Rats can fit through any opening they can get their heaad through, and about the same goes for the snakes. and you really don't want anything in the same small cage with your bird, because your pigeon won't be able to find a safe perch, and it will be easy prey! large norway rats are said to be able to kill pigeons if the bird has no where to go, and rat nakes will take squabs and eggs. They might also nip at a contained bird who has no where to go.
I recommend hard ware cloth if you place your bird outside. small enough to keep rats out, big and tough enough to keep the rats from chewing through. 
( no mesh or thin skreening ) -Good luck!

Also ofcourse you do know if your bird was NOT hand raised, it would be happier with a companion they are flock birds.


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

Columba livia! said:


> Just make sure rats or rat snakes can't get through the bars if you keep it out side. Rats can fit through any opening they can get their heaad through, and about the same goes for the snakes. and you really don't want anything in the same small cage with your bird, because your pigeon won't be able to find a safe perch, and it will be easy prey! large norway rats are said to be able to kill pigeons if the bird has no where to go, and rat nakes will take squabs and eggs. They might also nip at a contained bird who has no where to go.
> I recommend hard ware cloth if you place your bird outside. small enough to keep rats out, big and tough enough to keep the rats from chewing through.
> ( no mesh or thin skreening ) -Good luck!
> 
> Also ofcourse you do know if your bird was NOT hand raised, it would be happier with a companion they are flock birds.


VERY GOOD advise.....


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## Tuffies (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks for the advice. ^^ But I will be housing the pigeon inside, so no worries. :3


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## Columba livia! (May 4, 2009)

Good call Tuffies!

Thanks floridaluv!


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## rfboyer (Jun 18, 2009)

Jenn, what have you used to "dress" the floor of Willow's cage? 
How do you maintain it? It looks so neat & tidy.

I would like to adopt a few of my neighbor's "oops" babies (homers), but have no appropriate yard space for an outdoor loft -- we live on a corner that gets a fair amount of random passers-by, and have 2 front yards, so to speak, no back yard, and thanks to a microburst a few years ago, no vegetation to screen a loft from street view on the side yard away from the corner. 

Our house is full of cats and my husband's allergic to feathers... so I'm hoping to find a "low impact" indoor option. I could place a cage where only one cat (instead of 4), who's slightly handicapped and doesn't jump, would be sharing space with pij. A few pigeons don't shed too many feathers, do they?


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

rfboyer said:


> Jenn, what have you used to "dress" the floor of Willow's cage?
> How do you maintain it? It looks so neat & tidy.
> 
> I would like to adopt a few of my neighbor's "oops" babies (homers), but have no appropriate yard space for an outdoor loft -- we live on a corner that gets a fair amount of random passers-by, and have 2 front yards, so to speak, no back yard, and thanks to a microburst a few years ago, no vegetation to screen a loft from street view on the side yard away from the corner.
> ...


I use sand in the bottom of mine, the kind made for kids sandboxes, its filtered....I Bought the bags at Home Depot. I use a wide mouthed/flat laddle that has small holes in it to sift my sand.... I scoop everything to the center in a big pile and sift it, then spred it back out.... If there is a wet area I use the laddle to rub the wet area to dispose of the wet sand (I don't want mold/fungus) and I toss it out. About every month I add new sand... some does get over the edge, but not much. I just vaccume it up with a small shop vac. I am very anal about doing it everyday. Also... I hate them having to walk around in the poops. 

I hear you about the yeard... Our HOA will under NO circumstance allow a loft!  Lesson learned for our next move! 

We have 2 cats too.. ALTHOUGH... mine are old and lazy boys... they could care less what the birds do... Now the dogs are usually outside when I bring the birds downstairs. But if they happen to be inddors then Journey our King Pigeon, will litterally smak them on their noses, and it scares the dogs so... needless to say they leave him alone...lol

AS for the "feathers".... When you asked me a "Few pigeons don't make a big mess?"........ I couldn't help but laugh!...

NEVER let anyone tell you they don't make a mess... We have 3 pigeons...The doves don't moult as bad as the pigeons... and WOW>>>>> let me tell you what; I walk into the bird room to find what looks like, A PILLOW FIGHT!!!! In short ... YEP- they make a mess... BUT---it is only 2 times a year.. that they go through their moult and it makes me laugh when Im picking up there mess. lol.... Don't get me wrong you will always find little down feathers ands such... they loose while they preene, But its not like when they moult. 

I am highly allergic to dust and the pigeons make my asthma flare up during their moult--- For me it is not an option to EVER get rid of my birds, so what I have done is I run a big air purifier in the room. I wear a mask (as everyone should) when I am cleaning them... and I clean my bird room daily! I keep my birds healthy, ie, vitamins, bathes...etc... so they have less dander. And keeping them in their own room helps a lot! It would be best for your hubby if you could dedicate a "room" persay to the birds. Because I'd hate for you to make the commitment and then only find out later that hubby's alergies, just won't survive with the birds indoors... Some of us, like myself along with many here go to great lengths to keep our allergies at bay, so that we can keep our birds. I am one of those. But some would be the opposite... ya know...

Maybe you could keep the cage up on top of a cart table or something.... less chance of the handicapped kitty getting to the cage... Also are the kitties declawed??? Not that it matters but you could wrap the whole cage with hardware cloth sold at the Hardware Store. That way it saves you the worry of them poking their paws in there. 

Hope all this helps you out a little... ASK away--- if you have any more questions, Glad to help!


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## TerriB (Nov 16, 2003)

Super information, Jenn! This pretty much describes my indoor set up, also. Since the birdroom already had wall-to-wall carpet, we lay down a piece of linoleum on top. Easier to clean and protects the carpet.


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

TerriB said:


> Super information, Jenn! This pretty much describes my indoor set up, also. Since the birdroom already had wall-to-wall carpet, we lay down a piece of linoleum on top. Easier to clean and protects the carpet.


Thats A GREAT idea---- this is when I hit my HEAD on the wall saying----"Why didn't I think of that!!!""" 

TERRI--- That's a great idea.. mine too has wall-to-wall carpet and right now I bought these foam puzzle mats ( from SAMS club) that interconnect and made a mat out of them ... BUT Linoleum IS BRILLANT! Hmm- another thing to add to the weekend honey DO list!.... THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## rfboyer (Jun 18, 2009)

Thanks Jenn, that is lots of useful information!


> I use sand in the bottom of mine, the kind made for kids sandboxes, its filtered....I Bought the bags at Home Depot. I use a wide mouthed/flat laddle that has small holes in it to sift my sand.... I scoop everything to the center in a big pile and sift it, then spred it back out.... If there is a wet area I use the laddle to rub the wet area to dispose of the wet sand (I don't want mold/fungus) and I toss it out. About every month I add new sand... some does get over the edge, but not much. I just vaccume it up with a small shop vac. I am very anal about doing it everyday. Also... I hate them having to walk around in the poops.


That's a familiar process; we use clumping litter for the cats... hmm, would it be possible to use clumping litter instead of regular sand? The stuff we use is rather sandy, but a little coarser than kiddie sandbox sand. I don't know whether it has any components that are harmful to pij, though.


> Our HOA will under NO circumstance allow a loft!


We don't have HOA and probably don't need a permit for outbuildings, but I can't think of a way to place a loft that would be well situated for pij and inconspicuous at the same time. If we could manage it at all, an outdoor loft would probably be better, especially since The Spouse isn't at all sure he likes the idea of birds as indoor pets, for us. 
I've been looking at the variations on the Red Rose design, which would probably be the most "doable" for us, but still can't figure out how to place it so it is not "in the neighbors' faces." I'm thinking that perhaps the best way to accomplish an outdoor loft might be to integrate one into a "yard barn" structure since The Spouse says we need one of those already, though I'm not sure how to manage the "compost" heap that would accumulate under an aviary, though.
I've made an album in my profile with screenshots of Google maps aerial and elevation views of the space; advice & suggestions are most welcome. 



> AS for the "feathers".... When you asked me a "Few pigeons don't make a big mess?"........ I couldn't help but laugh!... NEVER let anyone tell you they don't make a mess... We have 3 pigeons...The doves don't moult as bad as the pigeons... and WOW>>>>> let me tell you what; I walk into the bird room to find what looks like, A PILLOW FIGHT!!!! In short ... YEP- they make a mess... BUT---it is only 2 times a year.


I machine knit chenille as part of my job; it throws a lot of lint, so I'm well stocked with masks. We have a central vac that eliminates dust from vacuuming since it exhausts outside, and it will pick up almost anything (including things it shouldn't have. ) Does the vacuum sound frighten the birds, or do they get used to it? 


> Maybe you could keep the cage up on top of a cart table or something.... less chance of the handicapped kitty getting to the cage... Also are the kitties declawed??? Not that it matters but you could wrap the whole cage with hardware cloth sold at the Hardware Store. That way it saves you the worry of them poking their paws in there.


All 5 of my cats have their claws. The only cat who _might_ share space with pij is the one who doesn't jump, so keeping a cage on a table could work (he doesn't even get onto a chair, but I don't know). I've got a chestnut work table that's about 30 x 72 (once I unpile it) in my "library," which is probably the only room in the house where I could keep pij. I could also exclude the cat from that space; he has only recently been admitted to that room, so he shouldn't feel too "entitled." But, would it be a good life for the pij to be isolated so much, with just themselves for company? I'm assuming not more than 4 pij indoors; I don't want them to be crowded.

Thanks again (and in advance) for the information & advice!

(4 smilies limit per post?  aw, geez!)


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## darkfur (May 11, 2007)

if I was keeping pigeons indoors I would make sure the feeder has a lip on it so they can't "flick" the seed with their beaks, they sure do like spraying it around


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## FloridaLuv (Dec 19, 2008)

darkfur said:


> if I was keeping pigeons indoors I would make sure the feeder has a lip on it so they can't "flick" the seed with their beaks, they sure do like spraying it around



Yes... I would too!!!! Thanks I forgot to mention that.

Here is a picture of mine.... whether its inside or outside I would do this...
I use the twist lid containers you buy at Walmart flip it so the lid becomes the bottom and cut the bottom out. Cost is about $2-3 and you get 3 in a package!!!











As for using Kitty Litter- NOPE can not be used... If they ingest it and they Will... it will cause a slue of problems... 

I will have more time this afternoon to look at the other pictures in your album... But if you could do a loft- GO for it!! I'm envious. I do recommend looking through the threads in the "Lofts" section here.. lots of info there....Tons of people to help you out as well! I'll be back on this afternoon!


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