# Does my loft have to be fully enclosed?



## T Kim (Feb 28, 2015)

Hello! I am brand new to keeping pigeons and am so excited about it! A pair of homing pigeons were given to me and I enjoy them so much that we are going to build an actual loft for them and others to come! 

We live in central California so the weather is pretty mild. A general idea is a year round range of lows in the 40's, rare, and highs in the 80's, also rare. I am thinking of building a loft that is 6 x 12 feet in size. I am thinking of dividing it in half so I have the 2 areas That can be used for pairs and babies, etc.... My idea is to have back 3-4 ft made from wood and have front 2-3 ft just wire so they can enjoy the sun. Loft would be ground to 6+ ft in front.

My question is... Do I have to fully enclose the back part of loft? I would rather keep it open and just pull down a tarp in bad weather or partially enclose it so it still gets some light. With my budget, it just seems that to fully enclose it would be so dark and cramped, especially for cleaning... Would love to hear ideas on this. I want to do it right!  Thanks!


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## alby68 (Mar 18, 2013)

*Bi-fold doors*

Hi, on my lofts I use bi-fold doors, on the outside of the wire, to either open or close most of the loft to good/open or bad/closed weather. a 36" bi-fold door folds to 18" and then that 18" door folds back completely to expose a 36" piece of wire that was completely covered by the door when it was closed.
so if you left a solid, full height corner on your back corner walls, you could fold the bi-fold door back to it, and expose your 36" of wire.a 6' open wire area would then be possible with two bi-fold doors, one on each side of the back wall. I hope I explained it well enough. You can usually find them free, or low cost, on craigslist.


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## T Kim (Feb 28, 2015)

Wow! That's a great idea! Will look into it. Thanks!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

alby68 said:


> Hi, on my lofts I use bi-fold doors, on the outside of the wire, to either open or close most of the loft to good/open or bad/closed weather. a 36" bi-fold door folds to 18" and then that 18" door folds back completely to expose a 36" piece of wire that was completely covered by the door when it was closed.
> so if you left a solid, full height corner on your back corner walls, you could fold the bi-fold door back to it, and expose your 36" of wire.a 6' open wire area would then be possible with two bi-fold doors, one on each side of the back wall. I hope I explained it well enough.



What a good idea!


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## T Kim (Feb 28, 2015)

*Bi-fold doors*

I really like this idea! Would love to see a pic of the doors on loft if possible. Thanks!


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## alby68 (Mar 18, 2013)

*Bi-fold Doors*

Hope they explain themselves. it's a six sided gazebo with one of the six sides solid, and two of the other sides have a fixed/attached solid used door, with the bi-fold door attached to the solid door with hinges. when the two bi-fold sides are closed, I then have three sides of the gazebo that are completely closed. the other three sides of the gazebo are mosquito screened, with 1"x2" heavy wire on the top/outside of the screen material , for animal protection. I have removable screened panels, down low on the side walls of the bi-fold door area, I can put in or take out from the inside of the loft, to keep mosquitos out in the summer, or remove them to let feathers and dander blow out of the loft during non-bug/winter time. click on my website, below the pictures, for more loft ideas. I also mount old sliding glass door panels over the open sides for the winter weather, and take them down in the spring.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I love the doors. Think that's a great idea. But the heavy wire, because of the large spaces in it will allow snakes, mice and rats to get in. I would use 1/2 inch hardware clothe.


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## T Kim (Feb 28, 2015)

*Bifold Doors*

those are really cool! What a great idea, especially for somewhere with a milder climate like I have! Thanks for taking the time to post pics!


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## alby68 (Mar 18, 2013)

You are welcome T- good luck with the loft!


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