# Rat-Proof outside pigeon coop for a small space



## sinlia (5 mo ago)

I have a few pigeons (3 couples) that I rescued and they are unreleasable either due to injury or being used to humans too much. Because my house is quite small inside I thought about using the space on my courtyard to relocate some.

Also because I have two couples in one room, one with fractures so they cannot fly. The problem is that the males of the couples start fight with each other, so I can't have them out at the same time and I don't like that they have to spend so much time in the cage  I have a PMV couple in the living room, so I thought about putting them with the flying couple outside in a chicken coop. The PMVers are recovered and the others are vaccinated, so I think it should be okay just in case they relapse?

I have a few questions regarding size, saftey & sociability

The space I could use isn't huge, I think 2mx1m and 2m high? I found some chicken coops for 1-2 chicken that have these dimensions. Now ideally I would want two couples to go in there.

Here some pictures of example coops I found: 

















Would this be okay for two couples? Or is it too small? They can all fly, but one pigeon is a bit handicapped due to PMV. It's recovered, but for example gets stressed easily and then spins and twists the head. She's very happy with her partner but how would it be with other pigeons? Also, will they usually get along and share the space or get territorial, especially because there is only the one "house" where they both would have to have the nests... I can obviously decorate it more with branches so they have more opportunities to sit.


Safety: The terrace floor is even stone flooring. I'm worried about rats, because we have some here. What if I lock them inside the coop house at night? Will that be enough? Or would rats bite through the wood....

I think I would also need to attach it to the floor so in case of strong wind it won't lift off, but I think that could be done by attaching the coop to big rocks or something.

I'm planning to move to a bigger house maybe next year, but for now I would like to find a safe, small-space friendly solution that also makes their life a bit more exciting. 

Let me know what you think or if you have any concerns! Thanks, Sini


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## Marina B (May 5, 2011)

Rather get a proper aviary for birds, one that is welded together. Or get someone to build you one. Those chicken coops are for moving around, the bottoms are open. It might be very cramped in there for you, esp when it comes to cleaning.

Do you have a window that opens onto your terrace? If so, fasten the aviary to that wall covering the window. So if you open the wondow, then it opens into the aviary. That way your pigeons can still enter the room if they want to.

When your setup is ready, first introduce the ex PMV pigeons to the new area so that they can get used to it before you introduce the others.


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## Phan of pigeons (3 mo ago)

Rats can and will chew through wood and they can tunnel under any thing so you would need a pavement block or concrete floor or raise the floor off the ground using concrete blocks and build the floor out of wire mesh attached and covering lumber supports. The wire mesh should be no bigger than 1/4 inch spacing or else rats and mice can squeeze through. The only way to ratproof the pigeon loft is to cover every bit of wood with wire mesh, it's technically called hardware cloth.chicken wire is not adequate.predators can reach through the openings and kill or injure your birds. There should be no gaps more than 1/2 inch any where. I learned all these things the hard way. I lost alot of birds to rats until I started building the pigeon loft the right way. Rats are among the most dangerous predators to pigeons


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## Phan of pigeons (3 mo ago)

sinlia said:


> I have a few pigeons (3 couples) that I rescued and they are unreleasable either due to injury or being used to humans too much. Because my house is quite small inside I thought about using the space on my courtyard to relocate some.
> 
> Also because I have two couples in one room, one with fractures so they cannot fly. The problem is that the males of the couples start fight with each other, so I can't have them out at the same time and I don't like that they have to spend so much time in the cage  I have a PMV couple in the living room, so I thought about putting them with the flying couple outside in a chicken coop. The PMVers are recovered and the others are vaccinated, so I think it should be okay just in case they relapse?
> 
> ...


To be honest, the coop in your photos look like it's too small for pigeons, .most cages/ coops sold for birds or animals commercially are way too small and it's inhumane keeping a bird or animal in a too small space.


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