# Nesting Material - What Works Best? How Often?



## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

I use shredded paper for my nest boxes but would like to know if there is a better alternative? My other thought was to use bail or alfalfa.

How often should the nest be "cleaned" or changed? I've noticed my indoor nests are soiled so much I change them daily. Is this really necessary?

d.


----------



## Minus (Apr 6, 2001)

i'm not sure what others do but i use a little straw....the birds seem to like it and when the babies are about 2 weeks old i change the straw about twice a week.Sometimes i put a handful of twigs in the loft and they quickly grab it all and add it to their nests...








minus


----------



## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

> Originally posted by Minus:
> *i'm not sure what others do but i use a little straw....the birds seem to like it and when the babies are about 2 weeks old i change the straw about twice a week.Sometimes i put a handful of twigs in the loft and they quickly grab it all and add it to their nests...
> 
> 
> ...


When they are not sitting on eggs, how often do you change the straw?

d.


----------



## Pigeon_boy (Dec 22, 2000)

I use Saw Dust,Newpaper and Straw. I change it ever time they had raised babys and are ready to start another batch.


----------



## dlwbom (Jul 9, 2001)

My doves love straw or hay, and pine needles, especially dried (dead) ones. Luckily, I have a pine tree in the front yard and my daughter has a horse so both are very plentiful! I think even WalMart sells bags of straw for bedding.
Denise
Sacramento, CA


----------



## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

> Originally posted by Pigeon_boy:
> *I use Saw Dust,Newpaper and Straw. I change it ever time they had raised babys and are ready to start another batch.
> 
> 
> ...


One of my problems is that the babies soil the nest so much I have to change the bedding every few days.

One day I went in there and the entire nest box was all poop. The parents refuse to sit in it now and just stay close by to watch and feed them. I don't mind doing this except when I have to be away for a few days... well you get the idea.










d.


----------



## Minus (Apr 6, 2001)

Hi Scuiry..
yeah the babies sure do make a mess.I was replacing straw every couple of days and going through tonnes of straw so now i do it every sunday morning.....yes the nesting boxes look pretty dirty by then, but the babies dont seemed to fazed by it....imagine what their nests would look like in the wild..On the weekend i let them out for a flight and clean and scrub the whole loft top to bottom cleaning the boxes and floors with diluted bleach and warm water then hose out the floor(the floors are concrete)which run on a slight angle so all the dirty water runs along into a drain outside the loft..the birds are pretty fond of straw they pick all the seeds out first, its like having a snack in bed







I think i should live in there...lol.
cheers Minus


----------



## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

> Originally posted by Minus:
> *Hi Scuiry..
> yeah the babies sure do make a mess.I was replacing straw every couple of days and going through tonnes of straw so now i do it every sunday morning.....yes the nesting boxes look pretty dirty by then, but the babies dont seemed to fazed by it....imagine what their nests would look like in the wild..On the weekend i let them out for a flight and clean and scrub the whole loft top to bottom cleaning the boxes and floors with diluted bleach and warm water then hose out the floor(the floors are concrete)which run on a slight angle so all the dirty water runs along into a drain outside the loft..the birds are pretty fond of straw they pick all the seeds out first, its like having a snack in bed
> 
> ...


So, do you leave the hay out somewhere for them or do you put it right in the nest box?

d.


----------



## Minus (Apr 6, 2001)

i just leave it on the floor and they come a get it...but when cleaning the nest boxes with babies in them i take them out put them in an empty box clean their box right out,then put a handful of straw back in and put them back in.It doesn't bother them at all,they look happy when you pick them up...
makes the loft smell better too.
Minus..


----------



## pigeon_16 (Aug 9, 2001)

I heard that they make their nests from poop. They make a bowl in the nest, and that is what they use. That is what my dad told me. He had pigeons for about 20 years. and thats how his nest. so is this ok or what? and I have a pigeon who keeps laying unfertile eggs, and she did have one fertile, and the baby died after about 2 weeks. I think it froze.

------------------
.::¤MÅNDY¤::.


----------



## robo squab (Jan 13, 2002)

I don't think poop nests are very good,you would be better off with straw or even dry grass clippings. I also had a pigeon who kept laying unfertile eggs but i couldn't figure out why. But about the frozen baby you should keep them in a warm place or even put for them heat lamp if the weather is cold. Best of luck 
robo squab


----------



## Scuiry (Jul 11, 2001)

> Originally posted by robo squab:
> *I don't think poop nests are very good,you would be better off with straw or even dry grass clippings. I also had a pigeon who kept laying unfertile eggs but i couldn't figure out why. But about the frozen baby you should keep them in a warm place or even put for them heat lamp if the weather is cold. Best of luck
> robo squab
> 
> ...


My squabs are now trying to dump outside their nests. I still have to change them every couple of days. The smell gets so strong.

My birds are all indoors. What's it like in an outdoor nest box? How soiled do they get?

d.


----------



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

*d. wrote:

My squabs are now trying to dump outside their nests. I still have to change them every couple of days. The smell gets so strong.

My birds are all indoors. What's it like in an outdoor nest box? How soiled do they get?*

Observation of my (outdoor) balcony pigeons was - they built the nests in earthfilled plant tubs with just a few twigs; when the babies were very tiny, poppa bird would train them to ease out backwards from under him and poop out toward the side of the nest. This, obviously, is why pigeons tend to take a few steps back before letting go







As the kids developed, they still used tthis method so that they only rarely got a little messy, but the area around them got *very* 'poopy'; it never smelled too much outside, but did attract insects in the warmer weather; I'd take out some of the dirty earth now and then and put clean in, or else just cover it up with clean earth. Guess same principle will apply if you have hay/straw as the basis.


----------



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

*d. wrote:

My squabs are now trying to dump outside their nests. I still have to change them every couple of days. The smell gets so strong.

My birds are all indoors. What's it like in an outdoor nest box? How soiled do they get?*

Observation of my (outdoor) balcony pigeons was - they built the nests in earthfilled plant tubs with just a few twigs; when the babies were very tiny, poppa bird would train them to ease out backwards from under him and poop out toward the side of the nest. This, obviously, is why pigeons tend to take a few steps back before letting go







As the kids developed, they still used tthis method so that they only rarely got a little messy, but the area around them got *very* 'poopy'; it never smelled too much outside, but did attract insects in the warmer weather; I'd take out some of the dirty earth now and then and put clean in, or else just cover it up with clean earth. Guess same principle will apply if you have hay/straw as the basis.


----------



## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Sorry - clicked twice


----------

