# Newbie Loft Thoughts



## mcliff3 (Jun 21, 2009)

Hi all.

As I continue to do my research on the pigeon racing hobby, I am trying to formulate a plan for my future loft. My thought is that I would build a 
6' x 16' loft ( 6'2" tall at walls edge, and 7'2" at the peak). I was thinking that I could section the loft into four 6' x 4' sections - 1 for old hens, 1 for old cocks, 1 for breeding, and 1 for young birds (including the young after they become independent of the nest). My thought was that I would build an avairy off the front of the loft, spanning the length, and also seperated by section. Does this sound like a viable design option? Any and all feedback and suggestions is GREATLY  appreciated! 

Mike


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

mcliff3 said:


> Hi all.
> 
> As I continue to do my research on the pigeon racing hobby, I am trying to formulate a plan for my future loft. My thought is that I would build a
> 6' x 16' loft ( 6'2" tall at walls edge, and 7'2" at the peak). I was thinking that I could section the loft into four 6' x 4' sections - 1 for old hens, 1 for old cocks, 1 for breeding, and 1 for young birds (including the young after they become independent of the nest). My thought was that I would build an avairy off the front of the loft, spanning the length, and also seperated by section. Does this sound like a viable design option? Any and all feedback and suggestions is GREATLY  appreciated!
> ...


Why 6 feet and not 8 feet wide since the sheets of whatever come in 4 ft pieces?
You say this is for your future racing hobby. A 4 x 6 or 4 x 8 section will only hold about 12 or 15 birds. You MIGHT get by with a team of 15 birds for OB's but not for YB's. 
Is this the ONLY loft you are building or CAN build, or do you see a future loft? 
I ask, because although the size is a good size, trying to put ALL of you birds in a loft that size probably won't work out so good a year down the road.


----------



## mcliff3 (Jun 21, 2009)

The 6' option was to account for a 4'x8' sheet ripped down the middle, allowing 1 sheet to cover the extra 2' of the total length of the loft.

Being a complete newbie, I will take the leap and ask - why do I need additional square footage for the YB section? Would it make more sense to dedicate the 6' x 16' loft to 3 sections, and move the breeding section to another location in the yard (i.e. a stand-alone loft built solely for the purposes of breeding.

btw - thanks for the feedback already!


----------



## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

A thought about the 6 vs 8 is that 8 is a bit deep if your compartements are more than 5 feet wide or so. You need to be able to span the loft with your wingspan. Otherwise chasing birds down is a pain. 

As I do construction on my loft, building it in panels. I would highly reccomend it. Makes everything much more simple. Building a wall at a time and then assembling it. There are some great plans out there. On thought is with your design, there will be no room for feed storage etc. Take a look at some of the Belgium lofts that have a walkway in front of all compartments. You could also go 8 deep and have a walkway behind the compartments. If you went 20 feet this would give you 5x5 compartments. I like having the hallways personally. This way you do not have to march through compartments to get to others. Much like Lovebirds widowhood loft. Another example is my Breeding loft. 16x16 with a hallway and 4 compartments. 

Randy


----------



## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Well, I'll let you figure out the actual building. I usually don't know what I'm talking about anyway........

I'll give you a run down of what would be ideal for loft space.

One section for breeding. Keep in mind that if it is built to hold, say 24 birds, that's 12 cocks and 12 hens. If you keep your breeders together all year, then one section is fine. If you intend to separate them when not breeding (which is what most of us do), then you'll need TWO sections. A hens section that will hold 12 hens and a cocks section that will hold 12 cocks and 12 hens, but only the cocks would be in there during the off season. So basically, the cocks section needs to be bigger than the hens section.

One section for YB's. That size depends on how many YB's you want to raise. 20, 40, 50, 100? That's up to you.

Eventually you're YB's become OB's. Now you need somewhere to put your OB's. Again, if you want to separate them during the non racing season (which, again, most of us do), then you'll need two sections. Depending on what system you fly, you may need a bigger section again for the cocks and hens to be together.


----------



## mcliff3 (Jun 21, 2009)

I spent sometime outside in the yard today looking at what area (after being cleared) would be best for the loft. At this rate, my guess is the loft construction won't begin until the spring!


----------



## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

I think what Renee is saying is you need ideally 5 sections. I agree with her on this one. After my loft is finished, I will have 5 sections and the ability to have 6. In the winter I plan on using 4 sections. I am going to work on breeding loft to be able to section it off into 3 or 4 sections. This way when I separate the sexes, I can have larger compartments for the winter.


----------

