# Dove Fortress is almost done.



## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

All wire held down by trim.

Camera freaked out, nothing is really pink it's all white.

18 inch deep concrete block walls! Will have a flagstone floor for cleaning.

Gabled area for doves to hide at night.
http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f219/FurrDeFaux/Fortress of Doveitude/


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

Hi philodice,
My doves would kill to have a palace like that to live in! I love the block walls, how big is it? can't wait to see the finished project.


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## Pigeonpal2002 (Jul 27, 2002)

"Fortress" is right! Great start to your doviary and you've planned well with the concrete "basement" to this. Looking forward to seeing the finished results as well.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

"Dear Mr Coyote, I regret to inform you that we will be having no more dining in my yard."

The fortress is 8' x 5' by 6 feet tall. It's held into the base wall with iron rods, and will be wired on both sides of each wall. It probably weighs a ton. I'm looking forward to mounting the perches this weekend after plastering the base to match my house. This addition is planned to perfectly match my house. In fact, when it's done I could probably move into it as an extra bedroom.  
If you notice the black hose at the base of the house, that is for water and will have irrigation into the dovetress, feeding H2O into the bird bath fountain and misting system whenever I water my yard. That idea needs more work but I'm looking at ideas on the net right now. 
All the materials are recycled from a next door neighbor tearing down his old mobile home. Trim came from around his doors, lumber came from his interior walls. Blocks all reused from his stem wall. Flagstone recycled from other landscaping projects on craigslist. This posh palace is environmentally friendly.


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Philodice,

Your doviairy is beautiful. And what a great way to recycle materials. You rock! I had to laugh at your opening statement to Mr.Coyote. Yikes, we have had them in our yard lately and they are getting bold. I stepped out to the deck about three days ago and here was a big old boy right in the center of the yard. He didn't run. He just meandered off and his pal, who had been over by my neighbor's chicken run, joined him. I'm going to have to stash a bucket of dirt clods on the deck to throw at them.

Margaret


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## pigeonmama (Jan 9, 2005)

Just checking, but is it dirt floor? And can coyote dig under the wall?
Daryl


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

pigeonmama said:


> Just checking, but is it dirt floor? And can coyote dig under the wall?
> Daryl


I think the flagstone floor is still coming.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Wow, looking great! How fun it will be to move them in there and watch them enjoy it. Especially the misting hoses during hot weather.


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

I love the looks Phil - your doves are going to so happy  Can't wait to see pictures & read the stories of their adventures. Have fun with the "decorating"


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Here is the latest addition to the Fortress of Doveitude.










It's my feeding station. Yeah, I know. Things are coming along slowly and I don't yet have the floor stones.









Watch as the door opens on hinges I screwed in all by myself!










Hey, this will probably end up being used as a nest box.  Sugar likes to sit in the seed bowl. I'll have to put in one of those seed dishes with an anti poop device.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

OMG...
I caught my baby surfing Pigeon talk!


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

philodice, the best end result always takes longer! You did a great job with the feeding door.


what is your baby pijs name so we know who is doing the inputting.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

philodice said:


> OMG...
> I caught my baby surfing Pigeon talk!
> I needed a good laugh that is on cute baby! love the fortress. It would take all day for a critter to dig under that.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

Next come the perches!


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

The fortress is complete!

Perches!


















Sun shade!
This is what the coyotes see when they cruise through the alley.









Note large flagstones placed under door. The bunnies are in there temporarily. If there are any predators tempted to grab a snack those rabbits would be long gone by now (and I'd be heartbroken!). I know my cage is snack proof.
I was sitting in the dove fortress waiting and sure enough, a cat came by to watch 'dove tv' and freaked out to see me in there.


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## Margarret (May 3, 2007)

Wow! That is one beautiful fortress. Congratulations on finishing your dove palace. Those will be very happy birds living in such luxury. Now you can sit back and enjoy them.

Margaret


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## TheSnipes (Apr 9, 2007)

philodice said:


> Watch as the door opens on hinges I screwed in all by myself!


LOL!!!


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## Dezirrae (Oct 6, 2007)

Congratulations Phil!!! Spectacular  I may be "borrowing" some of your ideas for perches (hope you don't mind). I can see your feathered friends are already quite happy there 



philodice said:


> I was sitting in the dove fortress waiting and sure enough, a cat came by to watch 'dove tv' and freaked out to see me in there.


Great visual!!! Heehehehee....


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

I spent some time in there during a rain storm. It is much more water proof than the old cage. And in the heat it is actually cooler in there than in the surrounding yard. The roof has foam insulation and the aviary is placed near my air compressor, which forces moving, cooling air through it's wire walls during the hot parts of the day. The doves are so much more comfortable.
The younglings will fly to me and land on my head, then fly to my hand to eat seed.
The perches were an idea I got from another post, but I decided to mount them on a slant. The doves did nothing but fight over perches until I doubled the number of perches. Then they forgot the fighting and started roaming about on the ground for seed.
The nest box is temporarily on a book tower, which will be nailed to the wall somewhere when I find the right brackets.
I obviously have a hole in the fortress somewhere, there is a small silver mouse living under that flagstone. Fine -tuning is due this weekend.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Nice setup, Philodice. 

Do you have any feral pigeons around?

Cindy


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

philodice said:


> *I obviously have a hole in the fortress somewhere, there is a small silver mouse living under that flagstone*.
> 
> * *Fine -tuning is due this weekend*.




* Yep! Sounds like it. 
Hope you are able to find the hole without having to spend your entire weekend doing it. 

Cindy


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

No, no feral pigeons around my area at all. They prefer the apartment complex nearby. More cliff like. The leave my neighborhood to the native doves and feral lovebirds because all my neighbors focus on native plants and trees and habitat for doves, finches, and quail. The feral pigeons don't want anything to do with us or our bird seed feeders.
My doves think it is neat that I add perches to the loft every time I enter. My head, my arm, my shoulder...

And when I sit inside I can hear the quail cock calling from the alley.


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## Whitefeather (Sep 2, 2002)

Could you post a couple pictures showing the whole aviary?


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## EgypSwiftLady (Jan 14, 2008)

Very nice. You and the doves will surely spend many,many hours enjoying it.


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## philodice (Sep 30, 2007)

That's it, just the four walls and a roof. I'll take more pictures from inside when it is really done, when the misting system is installed and the bird bath mounted.
The door still isn't what I would have liked but it locks now. I have mounted nest boxes, really just plastic buckets screwed to the wall.


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