# Oriental Roller Kit/loft



## Wayne Johnson

Hi everyone. After months of reading, planning, and countless drawings I have finalized my design. I purchased the great dvd from Vivagirl (AKA ColorPigeons.com)of an interview with James Turner, one of the best roller men around today. In the video it shows a discussion about his methods of raising and training his birds. I am now a big fan. Mr. Turner shows his unusual loft system on his property. I was inspired to make a simple version without all of his amazing features. That is for him to share, not me. 

I have priced this out at Home Depot. It should cost well under $100.00 when completed. All of the cuts are simple and can be done on the saws at the store. I have provided a cutting diagram that will turn Three sheets of
1/2" Chip Board and four 2x4's into a functional two compartment kit box/breeding loft.


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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson

I also plan to mount a Sputnik Trap for training. It will be mounted on the side of the loft on the left. It will be mounted sideways. I will show my progress ASAP. I plan on going to get the wood cut on Saturday. The image does not show the inside correctly. It will be two bays, each 31" x 24". The one on the right will be thre breeder loft and the one on the left will be the kit box with attached sputnic. I may make the sputnik later. I am planning on getting a pair of Pure White Flying Oriental Rollers.


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## Wayne Johnson

The Sputnik will be make of 1"x1/2" welded wire.


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## HmoobH8wj

how big the loft?


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## Wayne Johnson

4' high, 4' wide and 31" deep. Similar to Mr. Turners units. His are in banks under a common roof. On legs it stands 7' to the top. There will be two bays. One with a single shelf for the two nests and the other bay will have box perches. I now live in a warmer environment and I can staple clear plastic to the front if it gets too cold.


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## PigeonVilla

Wayne Johnson said:


> I also plan to mount a Sputnik Trap for training. It will be mounted on the side of the loft on the left. It will be mounted sideways. I will show my progress ASAP. I plan on going to get the wood cut on Saturday. The image does not show the inside correctly. It will be two bays, each 31" x 24". The one on the right will be thre breeder loft and the one on the left will be the kit box with attached sputnic. I may make the sputnik later. I am planning on getting a pair of Pure White Flying Oriental Rollers.


 I wouldnt ever put the drop trap in the middle of the roof , just really not the best place for it being that even when covered up rain can easily penitrate it and a wet loft is not a good living space if you ask me .


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## Wayne Johnson

That is the Sputnik that goes on the side, not the loft. The loft is the top picture.


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## Wayne Johnson

Today I got all of the wood cut at HomeDepot. The three sheets of chipboard complete with 19 cuts was just under $25.00 I got 6 feet of 1"x1/2" welded wire 4' wide for $2.50 per foot. So far the cost is very good. I originally got the wire to build the Sputnik. I will need 2 more feet for one of the doors.


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## PigeonVilla

Wayne Johnson said:


> That is the Sputnik that goes on the side, not the loft. The loft is the top picture.


 Sorry your sputnik looked bigger then your loft lol.


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## Wayne Johnson

It really does doesn't it. I drew up an image of the whole thing and the sputnik as described looks huge sticking out on the side. I'll probably have to scale it down some.


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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson

The above pictures are of the material to build my loft. It is all put together except for the welded wire, paint, hinges, and legs. Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to finish it and paint. I had to stop when I realized I needed washers to attach the wire floor.


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## Wayne Johnson

I went to Lowes today and found a gallon of miss mixed exterior paint. It is pale blue/gray. I have painted the loft after turning the whole thing upside down. This way I can get a very good coating on the bottom edge before i attach the wire bottom. I will then turn it right side up and finish the painting. I ended up with 6 box perches on the kit side.


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## Wayne Johnson

I tell you I did not realize how much paint it takes to cover OSB. It is cheap but it takes so much paint that initial saving can easily be eaten up by paint cost. Thank goodness for OOPS paint. I had to purchase my second gallon of paint. It is Gliddon $50.00 per gallon exterior semi-gloss acrylic. I got it for $5.00.


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## Wayne Johnson

Turner Inspired Roller Loft
So far the cost of my Kit/Breeding Loft:

3 sheets at $6.98 each = $20.94 
Box of Drywall screws $5.00
Hinges 2 per pack @ $2.45 X 2 packs = $4.90
½” x 1”x 4’ welded wire 6’ @ $2.50 per foot = $15.00
2 gallons of exterior semi-gloss OOPS paint = $10.00
¼” x 1” fender washer 20 @ .07 each = $1.40
Elmer’s Wood Glue $5.00
4” paint brush $4.00

So far total = $66.24

Still need four 2x4’s and a few extra long strews for the legs.


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## Wayne Johnson

These are modular. So to add capacity simply build another unit and line them up. Face then accross from each other for a covered loft.


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## Wayne Johnson

I plan on using plastic pet food dishes for nests. How big do I need for "Flying Oriental Rollers" Fernholz family?


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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson

The box perches are made by cutting slots in both the upright divider and the perches themselves. They add structural strength. So does the center divider and the nest box. 
I am proud of the design in that there is nothing for poop to catch on other than the wire. The bottom is screwed on with 1"x1/4" washers.


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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson

Doors done and painted. Need legs and paint underside of roof and tray.


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## Jabels

Cant wait to see it with your rollers in it


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## logangrmnr

It's coming along real nice. Can't wait till its finished.


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## Wayne Johnson

I had to buy 
another can of Oop's paint $5.00 
two 2x2's = $3.50
four 1x3's = $7.40
package of 2 hook and eye latch sets = .98
Total $68.88
I believe I could have gotten by with only one gallon of paint if I had used plywood rather than Oriented Strang Board (OSB)


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## Wayne Johnson

I intend to redesign the sputnik shown earlier to be a detachable portable loft. It will be made in two parts. The trap itself where I will feed the kit daily and a detachable settling cage. This project is up for revision and may have to wait untill spring.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Looks good Wayne


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## Wayne Johnson

Thanks Shadybug, coming from you that is a great complement.


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## Wayne Johnson

Introducing 
The Big Johnson Convertible training trap and portable loft
The idea is that the birds will exit through the upper drop trap into the settling cage, pass down through the sputnik style trap down into the lower section and go through the lower trap back into the kit. 
The birds will be fed daily in the lower section of the trap.


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## Wayne Johnson

Daily feeding mode









Trap mode










Trap closed


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## Wayne Johnson

The trap detached and fully portable. That is the fun part about rollers.


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## Wayne Johnson

There will be wire doors on front for feeding, side for access, and loft side sho that the openings can be closed off when in portable mode.


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## logangrmnr

That should work out just great. That's close to what we use at the race loft. Bucks on the top to go out and bucks on the bottle so they can walk in off of the landing board to trap in. Doesn't get any better than that.
Logangrmnr


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## Wayne Johnson

I've decided that I don't like my nest shelf.
I intend to steal Shadybug's idea and cut an access panel in the back. I will attempt to build a similar slatted floor and droppings tray.
I won't be able to get my birds for a few 
Months so I have time to make this as serviceable as possible. The goal is to eventually have four of these. Two rows facing each other so that the roofs form common roof over a service hall.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne, You know you could go to jail for stealing. LOL Thats sounds like a good plan. Then the roof would keep rain out of the fronts. Wayne are you going to the show in Fredrick Md?


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## Wayne Johnson

Pictures of the loft n basic form. It will be almost 3" up on legs.





































Just in case any social workers see this picture, they are holding the doors closed with the tips of their fingers. ; )


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## Wayne Johnson

NO I am not. I started that as something we could all add to but the mods have other ideas. I had several more lists of shows I found on the web but they were removed. I wish we had a place we could all add shows we hear of. Unfortunately the mods feel otherwise.


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## Shadybug Lofts

OK. I thought you weren't getting any birds for a while, It looks full to me. LOL


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## Wingsonfire

Your kit box is looking good


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## Wayne Johnson

Been working on the convertable trap.


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## HmoobH8wj

i wanna see a picture inside of each side.. what is on each side? breeding? perches?


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## Sunne

Nice looking loft


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## Wayne Johnson

Thanks for the encouragement Sunne.
Coop, the right has one nesting shelf. The left has 6 box perches.


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## Wayne Johnson

I used my new multi tool from harbor freight to cut the door in the back of the nest box. I how have access tothe box for cleaning and checking. I cut the door out at an angle so that the slanted edges seal out the drafts. The only gap was at the top edge because of the hinges. I now have to decide about the grill for the pigeons to walk on. Shadybug used wood dowel rods. I have been considering using "egg crate" fluorescent light difuser. If is a white plastic made with 1/2" squares. To clean, it would be easy to soak it in bleach water over night.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne, I would use Rubbermaid shelves, because your not going to be walking on them, or are you going to keep your kids in there. LOL. I haven't cleaned the floor of my aviary since spring. I will show you a pic in the morning so you can see how clean it stays.


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## Wayne Johnson

I cant keep my girls in it. It is not strong enough for dangerous animals


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## Shadybug Lofts

One question. How are you going to get it out of youir basement?


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## Wayne Johnson

Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



The pictures were taken through the garage door. It will be heavy but we can do it.


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## Shadybug Lofts

OK It looked like it was in a basement.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne, This is what the floor looks like in my aviary after six months without cleaning.


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## Wayne Johnson

That is amazing.
Is Thad the pantry (tighter) or linen (wider) spacing? 
Would the wider be ok for the nest box?


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## Shadybug Lofts

I'm not sure which one i got, I could measure if you want me to. I think it stays clean because the poop dosn't stick to the plastic. I checked there a little less than 1/2" between the bars. My birds walk on these fine but I'm not sure about wider ones.


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## boneyrajan.k

nice setup


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne, I would use those plastic floor grates you get in the catalogs,there inexpensive. You can cut them to size or put to together with plastic ties and they have little legs to hold the off the floor. I have them in my old loft nest boxes and they work great. I put newspaper under them then you can lift the grate up with the bowl and everything and pull the soiled paper out and replace it with new.


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## Wayne Johnson

Thanks shadybug,
I have decided to use the plastic fluorescent grid found in the drop ceiling part of Lowes. It cost $15.00 but I should be able to make more than one. I have used it many times on aquarium projects, so I'm familiar with it. Will post pics soon.


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## Shadybug Lofts

I know what your talking about. That should work fine.


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## Wayne Johnson

I think the Rubbermaid shelving like your aviary would be best but I cant get anything less than 20" wide with the small spacing. They make 12" wide but for some reason I cant get it around here. Oh well, the grid will work ok but the shelving is so much tougher.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Are you talking for the floor, or the nest boxes


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## Wayne Johnson

Nest box bottoms


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## italianbird101

Shadybug Lofts said:


> Wayne, This is what the floor looks like in my aviary after six months without cleaning.


Is that a walk on floor?


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## Shadybug Lofts

No, You can only walk on the boards


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## Wayne Johnson

Here is the grate floor in my nest shelf in the breeder side of my kit/loft


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## Shadybug Lofts

That should work fine.


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## NewHopePoultry

What program did you use to draw the plans up?

Loft looks great!


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## Wayne Johnson

Google Sketchup it's free.


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## NewHopePoultry

Thanks.
Im going to check into it


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## Wayne Johnson

I have been working on my convertible trap. this is the bottom. I will cut away for two 
4" openings. More pics to come.


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## Greek Boy

Wayne Johnson- Excellent job on your sputnik type drop trap. Can't wait to see the completed "kit box". It looks like all your reseach and designing was well worth it. Good luck to you sir.-Nick..


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## orock

I can't wait to see a finished picture.


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## Wayne Johnson

Update on my trap. The door on top is cut from the lid of a plastic tote and the door on the front is a tray from the dollar tree painted.


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## Wayne Johnson

I intend to feed the birds in this most of the time. I made the roof rom a sheet of aluminum from the cookware dept of Wal*Mart.


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## Wayne Johnson

I have been trying to decide how to roof my loft. I want it to be flat (with pitch) so I can add skylights. I looked on the Ondura web site where they discuss their product. Ondura is the corrugated asphalt roofing material. It has a lifetime guarantee. The catch is that you have to repaint it every so many years. I looked up the paint to use and it says"any good quality acrylic latex exterior paint". My roof is a sheet of OSB. It has 4 coats of paint but is still pitted. I fear the pits will retain water and weaken the paint. Today I took the last 1/2 gal of paint and added 3 caulking gun sized tubes of water based acrylic latex caulking. Lowes shook it up for me. It is the consistency of pudding. I spread some on the roof, and am pleased with the pit filling nature if the concoction. I will take a picture when it dries. I only coated half of the roof for a comparison.


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## Wingsonfire

Wayne Johnson said:


> I have been trying to decide how to roof my loft. I want it to be flat (with pitch) so I can add skylights. I looked on the Ondura web site where they discuss their product. Ondura is the corrugated asphalt roofing material. It has a lifetime guarantee. The catch is that you have to repaint it every so many years. I looked up the paint to use and it says"any good quality acrylic latex exterior paint". My roof is a sheet of OSB. It has 4 coats of paint but is still pitted. I fear the pits will retain water and weaken the paint. Today I took the last 1/2 gal of paint and added 3 caulking gun sized tubes of water based acrylic latex caulking. Lowes shook it up for me. It is the consistency of pudding. I spread some on the roof, and am pleased with the pit filling nature if the concoction. I will take a picture when it dries. I only coated half of the roof for a comparison.


I looked at Ondura and from what I have read it is not that great, how many homes are using it, not many, roof decking and shingles have been around a long time and are still the norm for roofs from small homes to the Million dollar ones. I live in the Dallas Fort Worth Area and have never seen a roof with Ondura. Get on youtube and you will see that Ondura is not the way to go for roofing....


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## Wayne Johnson

You're right Ondura is not my favorite product, most people don't know they have to repaint the stuff. I have seen some shabby roofs. I am not going to use the material. I am just coating the OSB as my roof. My point was that the exterior paint is enough for a roof as long as it is maintained.


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## Wayne Johnson

This is the roof with a coat of the mixture. At the bottom of the picture you can see how thick this stuff is where I touched it while still wet.


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## Wayne Johnson

This is a picture of the same material with just paint.


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## bhymer

What material are you using on your roof ????


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## Wayne Johnson

Just a sheet of OSB painted with a mix of exterior latex and latex caulking.


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## Wayne Johnson

I think you'll like the skylights I have planned. I intend to cut a round hole and silicone a clear glass plate from the Dollar store over it.


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## Wayne Johnson

This needs to be done when it is warm or dry. The coating is still wet on the third day. The OSB is delaminating under the wet conditions. I have added a fan so hopefully it will dry soon.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne, Put a hair dryer behind the fan and blow hot air over it. I wonder why it's delamination when you had it painted first. Is there two kinds of osb board one with waterproof glue and one without?


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## Wayne Johnson

It must be due to the extensive time it has been wet.It has been in the 50's and 60's with constant rain and drizzle since I put the mix on there. This morning it was still wet. It has dried more in the last 10 hours than in the last 3 days.


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## Wayne Johnson

The mixture dried with a fan. It is a very tough coating and should hold up well to the elements. I just cut holes in the roof and installed glass discs. They are from the Dollar Tree and were flat candle holders.


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## Rafael/PR

I think your little girls was giving dad a hind to build them a play House,lol
anyway nice layout using Google sketckup 
I been using Google sketch for the longest over 3 year i think and i cant seen to find a way to file it so i could show it , how did you do it????
I Think it one of the best drawing tools around and it free to use but the only problem i see is to make it easy to file or converted for mailing or showing it to others


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## Wayne Johnson

Click "file" then "export". Click the drop down menu and choose "jpeg".


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## Wayne Johnson

Would you believe. After collecting information for two years, multiple plans and endress conversations about my loft. I finally built the thing and plan on getting everything done before i get my foundation birds. I hopefully will get them on Tuesday.......and I'm still not quite finished with it. 
I cant beleive it is finally going to happen. I can easily get this by the weekend. I just cut out the in and out drop traps. I need to attach the legs. I wonder if I should keep them in the garage for the winter or go aheead and put them outside. Winter has finally come to Western North Carolina. It is 27degrees in the mornings. It is US agricultural zone 6b to 7. Camelia bloom here most of the winter.


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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson




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## Shadybug Lofts

Looks good Wayne.


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## Wayne Johnson

I just have to cut one more door between the two sides and paint the legs to be ready for my OR's.

I feel like it's Christmas again and it will be over 60 degrees for the next few days.


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## Wayne Johnson

They have arrived. Mark McCormick shipped them from IN. They arrived in excellent health. They are the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. There is even a slight opalescents to their neck ruff. They ate and drank, but not ravenously. They started preening each other within 30 mins. They are a lot bigger than I thought but seem happy in their new he. Mark even sent the pedigrees with them. What a great guy.

Wayne


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## Shadybug Lofts

Pics Please


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## Wayne Johnson

This is Glenda


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## Shadybug Lofts

Nice looking bird.


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## Wayne Johnson

Today is MLK day so I was home and my oldest daughter was with me today. We were feeding our two birds and the male, Ozzy, flew out past me. He flew around the neighborhood for two hours. I stayed outside and whistled to him. I always whistle the most recognizable part of the 1812 overture. He would disapear for a while and we knew he was gone for good. Then we would see a white streak accross out yard. He returned to our front deck and showed off to his reflection in the kitchen window for about half of an hour. He finally went back to the loft and I closed him in at 1:30 pm. Luckily our neighborhood is poluted with crows and squirrles . So no hawk attack.


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## nyray08

*hi wayne*

The triad flying roller club will be hosting its annual BurnOff,June2 nd,for info contact ray crenshaw at 704 2243586, we are the oldest roller club in the carolinas and there will be free food ,prizes and lots of spin to see,along with some of the biggest names in the roller hobby from all over the country there,hope to see u there


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## Wayne Johnson

They now have two eggs. The parents are taking shifts as expected. I didn't expect this so fast.


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## bhymer

You might like this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbKMDpW7Lts


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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson




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## Wayne Johnson

I now have two fuzzy yellow chicks. Hatched today.


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## Wayne Johnson

my first babies.


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## Greek Boy

Wayne- the two youngsters look well fed and healthy. Don't forget to band them 7-10 days from hatching. Lots of luck with your new birds, looking good.- Nick..


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## Wayne Johnson

Today I went to the loft to check on the birds. Both parents were off the nest the hen is fluffed and eyes droopy. Both chicks dead. One with 1/4 full crop the other empty. I removed the nest to be cleaned. Parents have watery stool. I gave them safflower seeds in a feeder along with baked soybeans. Unlimited access to regular feed also. I need to treat the parents before I try this again. It's hard to see perfect 10 day old chicks dead. It has been warm here. 30 degrees at night 50 dergrees in the day.


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## almondman

I am sorry for your loss. Good luck with the adults. Please keep us posted.


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## raftree3

Don't let it get you down. Losses are part of livestock production no matter what the species. One thing for sure about pigeons is if you get them healthy, they'll try and try again.


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## Wayne Johnson

Thanks, my children loved them. And saw them dead. They said,"are they dead like Papaw?


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## Wayne Johnson

I went to my local feed, fighting cock store, and got some meds for coccidia. I just hope the parents make it.


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## Wayne Johnson

The hen is acting weird. She keeps walking backward and putting her tail high up on the back wall.
Her droppings are pure water. Her eyes are very sleepy looking. She ate well this evening. Now up on the nesting shelf, minus nest bowls.


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## Sunne

Sorry for your loss. Hope she feels better.


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## Wayne Johnson

Thanks, I don't feel all alone in this.


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## Wayne Johnson

I have been giving them Amprolium 20% powder and Sulmet (sulfamethazine sodium 12.5%) liquid. Bot are in their drinking water. They are much more active and poops are well formed though somewhat green. I think someone is feeding them greens, I see weeds on the concrete under the loft.


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## Wayne Johnson

I have had to change my traps. The loft is too small for the drop trap to work because they just jump up through the hole. I replaced it with a 45 degree 4" PVC pipe fitting held on by two Elle brackets. I can attest that pigeons can learn a maze. They now fly up to a perch just inside a drop trap that leads outside to the settling cage. They then drop down through one of two 4" openings into the lower "sputnik-esque"section where I have started feeding them, then back in through the PVC pipe. It is entertaing to watch.


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## Wayne Johnson

Treatment is finished. Both look and act great. I put the nest bowls back. Everyone looks happy.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Glade to here that.


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## Wayne Johnson

Thanks Shadybug. I wish I had done preventative treatment. I just thought since I have no other birds they would be safe. I was wrong.
Wayne


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne, I used global multi mix for 4 years every 6 weeks or so and never had any sickness. I even got new birds and just give them all multi mix at that time. It got old so i stopped using it, the lable said the shelf life is 6 months, Stopping was biggest mistake I ever made. After I stopped my birds started getting sick. I also flew my birds all the time. That was my experience with it. I highly recommend it.


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## Jaye

Man...sorry you all had to experience that...I would still remain vigilant, make sure that there's no backlash of the illness for a bit. As you well know, oftentimes they start acting normal before it's all cleared out.....


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## Wayne Johnson

I thought you may enjoy seeing some of the things I have been working on.


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## Wayne Johnson

In the first picture you see a first attempt feeder. It was too low and I cut the access holes too close to the bottom. The newer version allows very little waste.


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## Wayne Johnson

In the last pictures you see some Shadybug style feeders. They, of course, are upside down plastic storage containers with access holes cut into them. You can see that they work very well with breeding cages. The waterer is a version I came up with. It is important to get a container that has a deep flat lid so that the water can pool without leaking.


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## Wayne Johnson

My pare are finally back on eggs since Saturday, March 17th 2012.


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## Revolution Lofts

Looking good! Can you post some pictures of the waterer or send some to me? I want to use something similar for the new breeding pens I will be making. Is the blue part a lid of another container?


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## Wayne Johnson

The bottle hanging outside the cage is .99 cent feed store purchase. This is the Shadybug style drinker. It is a screw on lidded storage container, turned upside down. 1.00 at Mighty Dollar.


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## Wayne Johnson

I now have one FOR left and four disnney world strain homers. The roofing material is still working well after a year in the elements.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Your mistaken Wayne, thats not my drinker, a drinker is probubly the only thing i never tried to make. I buy the bought ones, some things just can't be improved. But I do like the drinker. I never saw that drinker on here.


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## Shadybug Lofts

Wayne Johnson said:


> I thought you may enjoy seeing some of the things I have been working on.
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## nancybird

Shadybug Lofts said:


> Wayne Johnson said:
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> Something just doesn't look right with dog bones on the nest bowls. LOL
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Click to expand...


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## Wayne Johnson

I'm raising them to have very bad attitudes.
Watch out hawks they're coming for you!


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## Shadybug Lofts

You better watch the dog, He may mistake you birds for a treat. My dog will eat anything in a dog bowl LOL


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