# Raising Pigeons/Pigeon Coop



## Travis Wright (Mar 3, 2003)

I am planning on building a Pigeon Coop and raising a few pigeons for training.

Any ideas for building a Coop? I would like to buy a few breeding pairs and put in some nesting boxes.

Any suggestions or general pigeon raising advice?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Travis


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## BonMallari (Feb 7, 2008)

Cement or brick floor covered with sand, keeps burrowing varmints from digging their way into the coop...roosting boxes or perches to get them off the ground..


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## Rick Hall (Jan 21, 2003)

I've had three lofts over the last dozen years: too large, too small and just right - for my purpose. 

The first was as simple as closing in the corner of a livestock shed and housed a slew of birds, but cleaning the cement floor was a PIA as was catching the specific birds I wanted. Then went to a much smaller walk-in design similar to that shown in Bill Tarant's "The Delmar Smith Method" (of pointing dog training). That one was easier to maintain and catch birds in, but a PIA to enter and leave without birds escaping, and I wasn't keen on the health risks of having so much bird dust and dander stirred around me.

Given the lessons of those before it, loft three was better thought out and looks like this:










It has a 4'x8' footprint that gives birds room to move away from the door when I enter, but is still small enough that I can grab whatever specific birds I want without a chase. It's very well ventilated to help reduce dust and dander dangers and keep the birds from suffering in our Southern Summers, while still providing protection from harsh weather. And the elevated grate keeps the floor dry and makes cleaning (other than nest boxes) an easy twice a year chore. 

The only plans were in my non carpenter head, but it looked like this before the siding went on:










Pigeons are highly territorial, and to boost production, I provide easily defended "duplex" nest boxes that allow each pair to renest and start a new clutch of eggs, while still feeding their previous young without need to try to conquer and defend two areas at once:










Those duplexes have drop-down fronts and their bottoms are lined with wax paper and a paper plate for easy cleaning:










Pine straw is the best nest material I've found, and is provided in a wire bin on the loft floor:










Perches are also provided:











continued next post...


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## Rick Hall (Jan 21, 2003)

loft options cont...


My "trap" is a simple one with a movable bar to hold bobs up, lock them down or just stay out of their way:










And the trap's outside landing pad/predator guard is a simple hinged piece that is lowered for the former or latched up for the later:










Real plans for a much smaller loft are available through Lion Country Supply and for much larger ones by googling "red rose lofts" better suited to colder climates than mine (and not as well ventilated).

There are feeding and watering options that can make a loft so maintenance free one's apt to forget to refill them, but I prefer to be in my loft at least once a day, just to insure all is well, and use a combination that requires two or three minutes of my time each day. Even without their convenience for training, we find the birds more pleasure than pain and enjoy watching their aerobatics when let out late in the day for exercise. That, and eating the young ones "shot for the dogs". They're hard to beat on the table.


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## TN_LAB (Jul 26, 2008)

Awesome looking coop Rick Hall.


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## Travis Wright (Mar 3, 2003)

WOW!!! Thank you for taking the time to post all of that stuff! That is way more info than I was expecting! I better head to the home depot and get busy building!

Thanks,
Travis


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## Grassland Labs (May 9, 2009)

Great looking coop rick. The grated floor is a must. It's been much easier to keep coop clean since I placed a grated floor in my coop. It's also nice to have a grated cover over your landing board so you can get your young birds out looking over the area before the start flying as it will help them to find there way home if you miss the shot or let the bird fly during steadiness to wing & shot drills as the bird will be back home by the time you return from training.
Galen


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## Jeffrey Towler (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi

Thanks Rick Hall, very nice.

I will use some of your ideas for the pigeon loft I am making. Those pigeons are great for training my Springers.

Regards
JT
www.marshhawkretrievers.com


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