Home • Auction Site • Roller Forum • Birds For Sale • Rollers • Contact Us
Sale Pages • Classifieds • Color Chart • Color Matings Chart • Breeder's Directory • Pigeon Standards • Loft Pictures • Club Listings • Printable Loft Documents • "How To" Page • Pigeon Articles
Written by Steve StClair
Last year I built a new loft for my Frillbacks. It had to be functional and blend in well with its surroundings as I live in a well-populated area. The neighbors were consulted first to see if there were any objections. There is no sense in proceeding to build if you are going to have problems. As luck would have it, there were no objections so I proceeded to plan and build.
My loft had to be 12' by 12' and contain two pens to meet my needs. It also had to be landscaped to blend in with its surroundings. I felt that I accomplished this.
I wanted room for nine pairs of breeders and a young bird pen. I decided that I wanted my loft to have many things that my previous lofts did not have as this will probably be my last loft due to advancing age. I wanted individual pens for mating up my birds but did not want to have cleaning problems. So I designed my individual pens with wire bottoms and had sheet metal trays made to catch falling feces from the pens above. There are three rows of individuals three wide. These pans slide out and can be dumped in a bucket and re-installed quickly. It sure beats scraping!! Each individual has provisions for food and water thus making them ideal mating pens too.
I installed individual perches so that no bird could be soiled from above and spaced far enough from the wall so they cannot rub against the wall. These perches also eliminate a lot of fighting as only one bird at a time can fit on them. Another time saver is the electric water-heaters in each pen. These are a must here in Kansas in the winter.
The fly pen is built right into the loft. I extended the roof overhang by three feet so that it covered the top of the fly pen. The ends are also enclosed to keep out the cold winter winds. This design keeps the driving rain out of the loft and keeps the floor litter dry at all times. Another feature of this size fly pen is that I can reach out and catch any bird easily as it opens all the way across the loft. I built two partitions with clear corrugated plastic on a 2" by 2" wood frame that I can install during the really cold and blowing weather of our Kansas winters. These cover two-thirds of the open fly pen and are removed in the spring to allow more fresh air. Another comfort item I installed was a screen door. This lets in plenty of fresh air in the summer when it gets over 100 degrees a lot of days. Along with a storm window that opens, this gives a lot of fresh air in the summer.
I hope this article has given you a few ideas you can use in your loft. Remember to put a lot of paint on the inside while it is empty as this will probably be the last time you paint the interior. A nice loft makes raising Frillbacks or and other breed of pigeons much more pleasurable and the birds will also enjoy it too.