After I clean the loft, I spray the roosts and the floor with
chlorine bleach. I always clean the lofts while the birds
are out exercising or at least out in the aviaries.
This gives the chlorine bleach a chance to dry before the birds
return to the loft and there is no danger of them breathing in
the fumes.
I don't go to the extra expense of buying the expensive loft disinfectants.
Chlorine bleach does a good job and it is a lot cheaper. I usually
buy the store brand of it, so I save even more money.
I use chlorine bleach to clean my water jugs and trays every two
to three days as well. Especially during the race season, I want
to prevent germs and bacteria from getting to the birds.
My loft used to have solid, plywood floors. They were hard to
keep dust-free and the loft always had a pigeon dust smell. You
could see the dust in the air when the sun was shining in the loft.
My brother, my wife and my daughter all had a hard time being
in the loft because
of all the dust.
I decided to make some changes for the health of the birds as well
as our health. I installed expanded metal floors in the lofts
and
put trays under the lofts to catch the droppings and dust. This
change has made the lofts a more pleasant place for the birds
and everyone
who enters them. There is hardly any pigeon smell now.
Since making this change in 1997, I have been winning a lot more
races. I attribute this to many things, but I am sure my birds
are
healthier now because there is less dust in the lofts and a cleaner,
fresher quality of air to breathe.
The expanded metal flooring makes it a breeze to clean the lofts.
I built trays that slide in underneath the expanded metal floors.
When I go into the loft to clean, there is already a lot less to
clean up because much of the waste has fallen through into the
tray below. I scrape the roosts off, then I scrape the floors.
As I scrape the droppings all fall into the tray below the coop.
I can clean the whole coop in just a few minutes each day. The
design works well and I find that the droppings dry out quickly
because
the
new layer
falls
on a
layer
that is
already
dried out.
About once a month, we pull out each tray and use a square nosed
shovel to scoop up the droppings. We fill up the wheelbarrow and
then haul them to our large garden where they are spread out as
fertilizer amongst the plants. With my boys helping me, it is easy
to clean the trays out and requires only an hour or two once a
month.
I have visited many lofts during the years I have been flying.
It is always very easy to tell which flyers really care about their
birds. If you walk into a loft and there is a foot of pigeon shit
on the floor and you sink three inches into wet, sticky muck, you
can bet that you have a flyer who doesn't really care about his
pigeons. When I walk into a loft that is clean and well cared for,
I know that the flyer really wants to win and will take the time
to care for quality birds if he gets them.
My wife and my children have often kidded me about owning a Pigeon
Palace. They say that I spend so much time taking care of my birds
and lofts that they might as well be kings and queens living in
a palace. My wife accuses me of spending more time, money and effort
on my
Pigeon
Palace
than I do on our home. My reasoning: I love my pigeons and I want
them to be healthy. Sometimes I am really sad as I sell one of my finest pigeons to
a fancier. I wonder what kind of a home the pigeon will end up
in. Will the bird be well-cared for? Will the bird be well-fed?
Will it be standing in a pile of shit up to its knees? I can only
hope that all those I sell to will realize the value of these excellent
pigeons and provide a proper home for them to live and breed in.
How much do you love your birds? |
