My brothers built our first pigeon lofts when I was just five years
old. They used scrap lumber and materials that they could get cheaply.
The lofts weren't fancy, but they served the purpose. Because my brothers
weren't great carpenters at that time, the loft had plenty of cracks
that let the air in. We had great success with our birds back then.
We had the optimum loft location. We were right on the flight line
and on the short end, so our birds didn't get overly tired. And we
had great air circulation in the lofts.
When we got older, we remodeled the coops and made them look nicer,
but we always kept the lofts fairly open. We used dowels spaced several
inches apart for part of the front walls, which gave lots of air circulation.
The air in the coops was always fresh and clean.
My
First Loft at My Home in West Point
After I got married and finished college, I moved to West Point
where I built a house. We hauled the original pigeon coops down from
my parents' home, and set them up.
About this time, I had made friends with a flyer from Salt Lake City.
He had some different ideas about racing pigeons. Thinking that he
knew more than me, I remodeled my coops again. I added insultation
and closed up all the holes in the lofts. I caulked all the joints
and made them air-tight. I added ventilation fans in the roofs of
the lofts, to increase the air circulation.
My friend insisted that we needed to get rid of any drafts that might
occur in the loft. He said that the drafts would make the birds cold
and increase their chance of getting diseases. We live in Utah where
the winters are very cold and snowy, so this seemed to make sense,
but I found out it was wrong. The cold air doesn't hurt the birds,
unless it is really drafty. The thing that is a problem is when the
inside of the loft gets wet. Then it will become musty and the birds
will be more likely to get sick.
For several years I flew with these loft conditions. My loft was always
dry inside, but the air did not circulate enough even with the fans.
I found that my birds were not as healthy and neither was I. When
I entered the loft, the air was stale and smelled bad. My brothers,
my kids, and my wife had a hard time being in the lofts because it
was too dusty. I cleaned the lofts often, but it didn't help. The
air was still stale. I wasn't wining races. In fact, I wasn't doing
well at all with the birds. I was very frustrated and found I was
not enjoying my pigeons like I had done in the past.
Fixing
the Problems
If I was going to enjoy the sport of Pigeon Racing, I needed
to do something different. I decided it was time to make some changes
to the lofts again. I had to get more air into the lofts. I opened
up the fronts of the lofts again. I added aviaries and expanded
metal floors in the loft. I put sliding boxes under the coops to
catch the droppings from the floor. I cut ventilation holes which
I covered with screen to keep out the mosquitoes. I built another
loft and spread the birds out more so there were less birds in each
loft.
All of these changes made a huge difference. My lofts are now healthy
places for my birds to be and I feel better when I am in the lofts.
My birds look and feel healthier. They are flying much better. I
am winning races now and I love being around the birds. The changes
were definitely worth it for me.
If you always do what you've always done,
then you'll always get what you've always got!
Good
Loft Design
Your lofts need to be constructed of dry materials that will not
let water in, but will let plenty of air through the loft. Air is
the most important part of good health for the pigeons. If you have
poor air quality in the loft, you will have poor health in the pigeons.
You want a constant supply of fresh air circulating throughout your
lofts. However, you don't want to create drafty areas in the loft.
I don't think the style of loft really matters as much as what the
loft does for the birds and for you. Do the birds like it? Are they
comfortable or do they fight all the time? Do the birds have enough
room or are they overcrowded? Is the loft easy to clean? Are there
nooks and crannies where the birds can hide? This makes it hard to
catch them for training tosses and races. Can you move about the loft
easily? Do you have room to store your supplies, feed, crates, and
medicines? If everything is handy, you will be more likely to use
it when it is needed. If you have to go dig it out of another storage
area, you will find you don't go to the trouble to use it.
Build the loft to suit your needs as well as the climate you live
in. You also have to look at available space. Sometimes you may need
to build up instead of out if space is limited. Also look at the building
materials that are available. Choose those that will need the least
upkeep and will look nice for the longest time. If you have existing
lofts, you can always make changes a little at a time to make the
lofts more functional for you and the birds. If something is a problem,
find a way to fix the problem and eliminate the hassle it causes you.
You will enjoy the sport more and it may help you win more races.
A
Dry Loft
Look at the weather patterns for your area. Do the storms always
come from the same direction? Can you situate the lofts so that the
rain doesn't come into the loft on an angle? In Utah, rain is not
a huge problem. We rarely get any, but we do get a lot of snow. I
had to find ways to keep the snow from blowing into the loft whenever
we had a storm.
My new breeding loft has an open aviary in the center made of expanded
metal. The west and east sides are open. Most of our storms come from
the west. When they do, the snow comes into the center area, but since
it is all expanded metal, the snow falls to the ground and doesn't
cause a problem. The coops are on the north and south ends of the
aviary. Because of the design, snow can't get inside either end. The
birds always stay dry. When storm comes, they are smart enough to
get into the coops and out of the aviary.
My older lofts have aviaries on the front with small openings for
the birds to move in and out of. The air moves in easily, but not
the snow. These aviaries also sit underneath the landing platforms,
so they are protected from above.
Watering
Trays
I water all of my birds outside in the aviaries. This prevents any
water from getting spilled on the loft floors by the birds, myself
or the kids. It is easier to wash the trays and jugs right on the
grass near the lofts and I don't have to carry the stuff back and
forth in and out of the lofts.
I have expanded metal trays under the glass Pyrex trays that I use.
If water does spill it goes down to the ground and not all over a
loft floor. I keep everything coated with paint. I try to repaint
every few years.
In the winter, I have to worry about the water freezing. I ran power
to each water box and installed a light bulb. By running 40 watt light
bulbs during the winter, I can keep the water from freezing, which
prevents a lot of work on my part. I hated having to break the ice
and thaw out jugs. This way, I can use my glass trays all year. Wooden
boxes cover the top of each jug and tray to keep out dirt and dust,
and to keep the heat from the light bulb inside.
Landing
Platforms and Traps
On the front of each of my flying coops, I have a platform attached
to the front of the coop. Each platform is covered with shingles.
When it rains, the water runs off easily. The sides of each platform
are a triangular shape made of wood and screen. On the top is a slide
down front to enclose the birds on the platforms. These fronts can
easily be raised up and lowered. I have to stand on sawhorses to do
it, but even my kids can open and shut the fronts. The fronts are
also made of wood and screen. On the very top of each front is a solid
section covered with plexiglass. The lower fronts slide up under the
upper fronts as they are opened up.
I used to have stall traps into the lofts. The birds would walk to
the back of the landing boards and then drop into the trap before
entering the coop. It was a little awkward to trap the birds in from
a race because I would have to duck down underneath the landing platforms
to get the band off the bird and then put it into my clock. Once I
had clocked in the bird, I had a string I could pull which would open
the stall trap and let the bird enter the loft.
I used these racing traps for many years with great success. My only
complaint was that I would occasionally hit my head on the metal bars
that hold up the landing platforms. I have had a number of nasty gashes
on the top of my head from hitting the bars. As I got older, it also
became more difficult to bend and stoop under the loft to do the clocking
in.
I now have a Tauris electronic clock. I remodeled the traps and installed
the scanning pads just below where the birds cross into the loft.
They no longer have to be stalled as they enter the loft. They just
head right on in. I no longer have to stoop underneath the platforms
to get the bands off or to release the stalled bird into the loft.
My clock still sits under the platform, but I can see it without stooping
a lot. My head injuries have decreased dramatically and my back is
much happier.
Breakaway Loft offers an unconditional guarantee on all pigeons
we sell.
If you are not happy we will replace the pigeon with another of
equal or greater value to make sure you are a happy customer.
