Pigeon Lofts
(click to see larger photos)
If there's one subject that's
near and dear to my heart, it would be the care one should take in building and
constructing the perfect pigeon palace. Why you ask?
Simple. Imagine your
family moving in with you and they bring twenty close friends with them.
Obviously you had better open a hotel to accommodate everyone. Your primary
concern should be, would my new loft design work now, and grow with my future
needs. Your concern should not only be for the birds you have today, but the
possibility of a change of breed in the future. As you may already know, each
breed of pigeon has its own specific needs.
I studied as many loft designs as possible for over two years. The lofts below belong to me. They are an amalgamation of many visits to lofts all over the country and also many trips on the Internet. They work for me and have been worth the brain-drain.
The one thing that we have going for us in Texas is the hot weather and sunny days. This translates into clean dry lofts and an excellent breeding season (January - July). It is therefore not necessary to lock our birds away in an enclosed shed of some type. This standard practice has always caught my attention. I don't care much for the dust, so I can only wonder how the birds feel about it. Being English we always try to "micro-size" everything (bigger isn't always better - sorry!).
Eliminating extensive cleaning projects has always been one of my primary goals. Realistically, how can you possibly build a shed that is big enough for the birds to get the correct amount of exercise? It simply is not possible. As they say, our birds are supposed to be "little athletes". Therefore, there's no substitute for unrestricted free-flight as God intended.