Help, confused about suppliments and loft flooring

[newpigeongirl]

Hello all,

I need help, with so much information available I have no idea what to do. I am getting ready to build me loft, it should have been done by now but I keep changing plans.

Is a concrete floor okay for my loft? We are converting our flordia room which is attached to the back of the garage, into our loft. It has a concrete floor which I thought would be easy to maintain, but I was told that concrete would be too wet/moist. So I was planning on covering it with plywood, I would rather keep the concrete if it will work.

I was thinking of using sand as a floor dressing but I am not sure if that is a good idea, most pictures I see of loft floors have no dressing???

What suppliments/vitamins/minerals should I be using for my birds, or what do any of you use? I am going to do wedding releases with my birds. I want them to be healthy, and have found some products that I was going to order but then I found some others that sounded good as well, so now I am so confused...

I will be using Red Cross grit and Purina seed. I would like to use Probotics, Vitamins and electrlytes as necessary to support my flyers, breeders and growth of my babies. But how much? How often? Yikes!!

Thanks everyone for your help!!

[spirit wings]

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showpo...93&postcount=2

this link will help you get some more info...as far as the flooring everyone has their own fav...a wood floor can be scraped easier. I use just a little cedar shavings under the perches to catch the really poopie areas and loft dressing are a good idea to keep things dry. I use stall dry for hores stalls it is clay and diotomciouse earth (spelling?). I can get it here local so that is what I use. also do searches on this site as that is how I learned alot from. I was just in the same spot as you not long ago. you will get much good advice here. Good luck!!!

[TerriB]

Congratulations on getting started and doing advanced planning! There are several members of this forum who do white bird releases, so this is a good place to get some advice!

It is important that your loft be dry, well ventilated but draft free. In hot dry areas, you could get away with hosing down your concrete floor, since it would dry quickly. I'm not sure that would work well in Michigan. If your birds will live with a damp floor most of the time, you are asking for health issues! I scrape daily and use a light sprinkle of loft dressing to absorb any juicy poops. It really doesn't take long and lets me stay on top of any developing health problems. Deep dressing can hide moisture, bacteria, and bugs. I would think that plywood is more likely to harbor bacteria and mites. JMHO.

In addition to the grit, you want to use a good quality vitamin-mineral supplement several times a week. I also add probiotics to their water several times a week. Since you are planning to let your birds raise babies, the hens will need additional mineral support. I provide several different pick pots for my birds to choose as they need - at least one red and one tan (clay). I found one with seaweed that is very popular.

Another thing I've found helpful is to lightly oil their feed twice a week. If your vitamin-mineral combo is a powder, this will help it stick to the seeds. The vitamin A in the oil (I use olive oil) helps the bird metabolize some of the other vitamins (I think it's the B-complex, but not sure)

My birds live in a flight pen, so one of the members who fly their birds will be able to suggest how to best support that activity with electrolytes, etc.

We love to see photos of lofts, both in work and completed!

[bigislerollers]

Aloha,

There was an earlier thread were someone was having a contractor build them a new loft and the contractor suggested painting the floor with an epoxy based paint. I think if you do the same with your concrete floor it should keep the moisture from being absorbed by the concrete and solve the problem of wet floors. I believe the paint is the ones used for garage floors.

[newpigeongirl]

Thanks everyone!

Keep the information coming!!

[philodice]

If you are ready for some serious reading, check this out.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/f25/pi...-go-25640.html

I took all the information I could find from this forum and others, and organized it to answer almost all your questions you can think of.
Of special interest to you would be the section B. Feathered Diva Care (aka The Rock star in the loft)
This section is courtesy of a fantastic PT member who shares how he goes all out to spoil and condition his racing birds.

That way instead of bombarding us with broad questions, you can bombard us with specific questions. We do love questions, but sometimes it can seem like certain subjects get covered really well in some threads and not so well in others. I took the best of the best and put it together for myself and the e-book was born.

Ps My loft has concrete flooring, but I am in Arizona. Wetness...isn't a problem.