Litter?

[doveone52]

Interesting. Had not thought of that, Sumit.Ghosh!

[Jay3]

Originally Posted by Sumit.Ghosh

If we use Sand over wood Shavings the sand will let the water through and it will be absorbed by wood or paper. Hows that as a flooring?

Lousy. The wood would remain damp. Very bad. How is that better then the sand being over the cement floor, and the cement remaining wet?

[doveone52]

OK. Point talen.

[mtripOH]

Hello. We are just starting out. We are making a loft in corner or our garage which has a concrete floor. I thought giving up part of the garage (which does not house cars) would be a fine place to start but now after reading this thread I am concerned about to floor. Is having a concrete floor totally out of the question? Is there anything we can do to the concrete floor to make it more hospitable?

[WOODRUFF LOFT]

I have tried alot of things and the best thing i've found so far is the "stall dry" purchased from tractor supply. In watching some cd's, alot of breeders use straw in the loft for their young birds and after they are a few weeks old they remove the straw and clean daily. Some folk use what is called the dry litter system, the areas under the perches are cleaned often but the floor is left with one to two inches of dry litter. Some of the old timers think this system might even keep the birds healthier. In my racing loft I have wooden (homemade) grates that come out past the perchs so the dropings that build up are not in contact with the birds.

[Jay3]

Is there no way you could make a wooden floor for the loft? Much better than concrete if you can do that.

[windmill Ranch]

I have gone from shavings to sand. It has done real well for me. And I would recogmend it. Jim

[Jay3]

That's a great idea. That's what I had in mind.

[mtripOH]

Thank you much for your replies. I will talk to hubby about putting in a wood floor. I look forward to the day when we can build a loft from the floor up and not have to improvise with something we already have. I really thought it would not be so tough building in the garage but even before having any pigeons in hand I see it is a lot more than I have anticipated. I will not let this deter us in getting our family hobby off the ground. Thanks again.

[Jazzman]

Originally Posted by mtripOH

Thank you much for your replies. I will talk to hubby about putting in a wood floor. I look forward to the day when we can build a loft from the floor up and not have to improvise with something we already have. I really thought it would not be so tough building in the garage but even before having any pigeons in hand I see it is a lot more than I have anticipated. I will not let this deter us in getting our family hobby off the ground. Thanks again.

I did the garage thing much like you descibed, and one thing I'd like to add is enclose the loft with a solid ceiling. I thought using poultry wire would ventilate the loft real well, and it did, not only was the loft over ventilated, but the pigeon dust was just everywhere. I wound up putting a blue tarp over 95% of the poultry wire, and the birds were happier, healthier, and the wifes car was cleaner. As for a floor, I put down a sheet of 1/8" luan, scrape daily, and sweep the floor with Belgium white (chalk). Looks clean, stays dry, and keeps odors down. Just my two cents. Good luck!

[Jay3]

Originally Posted by Jazzman

I did the garage thing much like you descibed, and one thing I'd like to add is enclose the loft with a solid ceiling. I thought using poultry wire would ventilate the loft real well, and it did, not only was the loft over ventilated, but the pigeon dust was just everywhere. I wound up putting a blue tarp over 95% of the poultry wire, and the birds were happier, healthier, and the wifes car was cleaner. As for a floor, I put down a sheet of 1/8" luan, scrape daily, and sweep the floor with Belgium white (chalk). Looks clean, stays dry, and keeps odors down. Just my two cents. Good luck!

Should be hardware cloth rather than poultry wire. Rodents can get in through poultry wire.

[dogging_99]

Originally Posted by mtripOH

Thank you much for your replies. I will talk to hubby about putting in a wood floor. I look forward to the day when we can build a loft from the floor up and not have to improvise with something we already have. I really thought it would not be so tough building in the garage but even before having any pigeons in hand I see it is a lot more than I have anticipated. I will not let this deter us in getting our family hobby off the ground. Thanks again.

I don't see a problem with loft in a garage I have one in my shop using the south side 3x3 window a slider converted to a sputnik and partitioned off a 8x8 area inside a heated shop. Vented with a interior exterior wall fan and interior vents to circulate worm air in the winter. and cool air in summer. I have painted the concrete with polyurethane paint not epoxy a plastic coat. doesn't hold moisture cleans easy and use sand under perches 1" thick a mixture of 75% sand 25% PDZ, 2% DE. I sift the sand daily with a cat litter scoop lined with 1/8" x 1/8" screen, works great takes 10 minuets to clean the loft. Pic's in my album.

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/album.php?albumid=972

[Jay3]

Your loft is really nice. And it does look easy to take care of. Where do you buy that floor paint, and how does it hold up to scraping? You did a great job!

[dogging_99]

I bought the coloured polyurethane floor paint at True Value Hardware Store. Scrapping lightly with a pole taped on a 10" sheet rock trowel is all that is needed as the dropings will not stick to the plastic coat. If you tried you could chip the paint with the trowel on edge!

[Jay3]

Originally Posted by dogging_99

I bought the coloured polyurethane floor paint at True Value Hardware Store. Scrapping lightly with a pole taped on a 10" sheet rock trowel is all that is needed as the dropings will not stick to the plastic coat. If you tried you could chip the paint with the trowel on edge!

Thanks. Great idea! Your loft is nice. And the way you have set it up is pretty smart.