Loft Question

[TheGame]

What is more important when building a loft height or length??

Im thinking about building my first loft thats gonna be around 7'L x 5'W x 4'T and will be standing on about 3 feet off the ground.

What do you guys think??

[trailbound]

Height....Don't make the same mistake I did, and put 8 foot ceilings in a loft 16 feet long and 8 feet wide.* Catching birds is a nightmare.* I spent all day yesterday putting a dropped ceiling in (down to 6') and a partition right down the middle, (so went from 8 feet wide to 4')* so I am looking forward to catching birds up this am for thier toss.* The dimensions you listed is very manageable, but you might want to ad a foot in height, as stooping over all the time can get old really fast.*In the future the easiest way to add size will be to add length. Kelley

[Skyeking]

Originally Posted by TheGame

What is more important when building a loft height or length??

Im thinking about building my first loft thats gonna be around 7'L x 5'W x 4'T and will be standing on about 3 feet off the ground.

What do you guys think??

Length, is more important, but do make sure it is at least high enough to where you can move around comfortable get your birds, and the birds have some height to where they can roost nicely.

[TheGame]

So you think the dimensions im thinking of will be fine?? 7'L x 5'W x 4'T

Thanks!

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by TheGame

So you think the dimensions im thinking of will be fine?? 7'L x 5'W x 4'T

Thanks!

Depends on how tall you are. 4 feet isn't tall enough IMO. You need to be able to stand inside comfortably.

[TheGame]

Well this will be my first loft and I don't have the money to make one tall enough for me to stand in.

So I figured id start out small with a simple rectangular set up. If I enjoy having birds and get more into it maybe ill upgrade it into something tall that looks like a shed.

Also what kinda wood you guys suggest using??

[ezemaxima]

My first loft was a cube 4'x4'x4'. The upper back 2 feet i had built 8 nest boxes and measured 1'x1'x1'. So there was 4 nest boxes across, side by side. I started with one then a friend gave me 2 more then my bro got 2 more from his friend then they started breeding. This was last year January...

Now i have a 10'x8'x7.5' loft with about 24 birds. But now i'm planning on dividing the loft into 3 sections so i can control their breeding.

[TheGame]

Thanks for the reply!

As far as material goes what kinda of wood do you guys buy and use?? I was at Home Depot today and they had sooooo many to choose from!! Im very confused to what wood to use and what kinda thickness the boards of ply wood have to be???

[TheGame]

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[ezemaxima]

It all depends on you and the size of your loft. But I recommend getting treated wood to prevent termite infestation. My first loft was made from left over scraps from my friend's house remodeling. The only thing i had to buy was the 1/4" hardware cloth.

Found a photo of it just now..



Here's a closeup look at the nest boxes.

[TheGame]

Ezemaxima thank you very much!! Is it just me or is this pigeon forum rather slow?? Feels like it takes forever to get a reply...

Id like to thank everyone thats helped me so far!!

[maryjane]

Originally Posted by TheGame

Ezemaxima thank you very much!! Is it just me or is this pigeon forum rather slow?? Feels like it takes forever to get a reply...

Id like to thank everyone thats helped me so far!!

We have members all over the world and in many different time zones, so of course many people are at work, or taking care of animals/kids, or sleeping, etc., and therefore only get a chance to hop on and check the forum once or twice a day. That's why you can often get no responses for several hours, and then get several responses in a short period of time, or get a response every few hours over a few days. It just depends on when people are able to get on. Also, some members may not reply if they don't have any valuable info to pass on, or maybe if they don't know a lot about the subject you're asking about. So don't feel ignored at all, it just varies day to day on who can be on, when they are on, and how much they know about your subject.

[TheGame]

Originally Posted by maryjane

We have members all over the world and in many different time zones, so of course many people are at work, or taking care of animals/kids, or sleeping, etc., and therefore only get a chance to hop on and check the forum once or twice a day. That's why you can often get no responses for several hours, and then get several responses in a short period of time, or get a response every few hours over a few days. It just depends on when people are able to get on. Also, some members may not reply if they don't have any valuable info to pass on, or maybe if they don't know a lot about the subject you're asking about. So don't feel ignored at all, it just varies day to day on who can be on, when they are on, and how much they know about your subject.

Gotcha, thanks you Maryjane. Never really thought of it like that. But thanks for the info

[Hanz]

You don't have to make a "walk in" coop.

Here's what I did with a low budget:







It's roughly 4'X4'X5' and it sits approximately 2' off the ground. I have a larger "aviary" and trap set up since those photos were taken. I also extended the doors down so they reach the bottom of the coop. The PVC is covering electrical conduit "bars" to keep out predators.

The biggest change I should make would be to add an interior dividing wall down the center. There are times when I'm trying to catch a bird and they have me running from door to door

[maryjane]

That is a great idea, Hanz. You may want to add a layer of hardware cloth or small chicken wire on the bottom so nothing can get in. Keep that in mind while you're building, Game; you want wire with no larger than 1/4 inch holes in it for safety from predators.