Safe materials for new loft?

[karijo]

Hi everybody.

So I found someone local who is building a wonderful non-traditional loft (it's really a coop) for me that will be 6' H x 6' L x 3' W and looks like this:



I plan to get Brooklyn a ladyfriend and add 1 more pair. I need some advice regarding:

1. the wood (I was thinking of using Chinese Fir, Cunninghamia lanceolata)

2. the waterproof preservative/varnish (I need something birdsafe - any suggestions?)

3. and the flooring - I'm a total loss on this one. I live on the second floor of a house and the coop will be on my 12' x 14' deck (which is basically the roof of my landlords' kitchen). The floor of the deck is not wood, it's some kind of grey... I don't know what! So what kind of floor/ground cover situation do I do with the coop?

4. What types of perches for the flight area, and what should be going on inside the enclosed area?

5. The nest box stuck on the side will have a divider so two pairs of birds can nest comfortably. I think? How does it work? Does the pair share the nest? Do I need to set up the enclosed space with extra roosts or what?

6. What kind of heating element do you suggest for the enclosed part, where should it go, where can I buy it? I live in Oakland, Ca (it doesn't get terribly cold, but we get some chilly winter nights and Brook is used to sleeping indoors)

7. I know you can't use galvanized steel wire with "mouthy" birds like parrots because of zinc poisoning, but is it safe with pigeons or do I get pvc coated wire? What gauge/size?

Thanks so much for any help!!! The person building my coop wants to begin right away and hopes to have it done within the week! I need some answers asap so we can move forward and do things right.

Best,
Kari Jo

[spirit wings]

I don't know the answers to your questions..but wanted to say that the loft/coop is way cute...it looks like a chicken coop, but it would be great for a couple of pigeons.....good luck and thanks for the pic...it give others good ideas...

[Lovebirds]

Originally Posted by karijo

Hi everybody.

So I found someone local who is building a wonderful non-traditional loft (it's really a coop) for me that will be 6' H x 6' L x 3' W and looks like this:



I plan to get Brooklyn a ladyfriend and add 1 more pair. I need some advice regarding:

1. the wood (I was thinking of using Chinese Fir, Cunninghamia lanceolata)

I don't know what those types of wood are, so no help there. Sorry.

Originally Posted by karijo

2. the waterproof preservative/varnish (I need something birdsafe - any suggestions?)

So the wood will be bare when built? I think most of us just use a good paint.

Originally Posted by karijo

3. and the flooring - I'm a total loss on this one. I live on the second floor of a house and the coop will be on my 12' x 14' deck (which is basically the roof of my landlords' kitchen). The floor of the deck is not wood, it's some kind of grey... I don't know what! So what kind of floor/ground cover situation do I do with the coop?

Is the floor smooth so that it can be scraped? Maybe a sheet of 3/4" plywood over what's there.

Originally Posted by karijo

4. What types of perches for the flight area, and what should be going on inside the enclosed area?

I would just attach a few 2X4 perches to the side OR a 2X4 across the entire length. Pigeons prefer a flat surface to roost on as opposed to a round perch.

Originally Posted by karijo

5. The nest box stuck on the side will have a divider so two pairs of birds can nest comfortably. I think? How does it work? Does the pair share the nest? Do I need to set up the enclosed space with extra roosts or what?

If you don't plan on letting them raise babies, this should work fine.

Originally Posted by karijo

6. What kind of heating element do you suggest for the enclosed part, where should it go, where can I buy it? I live in Oakland, Ca (it doesn't get terribly cold, but we get some chilly winter nights and Brook is used to sleeping indoors)

I don't use any heat, so someone else will have to answer this question.
I would suggest though, that when you get ready to put birds into this coop, you put all 4 in at the same time. It's big enough for two pairs of birds, but small enough that if you put one pair in and then try to add another pair, they will fight over the space, as the first pair will see that whole building as belonging to them. Put all 4 birds in a new space together and they'll sort every thing out with little to no fighting.

Originally Posted by karijo

7. I know you can't use galvanized steel wire with "mouthy" birds like parrots because of zinc poisoning, but is it safe with pigeons or do I get pvc coated wire? What gauge/size?

No need to get coated wire. Most of us use the 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth. Some will say you need to use 1/4", but I've got 1/2" all over ALL of my lofts and have never had a problem.

Originally Posted by karijo

Thanks so much for any help!!! The person building my coop wants to begin right away and hopes to have it done within the week! I need some answers asap so we can move forward and do things right.

Best,
Kari Jo

[karijo]

Thank you thank you for your help!! It IS a chicken coop, but we are making it taller (6ft) to accommodate the pidgies. I really liked the openness of it, i'll post pics of it when it's completed.

The Chinese Fir is really popular in the UK - they use it to build hutches, coops, dog houses, and just about everything else. Apparently it shares the grain and texture of Douglas fir, is exceptionally resistant to decay and pests, and well priced. Supposedly it is safe to use with birds.

I'll go with the galvanized wire, 1/4" I think. The squirrels and the occasional roof rat (I've only seen 2 ever, but I'm sure with the pigeons out there they will stop by more frequently) are the only critters I've ever seen make it up to my 2nd floor deck, and I don't want any heads poking in.

The floor of the deck wouldn't scrape easily... I sweep and hose it down once a week though (there's a hole in the corner and a drain pipe down to the ground). So you think just a piece of plywood to rest the whole thing on? Any kind of "bedding" or cover on top like wood chips or something? How do you clean it? Brook is in a good sized parrot cage right now, and I just change the paper everyday. Never dealt with a coop floor before that wasn't set in the natural dirt/ground.

The enclosed space is 4' H x 3' W x 2' L- what do I put inside there perch-wise? Just a shelf or two? Do I make some kind of extra nest-type boxes in the wall? Will the pairs always want to share their individual cubby in the external next box? I just want to be prepared and make sure they are all happy...

I guess I better hurry up and find my 3 new birds!! I'm hoping to find a young rescued hen for Brook, then I want to purchase/adopt a pair of fancy pigeons (hopefully Lahores, I just love them!) as my second pair, just not sure how to find someone breeding them.

Thanks again!!
-Kari Jo

[Charis]

You could contact our member Elizabethy. She is in the Bay area, does King Pigeon rescue and has so many King pigeons that are in DESPERATE need of homes. King Pigeons are gentle and calm. I think you'd really enjoy them.
http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/member.php?u=8583

[karijo]

gentle and calm? i have no idea what that means... LOL

Brooklyn is such a lunatic.

[karijo]

So the woman who built my loft... ugh.
Wow. You would think someone would know their own skill level - it was horrible!! I mean, it was downright dangerous, nails poking up into the floor of the nesting area, all kinds of jagged and uneven things jutting this way and that. Sheesh. Don't get me started on how horrible it looked - I was like, "Lady. Does what you built look to you like the 15 some odd photos I sent you, inside and out, of the coop that I wanted? It's not even the right dimensions!!" PLUS she wanted to charge me $600. I told her to get lost.

So I just bought the coop in the original photo I posted - it's not quite as big as I wanted, it measures 6.5 ft L x 2.5 ft D x 3.5 ft H (including the nestbox thing sticking out on the side).

I guess for now I will just use it for Brooklyn and one ladyfriend (I think I have decided to go with a really pretty Laced Satinette hen I found). Even though I was getting all excited and wanting a pair of Lahores, Satinettes, Seraphim, and Pigmy Pouters (omg, I love them! They look like little Crispin Glovers). Maybe I need to wait until I can just build a real loft...

So. I am hoping this thing will work for now - I know Brook will love it. Hopefully the new pidge will adjust to this non-traditional loft.

What I need to know is, what else do I need to make this thing "home"?
I know I need two nest bowls, dummy eggs, food and water contraptions... Should I put some V perches or a shelf in the wood enclosed part?

I am going to have a friend help me add some legs and a floor, to raise the coop up and get it off the ground (which I discovered is roofing tar with a special walkable paint on it that must have airflow). Advice? Wire floor, since It's not really big enough to walk around in? Put it on blocks or stilts? Help!!!

I've got a week before it arrives, I'll get Brook right in there and quarantine the Satinette indoors until it's safe to start introducing them.

Oh, what if they breed? Will the babies be hideous mutants? Am I doing a horrible thing pairing a feral BB up with a Satinette? I know I have so many questions, I just love Brook so much and want him to be happy, safe, and with a little lady to keep him warm.... besides me. Maybe they can shower together and I can finally shower alone again, without having to watch Brook rinse out his little stinky wingpits.