Cold Weather

[Guest slugmonkey]

Do you change ventilation for your birds in the freezing tempts ?

[Guest]

This is one thing that I am very interested in and hope you get some decent replies. I have a Temp guage and Humidity guage in my loft and monitor them every day. I have Fans and Heating in the loft. The fans suck the dust out and the heating is switched on when theres damp weather about, like today. Just above the heating I have vents that can be opened and closed depending on the weather. So when its a cold night I close them to prevent drafts, during the day the pigeons have use of a sputnik, but I close this if its really damp. I am also going to put an avairy on the side of my loft, so they can choose to go out in any weather and can use the loft as somewhere to keep dry and warm.

[Guest]

Only just started letting the birds out from this week, cocks and hens day about 0900 -1100 then in and fed.

 

Only change in cold weather is I watch individual birds more closely to make sure that they have had as much to eat as they want. (Except one fatass, he's on a diet!!)  

 

End of January 2006, weather permitting, marley ridgefast ventilated ridge going in. Still to decide whether existing ridge batten is coming out, (2" gap along full length of roof?) or simply drill 2" holes along the full length of the batten.

[westy]

my first year keeping pigeons but do the same things to them as i did in summer

[Guest ben]

Listen bruno,before you give yourself problems,we got a dryridge tile system on our house,and tried it on a offset apex,double roman roof,with plain hanging tiles third course for suction on the roll,but the dryridge,vents did`nt seem as good as a1ft weatherboard over the lengh of the ridge(like a inverted ^with the air escaping between the roll.,So i took the dryridge back off.

                  hope this helps.

[Guest]

Haven't seen the dryridge system close-up, Ben.

 

The roof is standard apex and currently blends in well with all the neighbouring houses and garages.. wouldn't wish to change that. Bit worried about 'serious' alterations as it is very exposed, so much so that the mortar bed on the ridge is already blown and the fact that I need to repair it anyway made me think along the lines of 'a single lifetime repair' by putting in a ventilated ridge.

 

This is what I've been going on:-

 

http://www.marleyroofing.co.uk/components/599.cres

 

 

I'd welcome any further comments on experiences with this type of ridge, and thanks Ben for the tip on possible problems ... better knowing before......

 

 

[Guest shadow]

I use ventilated ridge tiles and find them O K. Have never used heaters dont see the need for them as the loft is bone dry why go to the expence.

[Guest]

Topical para from Bert Braspenning, todays BHW, page 21:-

 

FRESH AIR..

 

.. is the cheapest medicine. Don't be afraid that your pigeons will catch cold. However beware of drafts. Open the windows in all kinds of weather. Put some wire netting on them. Whenever possible, let the pigeons out and don't forget their baths. Remember health is the most important issue, more important than quality. Those who have both will be tomorrow's champions.  

[perk]

i have vents all round bottom of the loft, a wired ceiling and one third of the front from top down vented or open.i don,t use heaters or close any vents in cold weather.if i bred early then i would close down  

[Guest slugmonkey]

I am in process of buying a 5 acre lot to fly from ( oh yeah it has a house too ) it has 3 garages where I am going to temporary house some breeders till I get a loft built but part of the deal was that there are 6 steel girders that are 30 feet long I am going to cut 2 into 10 ft pieces so that will give me 6 to use as a foundation posts so I am going to get my loft 12'up in the air to the floor and probably another 7 ft above that to the traps I am hoping this height helps me win some races there are minimal trees and no powerlines I picked this spot specifically to race from it is off line and deep in my section and also inside another clubs boundaries there it is off line and way short so I should have the best of both worlds

[Guest ben]

Hi Bruno,

             Most dryridge are same  basic ideal,but doesn`t seem to let much airgo through as opposed to what i 1st had.:-i think i never explained properly....

   Just batten the apex,no felt,then last batten each side of top of apex 1inch from top,put your tiles on ,then cut a 8x4 plywood sheet in 1ft lengths =4 pieces 8ft long 1ft wide ,nail the plywoodstrips either side of a 2inx2in ,8ft long and fix on top of theapex, longways,screw and fix into the rafters,or ridgeboard,...see what i mean where the ^ shaped ply rests on the roll of the tiles,you have lovely vent running full lengh of the loft,stain the ply to matchloft,or roof tiles.

           Hope this helps

   

[bewted]

VENTILATION; read OLD HAND about this subject,worked brilliantly for me,when,i eventually put it in to practise after 2 years of racing,worth reading at the least,,????

[crabappleloft]

 Hello Folks from the COLD Catskill Mts. in New York, USA.

 

  My outside windows are open all daytime except in a driving rain. I close the windows at night. My loft is very dry, very important !!  I also have plenty of front ventilation. The cold kills harmful germs keeps the birds quite healthy with the proper food and water. I always feed extra corn in the winter time here. Provides the heat needed to stay warm at night.

  I also feed barley with the corn to keep the weight down.

 I can't let my birds out for exercise here from November - May because of the hawks. Even the start of spring training is quite a gamble until about May.

 Is it the same in Europe during the winter months?

 

Ed

 

[Chatrace]

I lock the birds in from Nov to early March. Hawks are bad then. I leave the loft open just like in the summer, they can go in and out of the flypen any day they want. The lofts are all vented at the roofline and have intake grills along the front bottom wall. They do get extra corn when the temp is below 15 degrees. Always have water for them in heated bowls. water is a must in cold weather.

[crabappleloft]

 

   Yes, but heated water breeds bacteria that you'll have to treat for later on when it builds up in the birds system.. Unless you use friendly bacteria in the water.

  Also using a NATURAL vinegar is a very good base for the friendly bacteria in the birds gut. Using friendly bacteria  beats down most diseases before they get a hold on the birds.

[westy]

i have 2 sections in my loft i have vents on the front of each section now it is the winter do these need covering up?

[Guest shadow]

No you will still want ventilation pigeons can stand the cold as long as they are dry

 

quality not quantity

[Guest]

Westy, next time it is damp outside, go into your loft (Ive studied your loft pictures and noticed you roof is the same as my YB loft i.e. pent with gap front and rear) and I bet your roof is wet. Ive been in a lot of pent roof lofts and they all seemed to have a damp roof in wet weather. I work in a engineering office and have the Building Regulations to hand which shows how a flat roof should be designed and most pigeons lofts with pent roofs are not designed properly (including my YB loft), with the theory being warm air is rising and hitting the cold roof which causes condensation, which causes the damp. A proper flat roof should have a false insulated ceiling (with a void bewteen the insulation and the main roof boards). I have done this in my old bird loft and the difference in the loft is amazing. I know this is moving away from your question slightly, but if you leave your lower vents open during a wet spell you will get a damp ceiling. Im not saying you should go out and spend loads of money on fancy mechanical devices but in my loft ive put in adjustable vents, that you can get at B & Q so you can close them in damp weather or I know a bloke who uses Scaffolding netting that he puts over the vents which still allows air in but stops the damp penetrating. I think the main thing is getting rid of crappy air out of the loft, which in my loft is done with the use of chimneys. Sorry to complicate things for you.

[Guest]

Westy, I would advise against closing your vents. You don't appear to have any bother with your current air-flow, reducing it might cause problems.

 

Sbelbin, I understand what you say about cold air, hot air and condensation. However I would have thought a strong air-flow through the loft, and the normal mixing of what would be a large volume of cold air and a tiny volume of hot air would prevent the ambient air temperature rising enough to cause condensation. I would also expect the recommended air throughput in any building designed to house livestock to be much greater than in a commercial or domestic building, whose construction is more likely to include insulation of the type the building regulations require to prevent the building losing heat.

 

[westy]

thanks bruno if it is dry i open the main doors for an hour on the morning and an hour on the evening in 1 section of the loft the floors always seems to be damp? what can i do to prevent this (only if you know about damp florrs)

[Guest]

From what ive read and witnessed when visiting lofts, a lot of the top men, control the air depending on the weather, with adjustable vents, sliding ceilings etc. A bloke in our club had it down to a tee, he always had his lower vents closed during crappy weather), with the higher ridge vent open to allow crappy air out. He also used to close his vents on a thursday night to increase the heat in the loft which as you probably know brings on form in widowhood cocks, which is also why some people use heating in there loft, to bring on form. Doing this he was almost unbeatable and topped the UNC and had another 5 on the combine sheet.

[Guest]

PS. The combine race he topped was one of the hardest Chenoise races the UNC had, and his came back like trainers.

[Guest]

Westy, had a look at your loft pictures on your website ... appears to be bone dry!!!  

 

Think the damp floor problem is a job for Inspector Snowy.  ;D

 

I'm sure you'll both get to the bottom of what's causing it.

 

 

[snowy]

:   hi,

            Inspecter snowy here! had a wee look just, loft cleaned out, today by young eager westy, but i think the loft floor is slightly damp now, but wasnt this morning????? :-/    maybe a wee bit too much bleach/water on westys behalf,  just a good scrape & spray water/bleach bottle next time, and a good rag to dry it. or we will have to get loft white.

thanks,

(the hard work he put into the loft cleaning today was 100% cant knock him one little bit!)

WELL DONE SON! ;D ;D

[Guest]

Certainly not getting at Westy, he asked a question and I simply said, check the loft ceiling when its damp, and if its damp then it may be a good idea to cover the vents.