Advice on pigeon training crates/trailer

[chickadee]

What is the best thing to make the base of pigeon training crates/trailer out of for hygiene, grip for the birds, minimise damage to the birds etc please

[THE FIFER]

hardboard ruff side up, stops birds slipping also would be good if possible to slide them out for cleaning and renewal,

[aye ready]

hardboard ruff side up, stops birds slipping

defo hardboard or 3mm ply as light as poss

 

[Lightning McQueen]

slide a small guage mesh tray made with 18mm x 18mm baton/framework and half inch mesh inside for the birds to stand on (perfect) slide out to clean and any vomiting straight thru

[chickadee]

hardboard ruff side up, stops birds slipping also would be good if possible to slide them out for cleaning and renewal,

 

Thanks but would that not be hard to clean?

[THE FIFER]

 

Thanks but would that not be hard to clean?

 

yes would make it harder to scrape, but maybe a good hard brush rather than a scraper, also if you were able to get them out would make it a lot easyer, I find with the smooth side up its not just birds slipping.but the shavings seam to just slide about, I dont know maybe the smooth side could be roughened up a bit, or would that spoil it, need to get my thinking cap on,   pity its not possible to have material so they could be hosed down ,

[Ian McKay]

Don't matter what the bottom is made of put corrugated paper in it's easily changed and no cleaning

Rough side up

[PIGEON_MAN]

What is the best thing to make the base of pigeon training crates/trailer out of for hygiene, grip for the birds, minimise damage to the birds etc please

 

Doesnt matter what the base is made of just make wire bottoms to fit in each crate and put  clean paper underneath everytime you cleen them out,any excess corn which birds might bring up will fall through and other birds cant eat it,birds wont be standind in there own muck and will have good grip on the wire.

[chickadee]

 

yes would make it harder to scrape, but maybe a good hard brush rather than a scraper, also if you were able to get them out would make it a lot easyer, I find with the smooth side up its not just birds slipping.but the shavings seam to just slide about, I dont know maybe the smooth side could be roughened up a bit, or would that spoil it, need to get my thinking cap on,   pity its not possible to have material so they could be hosed down ,

 

We got some training crates with the trailer and we pressure washed them, the ply ones were fine but the hard board ones just disintegrated. My husband is going to make completely new ones or modify the trailer so it only has a slide out tray that can be easily cleaned and sprayed with disinfectant

What about mesh on the bottom? one of the crates had plastic grills and another had 1/2" weld mesh :-/

[chickadee]

 

Doesnt matter what the base is made of just make wire bottoms to fit in each crate and put  clean paper underneath everytime you cleen them out,any excess corn which birds might bring up will fall through and other birds cant eat it,birds wont be standind in there own muck and will have good grip on the wire.

 

What size of mesh would you recommend???

[showman]

Don't matter what the bottom is made of put corrugated paper in it's easily changed and no cleaning

Rough side up

 

This would be my thought as well Ian......maybe make crate itself from materials that would let you 'power hose' them regularly.

[chickadee]

Don't matter what the bottom is made of put corrugated paper in it's easily changed and no cleaning

Rough side up

 

Does it come in rolls or sheets and where do you get it Mr McKay OOPS!!!! is it cheap ;D

[showman]

Comes on a fair sized roll...approx. 3ft wide......memory serves my last roll was £16.oo

[PIGEON_MAN]

 

What size of mesh would you recommend???

 

As long as the birds cant get any excess food from underneath them I would think anything about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch square,if you staple it to 3/4inch framework the birds would not get the food anyway.

[chickadee]

 

As long as the birds cant get any excess food from underneath them I would think anything about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch square,if you staple it to 3/4inch framework the birds would not get the food anyway.

 

Thanks, I was just worried that it would damage their feet in transit when the trailer hit a bump.

If that was ok the cages could remain static and we could have pull out trays that coiuld be easily cleaned and replaced in time :-/

[THE FIFER]

as you know the old hoseing down is the best an easiest way, I know lots use mesh I have never used it so dont know much on its success but does birds nails more so with birds with long ones curved not catch in the mesh,

[PIGEON_MAN]

Think a lot of transporters are using crates with wire bottoms now,we used to just use corrugated cardboard but the birds would come back from a race plastered in muck especially if it was a holdover, plus if a bird happened to be sick in the crate any other bird could soon pick it up

[kirky]

i use plastic grills with news paper underneath in all my baskets & training crates

[chickadee]

as you know the old hoseing down is the best an easiest way, I know lots use mesh I have never used it so dont know much on its success but does birds nails more so with birds with long ones curved not catch in the mesh,

 

Never thought of that :-/

 

We bought a trailer that takes the old small fife crates which holds 12 x 20 birds each. The crates are past their best so we are either going to make new ones or adapt the trailer to hold 3 levels of pigeons for training the Fife and Edinburgh birds along with Valiant and the Edinburgh Premier club

[chickadee]

i use plastic grills with news paper underneath in all my baskets & training crates

 

Some of the baskets had these in them they are about 1 1/2 x 3/4 guage :-/