Lining And Insulating Lofts

[Guest snowy2011]

Hi has anyone insulated the walls in there loft or lined the loft out does it really make a difference?

Is it something you must do to compete?

[yeboah]

Hi has anyone insulated the walls in there loft or lined the loft out does it really make a difference?

Is it something you must do to compete?

I have insulated walls and floor before the birds seem to enjoy lying in the shavings so something must be working ,would think to insulate properly the easy way would be to copy the Coopers Loft at Bath which is first class ,Atb Mick.

[ovy1255]

if you are insulating your loft dont use ply that is too thin to line it out --i did and the ply warped --dont use melamine covered chipboard -easy to clean but on a damp day moisture stands on it.

if you are thinking of insulating the floor [local guy done it says helps stopping drinker freezing] dont line the floor with kitchen lino-on a damp day like a skating ring.

IMO-your loft is a breathing thing,dont stop it breathing.

[Guest H@wkBait]

Why insulate a loft at all the birds r insulated enough they have feathers welll mine do :/

[R.A.M.C.63]

Had 3 inch insulation in walls birds looked great loved it, venilation was great,

lined it with sterling board 7mm, ( maybe ovy1255 needs more dwangs in walls )

Wat diference you will notice, BUT BEWARE, Do Not Attempt if you have MICE,

they love it, i didnt have mice problem b4, once they got in walls with heat, food source

they thrived, I,ve ripped walls out 3 times, major headache, still got them,

and ware thiers Mice thiers CATS, i,v more or less given up, you cant exspect breed decent y/bs we mice running about spreading dieses, while cats hanging about outside at nights,

hope this helps you mate, as said great idea and i think birds benifit from it,Atb

[Guest Owen]

This is something I did before I learned better. Insulated lofts are great for the humans but totally unnecessary for pigeons. And besides that the insulation will attract vermin of one sort or another. The key to pigeon health is a dry but well ventilated loft with plenty of sunshine available to the birds.

[ovy1255]

Many roads to rome---the most consistent guy that flys just up the road from me has central heating in his lofts with dehumidifiers and timed electric ventilation --his birds look great and fly great.

[R.A.M.C.63]

This is something I did before I learned better. Insulated lofts are great for the humans but totally unnecessary for pigeons. And besides that the insulation will attract vermin of one sort or another. The key to pigeon health is a dry but well ventilated loft with plenty of sunshine available to the birds.

 

Got to Disagree Owen ( insulation totally unnecessary for pigeons, )having sorted natural ventilation, and lights for Sunshine, i wis try,n to control the big variation tempture night+day, winter+summer, witch might hav helped birds come or stay in form,

Birds def benifited, if i could raise loft off ground to avoid mice getting in i would do it again,

but loft too high to Raise more in council estate, pity cant post photos u would c wat i mean,

had Someone works insulation+ventilation help me, Flow of air Not draughts,

[Guest Owen]

R.A.M.C.63

we are not in disagreement. I agree that pigeons need plenty of fresh air but no draughts. I also agree that the birds must have sunshine to enable them to benefit from the vit "D".

I reckon that if your loft is in a place that suffers with damp due to trees or a lot of rank grass you might have to deal with the humidity it would cause. However in the normal course of events there is no need to insulate the lofts. Years ago the Old Hand wrote a book called "The 6 Principles" I think. He advised people on how to build a loft. The sides were to be made of metal sheets, the roof was to be of Big 6 asbestos and the floor was to be of fibre glass. The walls were to have louvres all around and the front was to be open. I made one something like that. OK a lot of the stuff this Guy went on about was awful but the loft idea was quite good. You were never bothered by breathing problems or things like red mite. The red mite had no where to hide. Some people think that widowhood cocks need heat to bring them into condition. They don't. What they need is sunshine and light even if you fit lights up in the loft to help them come into condition. One of the so called secrets of some Belgian Flyers is that they use artificial light to get their cock into top form for the early races. And it works.

I usually win the early races but I am lucky because I am able to get the birds to sit out in the sun. I think if I flew in Belgium against people who use artificial light I would probably do the same so that I would not get left behind..

[peter pandy]

In one of my old lofts 1988 - 2002 I fitted 2 ins thick Polystyrene blocks between the 2x2 uprights and have to admit the loft was decidedly cosier however one of the birds took a notion to polystyrene and started eating the walls to no visible harm I must say so I left them to it untill I stopped it by fitting thin ply over all the walls.

Noticing the post moved on to ventilation or draughts as I prefer to call it I have never been able to tell the difference which is which as I believe they are one of the same ??.

[Guest Owen]

A draught is a current of cold air traveling through warmer air. Ventilation is when the warm air rises as a body and leaves the building. The temperature should be constant in a well ventilated building. Another way to look at is that if you sit in a draught you will probably get a stiff neck which is very painful. If you sit in a well ventilated room you may have to put a coat on but you are unlikely to become ill.

[peter pandy]

This is the bit I dont understand Owen, If warm air rises to exit I assume via the roof.. 1] What heates the air up ?. 2] Where does the air come from to be heat up ?.

[R.A.M.C.63]

This is the bit I dont understand Owen, If warm air rises to exit I assume via the roof.. 1] What heates the air up ?. 2] Where does the air come from to be heat up ?.

 

Peter the air outside loft is colder than air inside so when u open vents at bottlet it in, it mixes with

inside air whitch warms it up, warm air raises and leaves at highest point, if you get balence right you will flow+draw, this is wat you looking for, hope that helps,

[Guest Owen]

peter pandy

what R.A.M.C.63 has said is about right. The big misunderstanding is that pigeons are like mammals and need to be kept warm in stuffy conditions. They can not handle it. Birds have a completely different respiratory system from mammals and must have better access to oxygen than us. When there gases in the air that we are not bothered by birds can suffer and even die. The gases from their own dung is very harmful if you let them live in a place where they are forced to breath the fumes. A lot of the old fashioned fanciers treat their birds for respiratory problems regularly think that this type of illness is part and parcel of the sport. It is not. At one time people were advised to keep their birds in closed lofts with hardly any ventilation. Times have moved on and the new thinking is that the birds must have fresh clean air. Some of the best widowhood flyers in Belgium now lock their birds out in aviaries all day to benefit from the sun and the fresh air.

So in conclusion, let the fresh air into your loft at a low point and allow it to exhaust somewhere at the top of the loft. It is also important not to have air blowing onto the birds when they are on their perches. The test is to use your nose. If you can smell anything your ventilation is not working as it should.

[R.A.M.C.63]

Spot on Owen

if you can Smell them your ventilation is Wrong, use smoke bombs to test.

tip, Leave gap bak of nest-boxes or u,ll hav Stale air in bak Boxes Y/bs respertory problems ??.