How Big ?

[Chainman1976]

Just got a 16x6 ft loft and was goin to keep my stock birds on the end of it with a aviary built on how big shud I give them on the inside cheers

[JohnQuinn]

How many birds are you talking about??

[Chainman1976]

7 pairs john

[JohnQuinn]

I kept 8 pairs in a 4ft wide 8ft deep section and they were as healthy and happy as could be. With an aviary attached the depth would be irrelevant so a 4ft space would suffice them.

[Chainman1976]

Thanks john

[just ask me]

how good the ventilation is will depend on how many u can keep there no set rules if you can smell pigeons there too many jmo oxygen in a loft leads to healthy birds was even toying with the idea of breeding my young ones in some form of a half open aviary next year

[William Reid]

how good the ventilation is will depend on how many u can keep there no set rules if you can smell pigeons there too many jmo oxygen in a loft leads to healthy birds was even toying with the idea of breeding my young ones in some form of a half open aviary next year

.

[walterboswell59]

how good the ventilation is will depend on how many u can keep there no set rules if you can smell pigeons there too many jmo oxygen in a loft leads to healthy birds was even toying with the idea of breeding my young ones in some form of a half open aviary next year

bang on jam

[gulkie]

What u have to watch is it's not the amount of stock you have in the section it's when you breed them if you have 8 pair of stock and you have 100% hatch that's 32 birds in the one section that need air?

[Chainman1976]

That part of my loft is halve dowled fronted chaps so plenty off ventilation plus the aviary on side shud b plenty of ventilation

[Guest nephilim]

Maybe you can reduce the number of stock birds? are you breeding of all, or using half as foster parents? As already pointed out, if you have good returns on breeding,then your going to invite trouble. Having an open loft is fine, plenty of air circulating through the loft. But which direction is your loft facing? If your facing easterly, I would clad the aviary with some polycarb. (If you don't know, pigeons don't like the wind from the east! Ask some of the older guys at your club on basket night, which races have the worst returns.) Another thing that might bother you is if your truly open, then expect grubby birds from dragging their tails in the damp aviary. My stepson keeps a few fancy birds for showing, and the hassle that we had to keep the white feathers in a condition that the judge would look at them. He still did OK and took a few 1st and 2nd, in the shows he entered, but we did have to limit the shows! I would recommend, some sort of system, where you can lock the aviary shut in the winter and those wet summer days we have, Then again, you've not said how big your aviary will be? Is it a full floor to roof and x ft long, or just something like a metre square box of wire, that allows them to stretch their legs and have a bath? Maybe advice and opinions could be more helpful if you was more precise on what you plan to do? ie size of aviary, best place for it. Anyway what ever you decide, good luck and keep us updated.