Outdoor Mesh Area For The Birds?

[Stu3y]

just in the process of building my 1st loft... i was planning on making it 13 foot x 4 foot with a full length and hight outdoor wire mesh corridoor 13ftx3 foot..

now im just wondering is the out door bit beneficial, would i maybe be better off making the actual indoor area 13x7ft then maybe 1 or 2 smaller wire mesh outdoor areas attached to each end? i was planning on sectioning the loft up for cocks, hens and young birds.

 

its all new to me so any advice or tips before i start building would be very much appropriated!

[walterboswell59]

four foot to narrow i think m8 once nest boxes and perches go in id do it the second way although a wire corridor is good the birds need more room inside four a bit to narrow imo but im sure others will differ

[gulkie]

Agree with Walter I'd opt for the 7 ft with lots of ventilation ,a good airflow is important .

[Stu3y]

i may have some room at the end to add an avaiary but if not, what about something like this on the front of the loft?

 

[Leroy]

For years I have used a loft with front sliding wire doors which are open all day every day unless the rain is torrential and directed through the doors. I always thought this was sufficient until I added a small aviary on one end of the loft. The birds spend hours actually sat outside in the small aviary rather than in the well ventilated loft. I let the birds tell me what they need, and mine certainly have. I also dont think 4 feet wide is too narrow. Sure I think it will be less convenient and practical, but the birds will be tamer because theyve nowhere to go.

 

Lee

[Guest Owen]

An aviary is essential to help your birds achieve top condition. If you check on the top Belgium and many American lofts you will find that they all use aviaries. Pigeons need to direct sunshine.

All my own racing pigeons are locked out in aviaries all day every day. At the moment my stock pigeons are in a loft which has loads of ventilation but I am not happy with it. This coming Autumn I will tear it down and build a loft with an aviary on it a bit like the ones at the National Breeding Station at Belgium. I will include lighting tubes in the covered part of it to enable me to breed early just the same as now. The floor of my new loft will be of concrete with a weldmesh grill floor over it so that I can hose it down and I hope to include automatic drinkers.

[BIGPETE]

I'm new to keeping birds but have kept and bred other livestock for years. As Owen mentioned, direct sunshine is a big thing. This is the case for us humans and also dogs and birds etc. Vitamin D comes from sunlight and is essential for good bone development (when you have a new born baby even the midwifes will tell you make sure the little#uns get adequate sunlight. Very important for the skeletal/bone development so on that note can see it being just as essential for the birds.