For many hundreds of years people have been raising pigeons. This is an exciting experience. Pigeons - birds are not capricious in content, willingly consume any offered food. But they are demanding of environmental conditions during the period of reproduction and nursing of offspring. Therefore, the owner of the dovecote must create optimal conditions for the life of their winged pets.
General requirements and recommendations for arranging pigeon nests
Successful breeding of pigeons is impossible without the competent arrangement of their nests. To create optimal living conditions for birds, you will have to make an effort.
Each poultry breeder should know the basic requirements for arranging pigeon housing:
- Each individual should have its own spacious place (including perch), where you can relax, calmly hatch eggs during the breeding season. The bird should not be in cramped conditions, otherwise the reproduction of pigeons will be at risk. If the room allows, it is recommended to divide the bird house into two parts: in one - perches, in the other - shelves with nests. Moreover, the racks can be made removable, removed to free up additional space when the chicks grow, and again put in the breeding season.
- Comfortable microclimatic conditions. The dovecote should be well ventilated, but without drafts. Pigeons, especially young animals, are extremely sensitive to drafts and high humidity, can become seriously ill, and you will have to spend money on pigeon medicine. The room should be warm, it is desirable to cover the walls with thermal insulation. In the winter months, the pigeon dwelling must be additionally heated by means of installed heaters.
- The room needs to be kept clean: promptly remove droppings and dirt, periodically disinfect racks and perches to prevent the spread of infection.
- In the nests, litter must be replaced regularly. Litter material must be fresh and of high quality; sawdust or straw is used.
- The room must be equipped so that it was spacious not only for birds, but also for people. The owner should be comfortable with the nests, carry out cleaning.
Types of Pigeon Nests
There are two types of nests in shape - round and rectangular.
Rectangular designs are constructed of wood. They are the most popular, as it is easiest to make them, and the material is always available. The advantage of wooden structures is their durability and the possibility of use for several years. The disadvantage is the decay of the tree with moisture or high humidity. Therefore, when using wooden nests, you need to ensure that dry and ventilated air is constantly in the pigeon. If the microclimate is not suitable, then the nests will soon have to be thrown away.
Round designs made of different materials, are plastic, gypsum, foam. Of the above, foam products are especially popular. Their great advantage is the ability to accumulate heat, which is important for females sitting on eggs. Experienced poultry farmers say that pigeons prefer round structures when choosing nests.
When choosing gypsum products, you need to consider that they can be deformed under the influence of excess moisture. The lack of foam products is fragility, birds often destroy nest walls of lightweight foam with their beaks.
How to make a nest for pigeons with your own hands?
The following are instructions for making pigeon nests from different materials.
From wood
Tree for the construction of nests is most often used. The wooden nest is a small box of rectangular shape. You can make a round structure - in this case, it is cut from a solid wood or weave from the branches in the form of a basket.
For the manufacture of a wooden nesting place, the following materials and tools are required:
- boards;
- nails
- a hammer;
- saw;
- plywood sheet or fine mesh;
- yardstick;
- sanding paper.
Phased production:
- A board is taken without traces of decay.
- The surface is smoothed with sanding paper.
- The board is sawn into several pieces of optimal size.
- Cuts are stacked in the sides of the box.
- Plywood or net bottom is measured and cut, nailed to the box.
- The design is checked for protruding nails and protruding chips.
- The box is placed on a bird mastering rack.
A round nest is carved in the shape of a bowl of hard non-coniferous species. The bowl before being placed on the rack is treated with sanding paper to give smoothness and eliminate chips. It is not necessary to grind too much, otherwise the surface of the tree will become slippery.
Making a nesting basket is a more complicated task, for this you need to have weaving skills. Well-bent willow branches are taken. The wicker nest should not be too deep, otherwise the female will not be able to sit comfortably to properly warm the eggs lying on the bottom with her body.
During operation, the nest boxes may crack. Cracks can become a hotbed of infection and pests, so they must be putty.
In the video below, you can see the step-by-step process of making nests for pigeons from wood:
Foam
The foam nest is comfortable, it retains heat. Have to take:
- a piece of foam suitable size;
- a saucepan in which foam is placed, suitable for the size of the future nest;
- parchment paper;
- construction bandage;
- glue PVA-M.
Making a foam nest is easy. The pan is set on fire. Parchment paper or newspaper is placed on top of the foam. When the bottom of the pan becomes hot, you need to slowly, but with effort, push the pan onto the material. The foam will melt and take the shape of a container. You can take other improvised means.
After cooling, the workpiece is removed, coated with glue, wrapped with a bandage. The bandage shell makes the nest stronger; birds cannot destroy it with its beak.
From plaster
The gypsum nests for pigeons are also round, the same size as those carved from a single piece of wood. For the manufacture of the following materials and tools are taken:
- gypsum;
- two containers of a suitable shape (one smaller than the other);
- polyethylene film;
- knife.
The manufacturing steps are as follows:
- The prepared large capacity is lined with dense polyethylene.
- The gypsum mass is diluted to the required consistency, poured into a container.
- A smaller container, also wrapped in film, is placed on top. To keep it well, you can secure it with the weight placed on top. A distance of at least 3 cm should remain between the larger and smaller vessels.
- Gypsum freezes for about 3 hours. After this time, the gypsum mass is removed from the containers.
- With the help of a knife, bulges and defects are scraped off, a flat surface is created.
- The product is left in a ventilated place for several days until it dries completely.
From clay
Clay nests look esthetically reminiscent of ceramic bowls. Custom craftsmen create them.
One drawback is the fragility of the material. Clay nests crack and break with careless movements. After cleaning the dovecote, the owners often take out a lot of shards in the garbage cans.
Made of plastic
They are sold in pet stores. Visually resemble dog bowls for food. They have shapes and colors for every taste.
The purchased plastic product must be disinfected before being placed in the dovecote.
Optimal sizes of pigeon nests
The size of the nesting site is selected based on the breed of birds. Rectangular product standard: 30 cm long, 25 cm wide, 8 cm high. If the breed is large, then the parameters increase by 5-10 cm. Accordingly, for small rocks, the parameters decrease. Nests are necessarily equipped with sides to prevent the rolling out of eggs or loss of chicks.
If the nest is round, then its diameter should be at least 25 cm, height - 8 cm.
You can not save material and make tight structures. In cramped conditions there is a threat to the life of offspring. The female inadvertently can crush the chicks.
The construction of the dovecote, the construction of shelving and perches
Dovecote should provide a comfortable placement of birds, and then breeding pigeons will be easy. There should be ample space inside the building. Male pigeons can sort things out, fight, and for this you need a place. Birds need to fly freely indoors without touching the walls of the wings. Due to cramped conditions, the likelihood of injuries in pets increases. Perches should be at some distance from the floor, but not under the ceiling.
The room must be ventilated, which implies regular ventilation. Such a measure not only eliminates the appearance of mold and infection, but also removes unpleasant odors of the vital activity of birds. Pigeons are inherently unclean, so poultry farmers have to do a lot of work to maintain cleanliness and order in the poultry house. It is impossible to ignore the care, because, despite the uncleanliness, the pigeons inactive breed in a dirty and saturated with unpleasant odors room.
Standard dovecote has the following parameters:
- height - 2 m;
- floor level above the ground - 25 cm;
- doors 150 cm high, 60 cm wide;
- the window area corresponds to a tenth of the floor area;
- holes for the departure of birds 25 cm in height, 20 cm in width, 20 cm above the floor;
- a vent at a height of 15 cm from the floor.
Shelving
Nests are lightweight and can roll over. Experienced poultry farmers build racks to accommodate and secure nesting sites. These structures come in contact with the walls, take up little space and significantly save space.
A good shelving option is mobile. In this case, castors from mobile furniture are attached at the bottom to the legs or to the bottom panel. It is advisable to produce racks that can be easily dismantled if necessary.
The most commonly used material is wood. But the frame can be made of aluminum. The metal is lightweight, but firmly holds the structure.
The instructions for making the rack are as follows:
- You need to take five boards with a length of 1 m, a width of about 35 cm.
- Knock down three boards in the shape of the letter "P".
- The space formed inside the downed boards is divided into 3 parts. Attach jumpers at marked points of division. On the lintels, fix the boards horizontally.
- Divide each of the resulting sections into 2 parts. The size of the sections is determined by the breed of pets. The larger the adults, the more spacious the occupied space should be.
- Cover the back of the rack with plywood sheet.
- To prevent loss of sockets in each section, place a partition on the front side. It should not be too short, but not high, so that it was convenient for pigeons to fly inside, and the owner should clean and disinfect the sections. The optimal height of the partition is 8-10 cm.
Racks are used to accommodate:
- nesting structures;
- boxes where pigeons mate;
- perches (the crossbar on which the bird sits at night).
Shelving rack
In haste, the rack can be made of cardboard boxes, but it will not last long.
Perches
Perches in a dovecote must be present, because pigeons spend most of their time on them. Especially necessary are seats for exotic breeds with beautiful legs made of feathers. Without perch, feathers on legs quickly get dirty, which will negatively affect the aesthetic appeal of a decorative bird.
Perches are made of polished boards 4 cm thick. They are fixed on the walls. The distance to the ceiling should be 40 cm. If the pigeon family is large, then the perches are fixed in several rows. But they need to be placed so that the droppings of pigeons sitting on top do not fall on the birds located below. The owner should freely reach the perches for cleaning and disinfection.
The most common designs in the form of the letter "L" when viewed from the front. That is, two boards are connected at an angle of 90 degrees, a rail is nailed from above. On such a perch, it is convenient to sit decorative pigeons with luxurious plumage. For simple breeds, conventional wall-mounted boards are suitable. It is desirable that the board was 30 cm long. Two pigeons can also sit on it. But in general, the number of perches in the dovecote corresponds to the number of birds: each pet should have its own resting place.
In the winter months, pigeons spend almost all their time on roosts. Therefore, the places should be comfortable for sitting, not causing the bird to strain and balance. The more comfortable the pets spend the winter period, the more willingly they breed in the spring.
The surface of the perches should be smooth, it is desirable to paint or treat it with a protective composition that is harmless to birds. An untreated tree quickly deteriorates; insects and fungi start up in it. Do not make the surface too smooth, glossy. Bird feet will slide on it. The pigeon will have to make efforts to maintain balance, not to fall.
The board should not be too thick, otherwise the bones on the bird's paws may be deformed due to stress. An optimal perch consists of 3 or 4 faces. The thickness does not exceed 4 cm, this distance is half the length of the opened pigeon fingers.
In the manufacture of perches in the form of "L" for breeds with magnificent plumage, there are also no difficulties. Have to take:
- 15 cm wide board;
- plywood sheet;
- a saw;
- nails
- measuring tape.
Manufacturing steps:
- Two cuts 25 and 20 cm long are measured. Sawed off.
- Connect at an angle of 90 degrees.
- A triangle is cut from the plywood sheet to secure the joined boards. Attaches to the wall.
- On top of the plywood, a construction of boards with the top up is installed.
- A rail is nailed to the joint of the boards to make it more convenient for the birds to sit.
Perches in the form of "L" can be found in pet stores. Available in plastic and aluminum. They have a long service life and are well cleaned. But poultry farmers notice that pigeons prefer to sit on wooden structures. And the advantage of do-it-yourself wooden perches is that they can be disassembled and repaired.
Nest Care
The materials from which the houses and nests are made must be non-toxic and environmentally friendly, otherwise the risk of serious diseases in chicks and adults is high. Pigeons are sensitive to infection and parasites, so the owner must timely wash and disinfect nests, perches, shelving. It is necessary to change the litter as it becomes dirty, to remove garbage and waste products from pets.
Disinfection is necessary to prevent the multiplication and elimination of pathogenic microorganisms and parasitic insects. For preventive purposes, it is carried out monthly. If the infection has already appeared, then an unscheduled procedure is carried out. You need to choose safe disinfectants that do not contain components harmful to birds.
Disinfection is carried out as follows:
- Pigeons are removed from the pigeon during the procedure.
- Rotten and soiled bedding is completely removed.
- Shelves, perches, nests, walls are carefully treated with a disinfecting solution.
- The feeders and drinking bowls are washed thoroughly with a cleaning agent.
- A blowtorch can be used as an additional disinfectant.
- At the end of the event, the dovecote is aired. Birds are launched into it.
If traces of infection are detected during cleaning, then cleaning is carried out with a solution of a special preparation effective against specific bacterial or viral agents. They process every corner of the dovecote and all the inventory.
In pet stores, disinfecting aerosols are sold. They are harmless when processing feed, walls, feathers of birds. They can be sprayed without fear in the air.
To clean the pigeon, the poultry breeder must purchase the following equipment:
- scoop;
- broom;
- bucket;
- container for collecting litter;
- scraper;
- rake;
- carry for pigeons.
Properly constructed nesting place provides healthy and numerous offspring of pigeons. There is nothing complicated in arranging a dovecote and building nests, but you will have to spend a lot of time and effort. Pigeons willingly breed in comfortable conditions, when the area is clean, spacious and fresh.