racing pigeon or doves

hello,My name is james and I am having a dove cott built by some friends but in the process of asking for advice from locals i have been advised/pushed/ towards racing pigeons so I am asking for some advice. I have never kept them,the wife and kids would love doves(pretty). Any help/advice would be greatl, ie, how much time a week, how big does the pigeon loft have to be for 30/40 pigeons i have done a search but thought i would ask any way, i am based on the isle of wight.


all the best goldenbrown

hi goldenbrown, welcome to the site.........i dont think there is a set size for pigeon lofts or an exact amount of birds you have in a section, personally i have my loft split into 6 x 6 sections and although i have maybe 16 per section at the moment i would prefer to house maybe 12 in a 6 x 6...........

the most important thing is not to over crowd, good ventilation and a dry loft.......


hope this helps, and im sure others will advise when they log onto the site.......altho it is a bit quiet at the moment due to it been christmas.

racing pigeons all day for me you dont need a bit shed 6x6 would do

30 or 40 theirs a big difference for starters ,will they fly out or be prisoner stock ?

ok lets say 30 ..........at minimum i would say 12 x 6 feet the criterias are good air flow and not to overcrowd as both these will bring you problems i have read a few times that 1 sq metre of air space per bird is ideal and this is what i keep to its no good packing the pigeons in and overcrowding as you will never have a healthy enviroment nor a happy one best to have fewer birds that are healthy and happy that can do you justice jmo

if your serious about keeping racers look at some of the topics on
here about health and house keeping of racers its a time consuming hobby
so be prepared to look after them 7 days aweek keep them cleaned out and give them a good sound
mixture of corn , peas beans wheat barley maize , also they need fresh water every day and make sure the shed there in as good ventilation with air vents in the front of the loft at the bottom and air vents at the back of the loft where the walls meet the celling and most of all keep the loft dry don,t let the rain in the loft as you
will have problems they also need grit and minerals , any more questions ask away every one will give you advice but 30 pigeons is to many i would say start with 12 start small and build up your learning so don,t take on to much . cheers kev

many thanks for advice,I have an 8x12 being built for 20 racers,am very happy with the loft so far concrete base with water/electric seemed a bit over the top at first but after looking at others seems about right, will post some pics as soon as i can,thanks for advice,

happy new year all.

golden

I have so much to learn.

seems to live in the fields behind my garden!likes my new loft.