|
|
|
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
WHERE TO KEEP THE BIRDS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pigeons can be kept successfully in a variety of places and both in town and country.
Nothing elaborate in the way of housing is needed, and perfectly satisfactory lofts can be built at very little cost.
Just a few essentials should be born in mind by the novice racing pigeon keeper when he sets out to construct his first lofts, or to convert his outbuilding to this purpose.
The racing pigeon has to perform exacting feats and must be kept supremely fit. His stamina is bred for , but can only show itself when the bird is in perfect health. Feeding plays a part in this, but so also does management. Here then are some rules on racing pigeon management.
IN YOUR LOFTS AVIOD BAD VENTILATION, DRAUGHTS, DAMP AND OVERCROWDING. These are the enemies of fitness.
AVOID DUST, DIRT AND ANY SORT OF UNCLEANLINESS. These are the boon companions of disease.
ENSURE THAT THE LOFTS ARE LIGHT AND AIRY. These features are desirable as much for the owner"s convenience as for the health of the birds. Arrange for light to be partially shut out, if ever necessery, by means of blinds or shutters.
ENSURE THAT THE LOFT IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE IN ALL WEATHERS AND AT ALL TIMES OF NIGHT AND DAY. The pigeon room should be a place in which the owner can take a delight and where the atmosphere is always congenial.
Let it be stressed once more, however, that a costly building with expensive equipment is not necessary. It also has to be admitted, as a plain fact, that some very successful racers have come from homes which hardly come up to the standards of perfection which we have described above. Excellent performances, for example, have been put up of recent years by birds from a loft situate on a high wind-swept foof of a small factory in the busiest [and dirtiest!] corners of one of our large industrial cities. The credit here, however, must go equally to owner and birds.The latter were outstandingly well bred, whilst the owner had unbounded enthusiam. Nothing was too much trouble where his birds were concerned.
Whilst enthusiasm of thst kind should be part of the make up of every livestock keeper, the racing pigeon breeder should nevertheless, when building his lofts, study his own comfort as well as that of the birds. Thereby he will be doing himself and his stud a good turn. A hobby, whatever it be, should be a continuouse pleasure.
IN MANY OLD FARM HOUSES A ROOM BENEATH THE EAVES WAS SPECIALLY BUILT FOR THE PIGEONS, AND SOME EXCWLLENT LOFTS ARE STILL TO BE FOUND IN THESE STURDY FARMSTEADS. The drawbacks is that such lofts are too near the dwelling rooms of the homestead to conform fully with modern ideas of hygiene. An outbuilding is realy prefarble.
READY MADE LOFTS ARE OFTEN TO BE FOUND IN DISUSED COACH HOUSES, IN THE LOFTS ABOVE THEM, OR IN BARNS. EXCELLENT COTES HAVE BEEN BUILT ON THE FLAT ROOFS OF WAREHOUSES, SHOPS, AND DWELLING HOUSES. When up stairs situations such as these are used it is always advisable to provide a supply of running water. Carrying buckets of water up a flight of steps is not calculated to give lasting joy in a hobby.
BUT PERHAPS THE BEST OF ALL PIGEON LOFTS IS THE SIMPLE WOODEN OR BRICK BUILDING IN THE BACK YARD OR THE POULTRY RUN, AND WHICH HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED OR CONVERTED BY THE OWNER HIMSELF. There is nothing difficult about building a pigeon loft of this kind. Structures of brick or wood have proven equally satisfactory in use.
If you have dicided to keep, say eight pairs of birds make your loft at least 8 ft wide and half as long again [ that is 12 ft long]. The height at the lowest part should be easily touched with the partly upstretched arm. The loft attendant should be able to reach any part of the building with ease.
The building should be raised off the ground by placing it on pillars of brick or stone a foot high, It should have a sharply sloping and overhanging roof. It can either be of the lean-to kind of loft [most suitable when the building is placed against a wall or of the pointed eaves type.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| page created with Easy Designer |