Vibey
55 posts
Apr 13, 2006
2:43 PM
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Hi All; I am just curious as to how clean you's keep the loft. How often do you do a good cleaning, like power washing the floors etc, aside from the weekly scraping etc. What do you consider a good program, and is there a point where it's overkill?, or am i to assume that keeping it as close to spotless is a good rule of thumb. I would appreciate you input on this. Thanks in advance .
Vibey
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Alohazona
136 posts
Apr 13, 2006
3:17 PM
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Vibey,
I've seen good birds come out of lofts that were meticulously cleaned and good birds come out of lofts were there is mountainous crap formations under the perches.The loft is an extension of yourself and the time you have to put into the care,housing and maintenance of your birds.Also form follows economy,what you can afford to do monetarily,mixed with time constraints.
I scrape once a day without fail,put newspaper in the bottom of my breeder cages,for fast cleanup,and am overzealous about changing waterers.Every year I find new ways to get alittle better and faster,tempered with alittle innovation...Aloha,Todd
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Velo99
366 posts
Apr 13, 2006
6:17 PM
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I am almost the opposite of Todd. I am not a slob by any means nor do I keep A "DEEP LOFT". I read from a couple of different article about a little poop keeping up the antibodies in the birds.
You know the best investment I ever made was buying a 5 gallon shop vac just for the lofts and boxes. I reach right in and vacuum up all of the stuff with out handling it or breathing the dust. I wear a mask when I scrape, then just vacuum it all up no fuss no muss. Work right thru the bars of the breeder boxes. I feel it does a better job with out stressing the birds or me as much as a conventional method.
I use juice jug with a hole cut out for water. They hold just about a days worth of water so they get fresh water every day. They get a quick rinse daily and a weekly wash.
Feeders are designed to be no seed fling,no poop.
I scrape once a week and disinfect a couple times a year.Breeder boxes are cleaned between rounds. I have not had a sick bird yet. I worm spring and fall. Pretty low tech,low maintenace.
Keep it dry and ventilated with a minimum amount of dust and you should have no problems.
YITS
V99
Last Edited by Velo99 on Apr 15, 2006 5:34 PM
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fhtfire
416 posts
Apr 13, 2006
9:03 PM
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During the Winter I clean about every three weeks or so...sometimes two weeks. I clean the nest boxes out every couple of rounds and put in fresh pine needles. As Summer I will clean the loft every couple of months...California has very dry heat so you do not have to do it as often in the Summer. As for scraping...During the winter I will scrape once a week...during the summer evey couple of weeks.
rock and ROLL
PAUL
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upcd
227 posts
Apr 13, 2006
9:03 PM
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Greetings, I use a blower every other day for seeds and anything lose. A scapper like you use for removing roofing. I scap that poop up and fertize my garden once a week. A large putting knife for perch and nest box scapping. And if I am going for super clean I hose it out with a power nozzle after rain. Then I spary Oxiane all over. On everything including birds.
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nicksiders
521 posts
Apr 13, 2006
10:21 PM
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Hey Paul,
I believe I am going to miss the very dry air that causes very dry poop..............easy to clean. The air is very think here in Arkansas with moister. Makes the poop stay moist........real moist.
Nick
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Mount Airy Lofts
192 posts
Apr 13, 2006
10:38 PM
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I look at cleaning a little different.
The lofts are kept clean not for my needs but for keeping the neighbors happy. As a pigeon fancier, it only takes one person to ruin it for the rest of us. It is a different story if you live on a farm - then do what you wish. But, the average roller flier needs to be on the good note with their neighbors.
Keeping the lofts cleaned, painting the lofts the same color as the surrounding buildings, keeping the yard clean, try not to fly the birds with feed, etc.
The biggest complaint is droppings on personal property. What these folks need to know is that a pigeon without any feed will not have mush if any waste to put out.
On the same note, I clean the lofts as many times as possible. Any free time, it is scraped. Scraping, sweeping, and blowing away all the dust with a fan is all I do.
I don't know who sprays their lofts down and washes it but what ever works. Most lofts are built with wood and such methods will cause more damage then good. Moist and wet is not a good enviroment for the birds.
Thor
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siddiqir
200 posts
Apr 14, 2006
9:06 AM
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I used to have walk in loft. I cleaned it every week. It was really time consuming, I inhale lot of dirt while cleaning and was unhappy to spend about 2 hours every week (that includes cleaning loft and taking shower afterward).
I decided to go with kit box type loft and re-built/re-design my existing loft. I am now very happy what I have. It is 8' x 4' loft which have room for at least 12 individual breeding cages and big fly pen on each side.
I really do not need to clean it often. Some time I go even 3-4 months without even doing any thing. The loft has wire floor (1" x 1") 14 gauge. I bought a heavy duty tray which goes underneath about 4" below from wire floor. It catches all dropping and when it gets full about (3-4 months) I pull them out and clean them put them back I am done. No smell and my loft look very clean. There are no wood stub at the bottom of the loft where dropping build up...every thing go to tray. It is important because if dropping built up and if birds get in contact with droppings, it will bring disease in loft. The loft is 4 feet deep and when I do clean (I did not remember when I last clean it) I can do it standing out side. Here are few pics of my lovely rollers jetairliner loft...
Last Edited by siddiqir on Apr 15, 2006 9:07 AM
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upcd
230 posts
Apr 14, 2006
9:37 AM
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Nice loft design.
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on a roll
21 posts
Apr 14, 2006
8:47 PM
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I USED A 1500PSI POWERWASHER This last time and it worked great,but you dont need that much power, works great cleaning the wire, and fast.
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Velo99
370 posts
Apr 15, 2006
6:03 AM
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Hey Jerry,
Did your birds have any feathers left? lol j/k
v99
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upcd
235 posts
Apr 15, 2006
5:10 PM
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The funny thing is, when you are blowing or hosing. Some birds never get out of the way. So either the bird gets really wet or air fluffed. LOL
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katyroller
12 posts
Apr 16, 2006
6:21 AM
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I will scrape every two or three days and sweep out once a week. I don't have a problem with droppings staying moist so there isn't a problem with smell and the neighbors. As stated by Paul, I also believe that a little bit of crap in the lofts is beneficial to the health of the birds. Look at a kid who nevers plays outside with other kids who get sick. When that kid finally gets out he/she will seem to always be sick. They never got the chance to build a strong immune system. Like us our birds can get a little sniffle here and there and it not be a problem, plus not make others sick.
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on a roll
22 posts
Apr 16, 2006
10:47 AM
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kenny,I removed the feathers first. my settling cage stays on top 24/7, just move the birds to the roof and get after it,they bath and sun on the roof ,lay some slats or boards across the settling cage for landing pads.i have double traps if i need it,i can be fly birds and be settling young birds on top of the same kit box,the birds flying trap into the settling cage located just in front of the kit box trap,this part of the cage swings open to let the birds out of the two doors of the kit box for flying.works for me. (my roof is flat if anyone is wondering) jerry
Last Edited by on a roll on Apr 16, 2006 11:11 AM
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