Starting out
Hi All new to all this so please bear with, my son has taken a keen interest in owning a couple birds to have a go at racing, he has by all accounts seen the sport on tik tok ? (his 15 ) may I add that this is not a sport anyone in our family has ever been involved with so my question is & i'm sure there will be many more, is this a good size loft for him to own between 4 - 8 birds as a starter (44" wide # 36 1/2" deep x 73" high) seen on that famous auction site any advice would be grand.
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George and Morgan
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- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:59 am
- Location: west Oxford
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welcome to you both in no time he will need a bigger loft try and speak to local fanciers who will help with club and sure pigeons George
Thank's for the reply I am limiting him to 8 birds max so would this size loft be ok? also how do we go about finding a local club we are based in Billericay Essex I have tried the google searches with little to no luck (we don't do facebook) .
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George and Morgan
- Posts: 2062
- Joined: Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:59 am
- Location: west Oxford
- Gender:
google rpra pigeons
Hi and welcome to the site, is this any good for you, Laindon racing pigeon club, there is probably more as for the loft that is ok for small number of birds but myself would be looking for a 8 x 6 or even a garden shed and convert it 6x6 or 8x6
Thanks for the info guys. @buster121 want to keep the setup as small as possible so you would say the loft in the pick would be ok for max of 8 birds? thanks for the info on the Laindon club I see on the RPRA website there is a liberation site at Barlylands that's a 5 min drive from us so that's good. @George and Morgan I have emailed our regional RPRA rep for info on local clubs thanks again all.
Hi Daz, welcome to the site. A great bunch on here that will be happy to help and advise with any questions you have. It is a great sport and can easily expand. There is an awful lot to learn but we will help all we can.
In answer to your question about the set up you have shown is yes it would be big enough for a maximum of 8 birds to start with.
But that would only be suitable for youngsters. There is no facility for pairing up or breeding. Obviously it all depends on the space you have available in your garden as to what size you can have. As Buster said I would be tempted to buy and convert a garden shed. Although some very nice small lofts are available they can be a bit pricey. If your son enjoys the sport he will soon want to expand. You can start small with what you have found and see how things go but I think you will soon regret it. Keeping pigeons has many benefits. It teaches you animal husbandry and you can get real interaction with your birds. This is much easier if you can get in among the birds in a shed. With the one your thinking about it would be difficult to interact with your birds and if wet you would have to stand in the rain to do anything with them.
There are different aspects to keeping and racing the birds. You will probably start with a few youngsters. But after the first season these youngsters become old birds. The following year you would want to pair your birds up. Then breed a small team of youngsters to replace any that are lost. Unfortunately you will lose some.
It may all seem very daunting but it can be very rewarding. I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing how things progress for you and your son. Any questions just ask.
Andy
In answer to your question about the set up you have shown is yes it would be big enough for a maximum of 8 birds to start with.
But that would only be suitable for youngsters. There is no facility for pairing up or breeding. Obviously it all depends on the space you have available in your garden as to what size you can have. As Buster said I would be tempted to buy and convert a garden shed. Although some very nice small lofts are available they can be a bit pricey. If your son enjoys the sport he will soon want to expand. You can start small with what you have found and see how things go but I think you will soon regret it. Keeping pigeons has many benefits. It teaches you animal husbandry and you can get real interaction with your birds. This is much easier if you can get in among the birds in a shed. With the one your thinking about it would be difficult to interact with your birds and if wet you would have to stand in the rain to do anything with them.
There are different aspects to keeping and racing the birds. You will probably start with a few youngsters. But after the first season these youngsters become old birds. The following year you would want to pair your birds up. Then breed a small team of youngsters to replace any that are lost. Unfortunately you will lose some.
It may all seem very daunting but it can be very rewarding. I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing how things progress for you and your son. Any questions just ask.
Andy
Back just enjoying club racing for the time being.
Yes it would but you would need a bigger one when they start breeding that is why I said about a 8x6Daz71 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2024 4:26 pm Thanks for the info guys. @buster121 want to keep the setup as small as possible so you would say the loft in the pick would be ok for max of 8 birds? thanks for the info on the Laindon club I see on the RPRA website there is a liberation site at Barlylands that's a 5 min drive from us so that's good. @George and Morgan I have emailed our regional RPRA rep for info on local clubs thanks again all.
Thanks again one & all, so I think the plan will be for a 8x4 loft as seems to be a more logical route, time to start putting wheels in motion I'm sure I will have many more questions moving forward...Clubs, Birds, Feed & so on as I said we are new to all this.