Pigeons at all times were not only a hobby, but also a source of additional income. And for the breeding and rearing of these birds, certain conditions are necessary. This is possible when the content of birds in properly constructed premises - dovecote. It is not a big deal to build them with your own hands, you just need to know all the requirements and rules for buildings.
Primary requirements
Before the construction of the pigeon house, as well as other structures, originally you need to make a project of construction in which you need to consider:
- the location of the house for pigeons in relation to high-rise buildings and green spaces - closely spaced will prevent birds from taking off and landing normally;
- lack of telephone and electrical communications located on poles;
- the construction of dovecote with respect to the penetration of sunlight - the front of the building should be on the south side;
- the proper arrangement of housing birds, in which the temperature in the room in the summer will not exceed 20 ° C, and in the winter will not fall below -5 ° C;
- the volume of the pigeon house, which must correspond to the breed of pigeons and their number - to birds badly in small rooms;
- Age of pigeons - young chicks and adult birds must have separate premises;
- space for storing feed and necessary equipment for cleaning.
To maintain the health and treatment of diseases of pigeons use such drugs: Enrofloks, Biovit-80, Ivermectin, Lozeval, because some of the diseases of these birds are dangerous to humans.
Important! Since pigeons can become infected with various diseases and transmit them in a severe form, when choosing a place for construction, it is necessary to provide for it to be located as far as possible from all kinds of sewage and buildings for keeping pets.
Dimensions
Before the construction of any dovecote with your own hands, you need to clearly define the number of rooms, their sizes.
Learn about the types of pigeons and the intricacies of their breeding.
You can draw a plan for the future structure at your discretion, but you can take advantage of solutions developed over the years:
- in height the room must be at least 2 meters;
- Windows can be made in size 25 to 25 cm, or the area of glazing is taken 10% of the floor area. Arranged on the south side to maximize sunlight;
- window openings are separated from the floor, depending on the rocks contained at a height of 30 cm to 90 cm;
- doors must be at least 75 cm wide and 180 cm high for easy passage for a person;
- tap-holes are needed in an amount of 2 pieces up to 0.25 meters high, up to 0.2 meters wide, a circle with a diameter of 25 cm can be used;
- sockets - the length is not more than 25 cm and the width does not exceed 8 cm.
Beginner pigeon houses should take into account that in order for the birds to be comfortable on one site, it is better to keep no more than 10 pairs of pigeons of the same parameters. If the pair is small, 0.5 m3 of room volume for maintenance is taken into account, for large pigeons - 1 m3 of volume.
Arrangement
For comfortable living of birds, the construction of the pigeon house is completed with internal equipment. It is necessary to provide:
- electrical wiring for lighting inside the building and, if necessary, connecting heaters;
- double door: outer of solid material, inner of metal mesh for good air flow in the summer;
- ventilation duct under the ceiling with a grille, which must be closed for the winter;
- open-air cage for birds;
- wood poles for the perch, where the pigeons are most;
- nests so that the birds do not spend their strength on their construction. You can make them from any available material, pigeons are unpretentious birds;
- various devices for distribution of food and drinkers.
Did you know? Pigeons were domesticated a long time ago. Even Genghis Khan and Julius Caesar used these birds as postmen. In the XI-XII centuries, the pigeon at the price stood on the same level with a thoroughbred horse.
Popular species
To understand how to build a suitable dovecot with your own hands, it is necessary to take into account that today there is a variety of designs and its choice depends on your desires and possibilities. Consider some designs of houses for pigeons.
In breeding pigeons, it is important to feed them correctly. Fodder for birds is a mixture of wheat, pea, wiki, barley, sunflower, corn, oats, millet. It is also useful to give pigeons greens - lettuce, parsley or dill.
Hinged
This design is the simplest and is suitable for beginner lovers of these birds. Its principle of operation is very simple - a wooden box is fixed on the wall under the roof. Such structures are rarely used due to a number of disadvantages:
- temperature can not withstand;
- no protection from predators;
- You can keep a small number of birds (no more than 3 pairs).
Tower
This type of dovecote is more practical and is used by those who are constantly engaged in the breeding of birds. It can be made in various forms - in the form of an oval or a polyhedron. Advantages of this type:
- the volume of construction allows you to contain a large number of birds;
- appearance can be selected for a particular landscape area;
- building height of 4 meters, allows you to perform a stepped design, convenient for the birds and the owner. The lower floor is used for inventory and storage of food, the remaining floors - for birds.
Important! Such a construction would require high costs for the arrangement, but the result of the construction is a very practical dovecot.
Attic
This type of construction is used mainly in individual houses. Hence the name, since the attic of the house is used to keep the pigeons. With the help of a metal grid or plywood, the finished area is divided into zones, and the dormer window is reworked for walking birds with a small balcony. The height of this design does not exceed 3 meters.
Aviaries
Such structures are used for pigeons, built in urban environments among high-rise buildings. Industrial production produces standard designs for the maintenance of 12 families of pigeons. Aviary dovecote with his own hands is a frame made of wooden beam or pipe, covered with a metal grid.
It is attached to the house for birds on the street and occupies part of the territory. Pigeons living in such buildings, almost not subject to disease, provided the correct location of the structure. An open-air cage is calculated from the condition that one pair of birds requires a half-square meter area for comfortable living.
Did you know? Pigeons are very attached to the house where they live. This fact confirms the story of Baron Wrangel. The pigeons that he took out during the retreat from Sevastopol, returned home one at a time, covering a distance of 2.5 thousand kilometers.
How to build a dovecote with your own hands
There are no limitations on how to make a practical and at the same time beautiful dovecote with your own hands. The main thing is the money issue and the types of pigeons that will be kept there. The construction process consists of several stages:
- foundation building;
- wall installation;
- roofing device;
- laying the floor.
Foundation
The foundation is the basis of the building, and the service life of the pigeon house depends on its quality. In any case, if the structure is on the ground - the foundation is necessary, since dampness in the dovecap is unacceptable. If the house is made of wood, then you can just slightly raise it above the ground, scoring in the corners of the logs or laying out the legs of bricks. If all pigeon house is built of brick - the foundation must be solid.
Consider the sequence of operations:
- along the perimeter of the future home for the birds, a swarm of a ditch about 0.4 meters deep;
- prepare a concrete solution consisting of sand, gravel and cement in the ratio of 2x2x1 parts. Cement is better to take brand 400;
- Pour the solution into the prepared trench. For rigidity along the length of the ditches we lay metal reinforcement;
- let the solution harden well (at least 24 hours). In hot weather, the foundation should be shed with water and shade, so as not to crack.
Floor
With the wooden structure of the dovecote, the floor is made only of wood, which is laid on the prepared frame. The board must be carefully oskrugana and laid without gaps, so that birds can not injure their feet. In a brick house, the floor can be made of concrete, covering it from above with linoleum. For waterproofing and heat on the concrete, you can lay a special foil with insulation.
Walls
Wood is a good material for walls, but with its high price, walls can be made of brick or foam concrete. Outside and inside they are plastered and upholstered with plywood or other material. If the house is wooden, the walls must be insulated to maintain the required temperature in winter.
As a heater for brick buildings, you can use foam, pasted on the outside and further plastered. A house made of wood can also be insulated outside with mineral wool or foam, then upholstered with plywood, clapboard or siding. For durability and a beautiful view of a wall it is necessary to paint.
Learn more about Uzbek pigeons and peacock doves.
Roof
Depending on the project, the roof in the pigeon house can be either single-slope or dual-slope. The main thing is that the slope of the roof was convenient for landing feathered inhabitants. The frame is made of timber and any roofing material is laid on it - roofing felt, roofing iron or slate. It is good, if under a roof warm and waterproofing is laid. 
Pigeon house
Once the building is ready, it's time to do inside the pigeon house its arrangement.
Important! The room must be equipped so that the pigeons feel comfortable at any time of the year and in any weather.
For this you need:
- hold the light to extend the daylight in winter;
- divide the room with partitions for separate keeping of young birds; besides, in the winter, males should be separated from females;
- arrange perches, the number of which should depend on the number of birds. Each pigeon must have its own place - about 0.3 meters. For these purposes, a timber of soft wood (poplar, aspen) with a section of 3.5 cm is used, which is mounted under the ceiling at a distance of about 0.3 meters from it;
- make nests, their number should match the number of females in the room. The material can be plywood, not thick boards. The size of the nest depends on the breed of bird; a box about 35 cm long and up to 25 cm wide is knocked down; the height of the board is no more than 8 cm;
- fix the nests on the walls at different levels in height and in the darker part of the room. It is advisable to maintain a minimum distance between them of about 20 cm. The boxes can be painted with different colors, since these birds have different shades;
- put hay or sawdust inside the nests, which must be changed periodically, and spread out small branches on the floor, the pigeons will arrange their places themselves;
- arrange the tanks for food and water for the chicks, if possible, install automatic feeders.
Important! Feeders need every time to clean from the feed to avoid the appearance of mice and rats and to disinfect them once a week so that the birds are healthy.
Your imagination, supported by knowledge of these birds, will help to create an original dovecot at the dacha. And if all the work is done correctly and accurately, the care of the dovecot will take a little time and effort, and the birds will be pleased not only with their beauty, but also with the offspring that can bring a certain income to the family.
