Our loft is 66' in length by 12' deep, divided into11 sections. The loft faces west, allowing the birds to sit in the warmth of the afternoon sun. Sunlight is also allowed into the loft from the roof. A clear 4' PVC panel stretches the entire length of the roof allowing plenty of daylight. The loft sits 3' off the ground with a metal drop through floor for hygiene and ventilation. Air is also allowed in on the top front and back of the entire loft, allowing for fresh air for the birds. This is absolutely critical!
The breeding section is on the north (left) side of the entrance, with individual pens for each of the breeders. Absolute care is taken to make sure that there is never a question as to the pedigree of every bird. If a hen is to be switched to a different cock, she is put in a separate pen for 13 days prior to pairing her with a new cock.

To avoid the need to resettle the birds from a young bird loft to an old bird loft, one trap has been built for the entire loft. The racing sections are divided into six different sections, each 6' x 9', with a hallway that runs the entire length of the six sections. The hallway can be closed off in each section, increasing the size of the sections to 6' x 12'. This allows us to train the birds from each individual section. Also, on race day, we can control which section the birds return to once inside the loft.

The drinkers are raised off the floor in each section to reduce the dust in the water. A light bulb has been wired inside the shelf the drinkers sit on. It is turned on during the winter to keep the water from freezing. In addition to the hall light, there is a double flouresent light box wired in each of the individual sections.These flouresent lights are on individual timers allowing the lights to be controled separately.

The three sections on the south end of the loft are for widowhood birds and the other three for young birds. In the widowhood sections, we have a total of 30 widowhood boxes, 12 in the end section and 9 in each of the other two. The three young bird sections are set up with two sections for the light system and one section for the dark system. The birds that are weaned prior to March 1st are put on the light system and the birds weaned after that are on the dark system. The young birds are settled in three different groups, based on age until the three groups are all routing well. At that point they are all released together.

This loft design has been very functional for us. It allows many options as birds are moved from section to section throughout the year for whatever reason there may be.
	View the birds have from the loft