2015 - Volume #39, Issue #3, Page #02
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Porta-Potty Pigeon Coop
“When the local gun club built a new club house, they didn’t need the old portable toilet,” explains Susan. “When Larry asked about it, they said he could have it. He brought it home and went to work on it.”
Like any good remodeling job, the first task was to gut the interior and wash it out. The next step was to insulate the walls and door by lining them with thick plywood. He painted the interior a light blue and attached a door latch on the outside to secure the shell.
“He built nesting boxes using 5-gal. square plastic containers, originally used to hold mayonnaise, that he got from a local restaurant,” says Susan. “He cut holes in the back wall and mounted the containers through them, with a strip of wood across the front of each so baby pigeons won’t fall out.”
Larry wrapped exterior portions of the nesting boxes with insulation to keep the heat inside. After mounting dowels for sitting perches, he filled the nesting boxes with straw. He also mounted an old camera lens in the door so he can check on the nesting birds without disturbing them.
Larry cut a hole in one side of the coop and hung an old 4 by 4-ft. dog kennel against the hole. A door in the side of the kennel gives the Lesters easy access. The kennel floor holds food and water as well as giving the birds safe access to fresh air and sunlight.
“Larry let them out in the open one day and a hawk got 3 of them,” says Susan.
A plexiglas panel over the top of the kennel keeps out rain, yet allows the Lesters to check on the pigeons from a 2nd floor window.
“The birds love their house,” says Susan. “They seem very happy and content. Four of the females have already hatched out babies.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Susan Lester, 370 Hope Dr., Rutherfordton, N. C. 28139 (ph 828 288-3030; Slester214@aol.com).
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