Walk in aviary for pigeons?

[bridgetchicken]

I am planning on building an aviary for fostering pigeons for a local rescue organization. I am deciding what should the flooring be: pine shavings or stone pavers. If I were to use stone pavers, how would I clean poop off the stone pavers? Would I scrape the pigeon poop with a metal scraper? Or would I spray the floor with a garden hose? My main concern with hosing the floor with water is that the water might allow mold and mildew to grow especially if the aviary is made out of wood and hardware cloth. Any suggestions?

Also, I could make the floor out of wood and stick linoleum tiles on top. Maybe that would be easier to mop with a swifter wet jet?

 

[Tonyroo]

Build it to your height size so walking in will be easy on you. As for the floor use regular yard dirt mixed with some pine shaving. It will help to keep the smell down and decompose the pigeon poop.

 

[bridgetchicken]

Build it to your height size so walking in will be easy on you. As for the floor use regular yard dirt mixed with some pine shaving. It will help to keep the smell down and decompose the pigeon poop.

Thank you for the suggestion. Wouldn't dirt mixed with bare soil and pine shavings lead to worms in the pigeon's stomachs?

I was watching this YouTube video and their pigeon coop has a tile flooring that can be washed. Has anybody tried using smooth tile flooring that can be easily mopped with a floor mop or swifter wet jet?

 

[Tonyroo]

You don't want to use household cleaners around birds. There sensitive to it. And parasitic worms don't live on dry alkaline soil.

 

[Qwerty3159]

I think you make a good point about the cons of hosing the floor, you don’t want the pigeon loft to be damp or wet. The stone pavers could be scraped off but it might be rough on your ears.
Have you considered a plywood floor? 1/2 inch pressure treated will last forever, especially if it’s not making direct ground contact. Its very easy to scrape wood.

 

[Sjberger]

Build it to your height size so walking in will be easy on you. As for the floor use regular yard dirt mixed with some pine shaving. It will help to keep the smell down and decompose the pigeon poop.

Pine shavings is TERRIBLE. Lol. Cedar makes them sick but any shaving is a nightmare in pigeon talk lol. They produce so much air movement it goes everywhere when I tried it lol. I use some straw and bare floor with constant scraping/cleaning.