Trust me Arty when I say I love her too!

Heather;
It is much hotter down here in Florida. Gem spends much time outside and as long as he has water and shelter, he does great. I bring him in durring the hotest parts of the day. He has four ledges and four pans of water as well as seed. The same goes for inside. He is alowed free range of the house and has several water bowls. he can come and go into his cage as he pleases. He stays inside at night.
Gem also follows me around in and outside. It's funny when I'm on the computer, he will peck at the keys as if trying to help.

Mollie and Mira are outside birds only. Of course if they were sick or injured they would come in the house to recuperate. The temp ranges anywhere from 105 in the summer to 20's in the winter. They always have large bowls of fresh water which allows them to bathe at will during the summer, and kennels with straw for protection during the winter. They are very adaptable. They never seem stressed from the weather.

I don't have a photo of their cage. I thought I would draw one like Susan did, but quickly nixed that idea after about 5 attempts (horrible artist!).

Here is an old picture that somewhat shows the size and general idea...


The cage is located on the bottom of the tree house, and was actually orginally a rabbit hutch. The cage dimensions are around 10' x 10' x 4'. It sits about a foot off the ground. It's divided in 2 so the pigeons can live separately, and each side has a board running the length of the cage about 10 inches down from the roof that they love to perch on. 1/3 of the floor is board, 2/3 is wire. All sides are wire, but during the winter we put up a tarp on one side for wind protection. Obviously the ceiling is board- it's the floor of the tree house. The house is located in a shelterbelt, so they have quite a bit of protection from the elements.

I hope that description is good enough!

Mine will have mesh on half of the floor. The other half will be wood. The whole front will open so I can just hose it.

I think you posted pics of the shed before.
It looks perfect other than the floor. If an animal chewed through it, it could get to Mia as well. Snake, rat...
How tall is the shed? Would it be possable to put mesh a couple of feet off of the floor?

I started a new thread for you here in the Pigeon and Dove Forum and moved the posts and pics into it. Thread is titled Shed to Loft Conversion for Abigail

Susan, I dont think I could handle Miss Mia being outside all day, there are larger predator birds in the area that are always on the search for road kill, I have NEVER seen them near anything alive not once, but there is always that chance.....

then I have bird feeders all over and I throw seed all over and attract so many wild birds that it would do me no good to leave out seed for her, someone else would get it.... I dont see her fighting for food... she is a lover!

I have six birdfeeders and three bird baths. Gem normally stays close to the house. I put his seed on his ledges but once in a while he will venture to the grass for ground feeding. Believe me, I was the same way you are now when Gem first came to me. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sway you in any way. With Gem taking his maiden flight to my sons house, I am now very leary about him being outside, however, I feel a Pigeon is ment to fly free. I am lucky to have mostly night preditors here, Gem comes in well before dark.

You are so cute...you remind me of a typical mom.

you forget I have three kids so I have the worry thing down pat LOLOLOL

I am EXTREMELY overprotective of my kids! LOLOL

You know, I think I worry more about my grandkids than I ever did my own three.

Gem wants out real bad today. Right now He is sitting on the top of the door to my bedroom and I can't close the door. After what he pulled the other day...HE IS GROUNDED! I'll take him out later when I can be with him. I have decided that's how I'm going to do it from now on. He's out...I'm out.