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Dear Mark and Dora, Thought you might like to know that I took your photos of your pigeon loft design and used them for the basis of developing my new Birmingham Roller loft. Below are some photos. As you can see I made some changes. One thing that the photos don't show are my shutters. I have constructed plywood shutters that fit over the doors and windows during times of inclement weather. You can see my window and door frames I constructed - well, the shutters just fit inside the frames and are held in place simply by a piece of 2 x 2 that twists over to hold them in place. We have colder weather here in Oregon than you in Texas; so it is necessary to provide more protection for the birds during parts of the year. I still used the expanded metal floor. I also bought stainless steel - so, during the summer months I can hose out the floor from the inside if I'm of a mind. Also, I put Ice and rain shield roofing material on and then put 3-tab on top of it. I like your perch design and am using it throughout. One half of the loft has your community dovecote cardboard box concept, but the other side has two large widowhood boxes with screen fronts and doors and waste trays that I bought from JEDDs. I also bought locking traps from JEDDs. The loft cost me $337.00 to build and I'm very happy with it. I used 2 x 6s on the foundation. And, I didn't use any treated wood electing to stain the whole thing. I also painted the inside with linseed oil. All natural stuff. Thank you so much for your design. It has been a great help. Oh, one more thing - I had trouble using just 2 inch screws so in some instances I used 3 inch also I bought metal framing brackets - "L's" and "T's" and used them - they cost only pennies and came in handy. I think they really made a difference keeping the thing level and square. I too have put a lattice fence all the way around my loft so raccoons and other critters can't get in. One useful tip is that I staked chicken wire down flat on the ground underneath and around the perimeter of my loft and then covered it with the pea gravel. This way critters cannot dig in underneath my loft either. I'll send you some new photos of the loft stained and with the shutters in place. as soon as the weather dries out I really like the shutter design for winter. Please feel free to use my photos on your site. I'll also send you some photos of my Bellneck Birmingham rollers - the most beautiful pigeons I have ever known and the ones I raised in my youth. Best regards and again thanks for all your help. You guys really have made a difference in my pigeon life. Grant Gibson Hello Mark, I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the nice job you have been doing with the newsletter. Especially with the color photos. I hope to contribute to the newsletter in the future. I did import three pairs of nice birds. I have only bred one each in dun and yellow. The Sliver Sprenkle (grey almonds) have not had any luck so far. Actually most everything out of this Canadian Quarantine station is not having good luck. After almost 16 weeks in both the German and Canadian quarters was a lot of stress on the birds. I think I won't push any of them and hope to raise some late hatches. Most of them are going through a very heavy molt and do not want to breed at all. I will be starting a new fancier with Flying Oriental Rollers this summer. I have 46 young New York Flying Flights in 2 kit boxes now. I need to get some young flying oriental rollers going too. Thanks for all your efforts. They are certainly appreciated in St..Joseph, Michigan. Kind Regards John E. Nelson Hello Mark & Dora, It is great to see such a great bunch of real Orientals. My name is Don I am 56 years old and as a young boy about 12. I started raising Orientals and raised them until I was about 45 and just gave up. I now raise raising homers. The birds I raised were true flying birds. They had to have a pearl eye and at least 14 tail feathers or more and a flesh colored beak. The birds I got were from Russia. Reds, Blacks, Almonds, and AOC's. These birds would fly four hours and perform like no other I had several roll all the way to the ground and kill them self's. I liked to breed a long rolling bird with a short rolling bird. Another thing that I learned quick was that the Almonds bread to another Almond were usually blind. I liked to breed them two blacks or kites.. Thanks for the great Pictures. Hello Mark, Despite the blizzard that has been sweeping through the state the last 24 hours the OR's arrived this morning. All that time spent waiting was worth it. The quality radiates off them. I'm pleased you sent me the one older bird so that I can envision the future for the others. I'm in the middle of several different things at present and I'll write to you at more length later. Sincerely, John
Ballard Mark, The pigeons arrived this afternoon. They are lovely! they are exquisitely beautiful. The dark one (cock?) already comes to hand. I'm thrilled. Thank you so much for the pair. I'll keep you updated about them as well as send photos (they'll be back Friday) of the loft construction. Bec |
Mark, Congratulations on your site! I find it very instructive and I am impressed by the type of your birds in the pictures. I am breeding Flying Oriental Roller since 1997. I have approximately 60 birds mainly almond and kite but some black dun and red too. My pigeons came from Frederic Kirsch (who wrote an article for you) and also; Raymond Knaub. Do you accept French members in your society? Kindest regards from France. Vincent Béguier. Hi Mark: Thank you for the prompt reply. From my reading of your web site and searching the web I felt there is a big a difference in your birds. From all I have read it would be the best thing to start with a few birds of quality. From all the work of you and your wife have put into the web site and the breeding of such great birds, it sounds like the Flying Oriental Roller is a true passion to you; I am in the process of building a 12 x 8 foot loft 6 in the back to 7.5 at the crown. The wait will not hurt me. Your loft page and pictures was a great help by the way. We live in southern CA. in the national Forrest at 6000 feet. The "town" has 190 people with lots of trees surrounding the area. The loft is under trees by site necessity but the fly pen should give them a chance for some sun.; Now I am in the process of honing up on genetics and I am looking forward to breeding and flying this fine bird. As luck would have it the National Pageant of Pigeons will be in this area next month and I am excited to see all of the various stock up close. Put me on the list for two pair and I will join the Roller Society you are affiliated with. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you when your stock is available.; Regards Wayne Dorothy.
Hi Mark, I found your web site while looking for Racing pigeon sites. I am from San Antonio Texas my first pigeons were rollers about 1969. I had an Oriental roller named Webster (Webby). He was speckled in orange gray black & red etc... and he had webbed feet. He was small and could roll like crazy. He would start as soon as he got about 50 ft from the loft and about 25 ft up. He would do two to three backward flips at a time. I could predict when he was about to roll. He would slow up just slightly clap his wings together once and flip back. He had great stamina and an outstanding parent. I also had a Red Oriental Roller named Cornelius. A Black Badge Roller and a Birmingham Roller that sported one red eye. I named him Walleye he was a bit heavier than the other still smaller than my Racing Homers. This one could fly almost as fast as the homers and would flip without losing altitude nor speed. I paid only $1.50 for them a piece. They fly strong and had no trouble flipping and twirling. Their young would start within two weeks of being able to circle the loft. I would entertain the neighborhood with their flights. Sometimes I would point my finger up at the birds like a gun and say bang. Since I new the actions of the birds I could tell when they would be flipping. This fascinated the younger kids and impress the girls as they would fall from the sky and then recover just above the roof tops. I am 45 yrs old and have been a Marine since 1976. I married and have 5 children and a granddaughter. I miss the birds and hope to have them again as soon as I retire from the Corps. I have a Mother-in-law and few cousins still in San Antonio. I enjoyed your web site. Thank-you for taking me back in time! Hi Mark, Like yourself, I became fascinated with pigeons at an early age. I waited many years to again start raising pigeons. I got my chance when in an attempt to slow down my life I designed and built a home in rural Grass Valley CA. I had also designed and built a loft in which I raised Black Eagles that I got from Texas. My slowing down lasted about 5 years and I found that I really missed living in Santa Clara Valley. I moved back a couple of years ago and I'm in the process of getting approval on a lot in the foothills. I found I really missed my birds and I want to start with a small group of pigeons that will become my base. My interest is more in taking care of a beautiful bird and the enjoyment of watching them fly. I have been looking on the internet for some time and when I came across your website I was totally blown away! I have always wanted to own a roller bird but was not very impressed with what I found. Your Reds are a really beautiful bird. I have spent a great deal of time designing my future loft and really believe the design will allow me to keep the loft very clean. I would love to get a couple of young birds from you. I have a lot more time now and I am looking for several types of birds to raise. I still like the Black Eagles but have not found a source I really trust. I hope you would consider selling me a couple young birds. You will not be disappointed as I take excellent care of my birds. Doug
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