i have 5 babies (my first ever) that are about 4-5 days old now...parents are feeding very well, and the babies are FAT!
my concern is the heat here in kansas now. it is 95 degrees today, and the 10 day forecast has it 95-100 degrees every day! fortunately it does cool down to about 75 at night now.....how hot is a problem for parents and nestlings? thanks, Rick
how hot is TOO hot?
I have found in my area 102 to 105 several days in a row is too hot. IMO they can stand a day or two in row over 100 degrees, but several days in a row seems to stress the babies and the parents. also severe heat the availability of food is less. Coupled with the heat and lack of food dehydration will cause some to jump and some to die.
Some water mist the houses in the afternoons when the temp is high and no shade. I done this last year and the PMs and babies enjoy the cool misting. Some houses are well vented. So alot of things depend on there survival in the extreme heat.
Some water mist the houses in the afternoons when the temp is high and no shade. I done this last year and the PMs and babies enjoy the cool misting. Some houses are well vented. So alot of things depend on there survival in the extreme heat.
thanks for the response! so far my birds seem to be active and comfortable....plenty of bugs apparently, as mom and dad only leave the nest for a few minutes before returning with more food. i am just concerned about 10 or more days of 95+ heat.
any other opinions or experience?? Rick
any other opinions or experience?? Rick
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Louise Chambers
- Site Admin
- Posts: 6208
- Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 pm
- Location: Corpus Christi, TX
Rick, with double size rooms your nestlings will be fairly comfortable, but it is going to be very hot - forecast shows day after day with high temps in upper 90s.
What I would suggest is adding what's called a heat shield. What direction does the entrance of the active nest face? Does it have an outside wall that faces west? If so, that's the wall I'd shade, by adding an opaque panel spaced out from the outer wall about an inch. That way you provide shade, and since it's also ventilated, ie, the shade panel is spaced out from the wall, a breeze can run behind the shade panel, cooling the compartment further. Do adjacent cavity walls too if they all face west or south. We used 1/2 sheet styrofoam, but anything that's opaque will do.
If it's an upper room, you could do the same thing with that section of the roof.
Other cooling options would include putting a blue ice pak or frozen water bottle in next door or upstairs empty compartment - but that has to be done daily, best done at hottest part of day. The shade panel only needs to be installed once.
What I would suggest is adding what's called a heat shield. What direction does the entrance of the active nest face? Does it have an outside wall that faces west? If so, that's the wall I'd shade, by adding an opaque panel spaced out from the outer wall about an inch. That way you provide shade, and since it's also ventilated, ie, the shade panel is spaced out from the wall, a breeze can run behind the shade panel, cooling the compartment further. Do adjacent cavity walls too if they all face west or south. We used 1/2 sheet styrofoam, but anything that's opaque will do.
If it's an upper room, you could do the same thing with that section of the roof.
Other cooling options would include putting a blue ice pak or frozen water bottle in next door or upstairs empty compartment - but that has to be done daily, best done at hottest part of day. The shade panel only needs to be installed once.
thanks Louise! very good info, if i feel like the parents or the babies are showing signs of stress, i will try some of these ideas.
yes, i have double compartments, and that probably helps a bit with ventilation, and these martins were smart....(or lucky) but they built their nest in a lower cavity in my castle, and they are on the eastern side, so late in the day they are not directly in the sun. Rick
yes, i have double compartments, and that probably helps a bit with ventilation, and these martins were smart....(or lucky) but they built their nest in a lower cavity in my castle, and they are on the eastern side, so late in the day they are not directly in the sun. Rick
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Suzette McGowen
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:38 am
- Location: Texas/Plano
We have also been doing a little bit of supplemental feeding during this hot spell. Every two or three days we lower the housing and place a pile of crickets on each porch. They seem to really go for them, so far the babies are fat and the parents still feeding them well.
But I feel the supplemental feeding helps keep the stress down, and also helps teach them to take food from the porches. We should be fledging most of the nests in the next week to 10 days, so I figure this is the time to help out.
But I feel the supplemental feeding helps keep the stress down, and also helps teach them to take food from the porches. We should be fledging most of the nests in the next week to 10 days, so I figure this is the time to help out.
Suzette & Charles McGowen
Plano, TX
Plano, TX