Pine Shavings for me lil birdies

[Chriscreole]

Just picked uo a big-o bag of Pine Shavings to use as starting nest materials, its not to fine and shouldn't clog the drainage holes or trap any water, should be a nice soft bed for eggs, this is like the Beverly Hilton for my returning Martins WOO HOOO can't wait!

[Chriscreole]

Well if I could find some localy to me, that's what I would use but $75 to get a small box just to start 24 gourds is kinda steep, ya think

[Bob Fraser]

Chris.. you check garden centers, landscaping companies? Lowe's and Home depot, They generally have bales of pine straw. I got 2 fifty five gallon bags of pine straw from a guy advertising on Craigs List... Just searched on pine straw..

[Chriscreole]

boy I have been looking everywhere, just none around since Bastrop Fires, i'll take a ride out that way this weekend and look

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

You sure don't need to buy expensive pine needles. I didn't use anything for the first 20 years, and I always had enough martins to fill my house. The martins will find what they need. They use many different things. The only reason that I use pine needles is because I can stop by and pick up 5 to 15 bags already raked and bagged, sitting out for garbage at the street. Pine needles are the only thing that is easy to gather. Cedar shavings may work, and Linda says that corn shucks cut into small pieces (tamale wrappers from the grocery store) will work OK, as will wheat straw.

[Jim Spetzman]

Wouldnt the cedar shavings smell alot or doesnt it matter?

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

About the cedar smelling, I heard that it doesn't matter, there is often a debate if birds can smell at all, but if they can, then its not a very good "smeller" in most cases. It appears that some birds can smell a little bit.

[Bob Fraser]

I'd read that Cedar shavings absorb moisture. That's why they're used in mouse cages, hamsters cages, etc. To absorb the urine.

If cedar shavings get wet, there's a potential problem - water will run off of pine needles or wheat straw, but... cedar shavings will absorb and retain moisture.

Like Emil, until this year I'd never put anything in the gourds for the martins. They arrive and then find their own stuff and build their nests. Reading on here, it kind of makes sense, if a partial nest is built for them - they have less nest building to do and can get on with the business of laying eggs and rearing their babies.

[Bob Fraser]

I'd read that Cedar shavings absorb moisture. That's why they're used in mouse cages, hamesters cages, etc. To absorb the urine.

If cedar shavings get wet, there's a potential problem - water will run off of pine needles or wheat straw, but... cedar shavings will absorb and retain moisture.

Like Emil, until this year I'd never put anything in the gourds for the martins. They arrive and then find their own stuff and build their nests. Reading on here, it kind of makes sense, if a partial nest is built for them - they have less nest building to do and can get on with the business of laying eggs and rearing their babies.

[Chriscreole]

OK OK I wont use the bag of pine shavings in the gourds, but I will use it in the bucket when I do cleanups if I need to move babies only if needed,. , I have found yesrerday some wheet straw and we are taking a trip to Bastrop to get some off the ground on side of the road

[Bob Fraser]

Chris - I apoligize. I guess I didn't pay close enough attention. Halfway thru this thread, your pine shavings somehow became Cedar shavings.

My comments pertain to cedar shavings and what I'd read about them. I don't know or haven't read anything about pine shavings.

[Guest]

Pine shavings could be contaminated with pine pitch,not sure if that is bad if you have just a little but that stuff sure gets sticky in the heat,just a thought.

dick

[bbillyc]

I have been using a combination of wheat straw/stubble and cedar shavings for a few years. I screen them with a 1/2" mesh to get out the fine stuff. If the gourde is well vented it tends to stay nice and dry and if you are doing regular nest changes it isn't a problem. The importance to the healthy dry nest is good ventilation. On my gourdes I use two 3/4" pvc elbows up high to reduce condensation which really can build up once the young are hatched. If it gets wet the poop packets tend to dissolve and get smeared into the nesting material which makes for a very unhealthy environment. Since adding the ventilators I've had no issues. Here in Canada pine straw is not available and over the years I noticed the martins tend to use weathered bullrush stems and sticks building a very course nest.

[Chriscreole]

All my troyer gourds have two 3/4" pvc elbows per gourd, see my other posts on this. The shavings I bought are bigger than what you see in a hampster cage, I dont want any powdery shake in there, I also screened the shavings for the larger peices, The fine stuff I'll keep in the new 24" heavy plastic bucket to hold any eggs or babies durring a nest change.

[Veronica G]

Linda says that corn shucks cut into small pieces (tamale wrappers from the grocery store) will work OK

I've been using them for years. They work well, are readily available where I live, and are fairly cheap. Just be prepared to spend some time tearing them into strips. I've been very tempted to put a husk in the paper shredder to see if that works. Maybe I'll try it this weekend

Veronica

[Linda Reynolds]

Veronica, that is a great idea. I might also give that a try, OR, I might simply wait to see how yours turn out.......grin.

I have simply been tearing mine into strips and then cutting the strips into 2-3" pieces. I place them on our supplemental feeding/nesting platform and let the martins help themselves. They really like them, and most use them in the nests.

We purchase ours at Walmart and they are very inexpensive. They are sold in the produce section and called tamale wrappers. We have found that some brands are better than others, as they are really clean and there is little to no *silk* left inside the husks. If available, the brand we prefer is Don Enrique, however, those of you in TX might be offered a larger selection.

[flyin-lowe]

There are a lot of bird houses made out of cedar so the smell is not an issue. The people that don't use cedar for nest's do so because of the moisture issue's not the odor issues. It might be something you have never looked for (or maybe you have) but I can't imagine there is not a park, or office complex, or something close by that has pine trees around the property line or somewhere. I neve paid much attention until I started collecting them but there are pine needles everywhere around here, of course the trees in Indiana are different then TX but I would imagine there are some around if you keep your eyes open. Usually I can stuff one plastic grocery bag full and make 30 or more pre nests.

[Linda Reynolds]

You are so right...........pine needles are available if growing in an area. We first collected ours at a golf course, and they were thrilled to give us permission to rake and gather. We gathered more needles that first year than we could use. We used that supply for three seasons. (boy!, were we enthusiastic!)

Our neighbor now has a very tall and healthy line of pines on our property line, and we only have to walk into the yard to collect them before he mows.

Keep your eyes open, and do not hesitate to ask if you can rake and gather. Folks are only too happy to help.

[Jim Spetzman]

Are you using soft White Pine needles or just any long pine needle?

[Tony]

I use nothing but the soft white needles in my nests. They are abundant here in Iowa. The soft white pine can be identified by the needles are in fascicles (bundles) of five. I wish shipping cost weren't so high or I would send some to those that can't find them.