Nesting cup

[Mike E]

I am thinking about switching to a Coates 12 room from my falling apart SK plastic barn. While looking around I see alot of people are using nesting cups. I was a little bored so I thought I would design something up and cut out some 1" blue styrofoam on my hobby cnc machine. Here what I came up with.
1.The nest depression towards the back of the 6 x 6 room.
2. The front the material is cut down at a angle to drain water away from the nest cavity.
3. I put a drain in the center of the nest cavity.

Any other sugestions? Should I put Sevin under the Styrofoam to control the little beasty bugs? Should I add pine needles when I first put up the house?
Hopefully the birds will stay warmer with a styrofoam floor this coming spring

Mike

[DornCounty]

I love the design work.

[John Miller]

good design. I like that the depression is back. martins don't naturally put it in the middle.

I have a Coates Suites and I overlay the nest compartment subfloor with a 6 x 6 square of thin cork, cut from the 12 x 12 squares you can get for wall covering...I get at Wal Mart. I think it helps too to keep babies warm and dry. I also insulate the exterior walls with thin styrofoam, glued to inside walls. It's real cozy in there.

John M

[bwenger]

Mike,

That design sure looks nice. I am not sure how long that takes to make, but a plumber's torch will melt the foam and create a nice bowl by moving the torch around. I also used the torch to cut down the front of my nest bowl, and it also creates a rough surface to provide traction for the birds.

It's definitely not as pretty as yours, but only takes a minute or two.

Good luck with your martins.

Bill

[Don]

Nice toy & nice design. I used 2" styrofoam blocks for several years but now I use pieces of carpet and white pine needles.You will find that your cup is modified by the martins fairly quickly. It didn't take long for their sharp claws to wear a fairly symmetrical cup all the way to the floor in a two inch thick block. There was about a 3 inch circle of exposed floor. Your drain won't function unless it goes all the way to the floor. However if you have deep cavities I don't believe you would need a drain. I never had a water problem in the nests.

[Mike E]

Mike,

That design sure looks nice. I am not sure how long that takes to make, but a plumber's torch will melt the foam and create a nice bowl by moving the torch around. I also used the torch to cut down the front of my nest bowl, and it also creates a rough surface to provide traction for the birds.

It's definitely not as pretty as yours, but only takes a minute or two.

Good luck with your martins.

Bill

It would probably take 15 min. or so to cut. Maybe I'll give the plumbers torch a shot.
Has anyone tried that short nap outdoor carpeting that looks somewhat like grass? I wonder how that would work, it does does not retain water and would keep the nesting material up off the floor.

Mike

[John Miller]

I would be concerned that martins would get toenails hung in this. It's hard to play mother nature. I try to ask what could go wrong. The thin cork I mentioned is useful in snug compartments, but if not placed snug,it can get flipped up and block entrances, and so on. John M