nest replacement

[Dan G]

Most of the martin landlords in my area are amish, and i dont know of any that pre nest and/or do nest replacements. If i were to do a nest replacement with birds that are not used to it being done, would they mind??

[Ed Pace]

Go ahead and replace their nest Dan it would just be like replacing the nest on a sub pair ,they've never had it done before but it's OK they might be a little more cautious than an ASY pair but they'll still stick with their nest. The Amish that don't know about nest changes especially in our area lose a lot of youngsters to blowflies, but once you show them they spread the word on their own and pretty soon they'll be doing it like they should. I have worked with a lot of Amish in my area and a lot of them have turned out to be good friends they appreciate it and are happy that the birds are doing better because of it.

That's my advice I'm sure others will chime in as well ,"good luck have a good season . Ed.

[Lozinger]

I'm a new landlord, waiting on my T-14 to arrive, so please forgive me if this is a dumb question...

I've seen a lot of talk about why and when to do a nest replacement in my research, but have never seen how to do one.

Do you simply remove the old nest and add new pine straw, or do you have to form something in the shape of a nest?
Also, how do you handle the chicks?
With nesting trays, can you simply build a nest and transfer the chicks to a new tray, or should you try to use the old one?

Thank you in advance for answering my questions!
Dave
Bangor PA

[CraigMo.]

Dave
There are no dumb questions yes you simply remove old nesting material and replace with white pine needles(is what I use) Make sure its enough to cover the floor and yes just make it look like a nest bowl if you want, as best as you can. You can just handle the babies carefully and place in a 5 gallon bucket maybe put a dark towel on top of bucket to help keep them mellow while you exchange old material with new. Put babies back in and you are done. Since you are new I would not recommend changing material out if the babies are 20 days old or more. Ask for help on forum if you need to change when they are that age cause there are some tricks to do that. You can use old tray just dump it out and add new material. Oh yeah keep an eye out for mites, ants and blow flies. If you see them just ask on forum and you will get answers on how to get rid of them
Good Luck and you can ask questions all you want. Most of us have already done the asking when we were new.

[Lozinger]

Thanks for the guidance, Craig. I literally just found this youtube video a few moments ago...can't believe I missed it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfQy7yJm5Ys

[ToyinPA]

Most of the martin landlords in my area are amish, and i dont know of any that pre nest and/or do nest replacements. If i were to do a nest replacement with birds that are not used to it being done, would they mind??

Hi Dan:
No they won't mind. Usually the parents will fly around & fuss a bit. My colony usually just sits on the wires & watches & waits for me to get done. Once the nest is changed out & back in place they will peer in for a few minutes before finally going in to check their babies.

I place a rag in a bucket. I have a 2nd rag or towel ready to cover the bucket. You don't want sun shining on them too long. I check each chick for blow-fly larva. Check feet, under wings, neck, face, etc. The ONLY place I have yet to find a larva is on the back. I use my fingers or bent tweezers to remove them & then I smash them. Change out the nest, try to make a bowl towards the back, & then put the nest tray back in the house. One other thing....I use a piece of cardboard for each cavity opening & clip it in place with clamps. This prevents any chicks from tumbling out & escaping, while you are removing trays & doing nest changes.

Prehaps you can make it down this summer. I can show you how I do things & care for my colony.

Hope this will be your year Dan .

Toy in PA

[Dan G]

Thanks. I assumed they would be OK with it, but i wondered since they probably had not had it done growing up.
Toy, i do want to visit this summer.

[ToyinPA]

Thanks. I assumed they would be OK with it, but i wondered since they probably had not had it done growing up.
Toy, i do want to visit this summer.

Dan:
None of my colony had it growing up either, since there hadn't been any here since 1972 until 1997 or 1998.

Look forward to you visiting. We'll work something out between my surgeries.

Toy in PA