Feeding Station

[Guest]

Well I'm glad to report that the martins are now using the feeding station I purchased. They have ignored it until the last 2 wks. I've seen one SY male eating part of an eggshell, and since then everyone is now participating. I've put eggshells and dried mealworms out since April when they arrived. This is a first for me. Glad they have learned where to find food if they need it. Now I'll put crickets there is the weather turns bad. One more trick to keep everybody happy and fat. Will they take advantage of this in the heat if there is a food shortage? They were hot this weekend taking breaks between feeding the young and panting on the perches to cool off.

[Trishy]

It is a lot nicer when you don't have to stand out in the inclement weather to feed them. Last summer when we ran short on bugs in July due to dry weather, I had one pair with babies and the female used the feeder frequenlty, especially to feed the young. I kept crickets in there just in case they needed them and it ended up empty every day. I wasn't about to let my first and only batch die.

[The Walvoords]

Hi,

I have purchased a feeding station and hope to get it put together and up soon. During our cool rainy weather I have tried making eggs and placing some on t he porches and not one bird ate. I have also tried soaking freezedried crickets in water and then placing a few on each porch. Same thing, none ate. With the feeding station I can try oyster and egg shells, and would like to try fresh frozen crickets. They may look more appetizing to the birds. Where do you guys get live crickets to freeze? I went to the pet store to have a look and they are pretty little crickets at 13 cents each. I'm hoping there is a better source.

Anna

[The Walvoords]

Hi,

I have purchased a feeding station and hope to get it put together and up soon. During our cool rainy weather I have tried making eggs and placing some on t he porches and not one bird ate. I have also tried soaking freezedried crickets in water and then placing a few on each porch. Same thing, none ate. With the feeding station I can try oyster and egg shells, and would like to try fresh frozen crickets. They may look more appetizing to the birds. Where do you guys get live crickets to freeze? I went to the pet store to have a look and they are pretty little crickets at 13 cents each. I'm hoping there is a better source.

Anna

[Trishy]

I get my crickets on line at Fluker Farms or also try other stores to compare. Shipping is usually kind of high, but if you order enough it makes it worth it. I buy from the local pet shop if I should run out, but they are expensive indeed. I put my crickets in the freezer soon after arrival and later bag them and put them back in the freezer. I then thaw them in the microwave for a few seconds just before I take them out to feed to the martins. I started by putting the crickets just inside and on the porches of the compartments. If they are hungry enough they will eat them. It took quite awhile to get them to eat scrambled eggs, but they eventually did. I tossed them into the air with a spoon at first and then put them in the trays. I haven't fed eggs this year, just crickets. I am praying it doesn't get bad enough to have to feed eggs, but will do so if I have to. Just keep trying and they will catch on if they get hungry enough.

[The Walvoords]

Thanks Trishy. I will check out Fluker Farms. I did find a place called Foster & Smith in Rhienlander which sells 1,000 crickets for 15.99. Even with the 19.99 special shipping it brings the price per cricket to 3 cents. That beats the heck out of the pet store! 1,000 crickets sounds like an awful lot but if hungry times come, it will be good to have them. Right now I have 28 adults and 79 hatched babies. Now I'll just have to be patient waiting for them to take the food.

[Trishy]

I have 6 pair. I bought 4000 1" crickets in early May and am down to only 300 or 400, plus last week I ordered another 1500 of the 3/4" size for the babies that are hatching. Last year I had to keep ordering and paying the high shipping because I didn't order enough and we had a lot of bad weather. I planned ahead this year and still am not sure I bought enough. I also used scrambled eggs last year to offset the lack of crickets and eggs are a lot cheaper.

[diane vB]

Where did u buy the feeding station and can u post a picture?

[Forum Admin]

Some feeding stations are available from the PMCA: https://www.purplemartin.org/shop/58/su ... n-feeding/
It's not hard to make your own, either - mount trays to a post that you can access to add food, oyster shell, etc.