Heat tape for T-14

[Chuck Yetter]

I am already stressing out remembering the cold snap that took the lives of a lot of my early arrivals last year here in the Northeast. I was thinking of snaking a long piece of heat tape used for keeping plumbing pipes from freezing through the floors and ceilings of one side of my T-14 to supply a place of refuge for cold/wet martins which will allow them to save precious energy. I know they all group together during these times because I have a nestcam that showed whole groups of them occupying the same nestbox in the T-14 last year. I was wondering if anyone else on the forum has tried something similar?

[Forum Admin]

A landlord in New Brunswick, Canada, did something like this - only problem was he set it up to a thermostat he installed down lower on pole. Lightning strike nearby fried the thermostat and it stuck on a high setting and cooked the martin eggs before he realized anything was wrong. Heat tape is a good idea, really - you would not have to disturb the birds as with adding hand warmers. Do you offer supplemental food, too?

[Chuck Yetter]

Yes, we supply scrambled eggs and dried mealworms all season long. I also tried flinging crickets last year during the cold snap, but I didn't have much luck with that. It was just so miserable with the continuous days of rain/mist and near freezing temps that they didn't seem to have the energy to go after them, especially since they had used most of their reserves just to get here. I put some on a tray as well and near or in the boxes too without much luck. I took some to a local bird rehab facility, but they didn't make it there either sad to say. It was brutal.
As far as the heat tape goes, I won't have to have it on by the time they get to the egg laying stage, so I will have it shut off. I think I am going to give it a shot.

[Dan G]

Not sure. I know my wife has a flat 'rock' that she plugs in and puts in the outside cats house, when it gets very cold, to provide some warmth. It might fit right under a nest tray in my T14.??? I think the issue for either that or heat tape, would be to disguise or hide the extension cord so it didnt look like a snake and frighten the birds.

[Archer]

I was wondering how you are going to apply the heat tape? Are you going to apply it to the outside of the wooden t14, running it up and down the outside of the box, or are you going to loop It into each cavity? Through the entrance hole? or behind the door panel? How warm does the tape get? Can you hold it in your hand without it burning you. If you are only going to apple one side, suggest the southerly side as they will naturally look for warmth on the sun exposed side.

[Chuck Yetter]

I bought this heat tape on Ebay for around $20 today (Amazon wants a lot more). It is made for reptile tanks and it says it is water resistant. It is only 50 watts, so it shouldn't use that much electricity. My plan is to make a repeating S pattern on the floor of the T-14 and put the nest box tray on top so as to avoid direct contact with the martins. I would then fish it up to the next floor and keep going till I run out of tape. I probably will put it in the side of the 4 box section that faces the sun to get a double heat source. I will also obviously try it out before the martins arrive to make sure the nest trays don't get too hot, which I sincerely doubt based on the wattage of the tape. Gotta try something because the martins are really getting messed up with the crazy temperature swings that occur nowadays.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/332047203134?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[ToyinPA]

Chuck:
I'm in central PA. In all the years I have had a colony not once did they ever group together to stay warm. I even had snow after they arrived last year & they all went into separate rooms. They sat in the snow on the balconies. April 1, 2016 it was 72 here. Then starting April 3rd we had 11 straight days of snow, sleet, freezing rain, rain & temps in the low 20's to low 40's during the day dropping into the low teens at night. It was a rough time for them. I've had many bad weather days after arrivals each year & again none ever grouped. No idea why mine don't. Guess they know I'll provide them with heat.

What I have done, for those early arrivals, is to only open a certain amount of rooms & none on the lower or upper levels. I never open any north facing rooms until a few weeks after the first arrivals. This keeps the rest in rooms away from the worst of the cold winds. If we're to get a cold night I put hand warmers in the lower rooms before dark. This allows the heat to warm the middle level floors.

I took a look at the heat cable you purchased. Only about half of it heats & the reviews aren't that good for the heat you will need outside in the cold. It's designed for a reptile terrarium. I would take it outside on a cold day now & see how well it heats before attempting to put it in your martin house. Does it flux or maintain heat? I saw where most used a thermostate controller with the cable for their reptiles.

If you snake it on the floor & put the nest tray on top will that allow enough room for them to get in & out of the opening? Just wondering, as my nest trays go all the way to the front. How will you "fish" it up to the next room. If you have to go back out the opening that also cuts down on the space they have to get in & out.

If your house has room vents you could use Duct tape or Gorilla tape, inside & out, covering the vent holes. Put a hole in the center of the duct tape & fish it thru the hole in the duct tape.

I'm sure many will be interested to see if this works. Take photos to show how you end up doing this project, as it may provide a new way to keep our Martins warm & alive on those brutal cold days.

Toy in PA

[Chuck Yetter]

Toy in PA---I had planned to just use an angle drill and drill a hole in the floor above to fish the wire to the next floor rather than going outside the box at any point. According to the pictures I have seen, the wire only appears to be about 1/8" to 1/4" thick, which would not cause any space problems. At only 50 watts, I would have it plugged in at all times in cold weather which eliminates the need for a thermostat. I plan to take some pictures during the process.
I was actually surprised that the martins were grouping in the same nestbox, especially since that space had already been claimed by a bonded pair. I have nestcams in 2 boxes and observed the claiming pairs fighting initially, but eventually giving up and allowing the other birds to come in for the night.

[ToyinPA]

Chuck:
Sounds good. Keep us updated.

Toy in PA

[Dave Reynolds]

Chuck. ----- Do it is all I can say... If you fine out that you don't need it you can just unplug it... and remove it at the end of the year... I know a friend of mine lost 12 birds in one cavity because they were cold and they climbed up on top each other an suffocated the ones below.. And the ones on top could not get out, so they starved.. This happened in at least three different houses, one spring, a few years ago. All the houses had 6 X 6 rooms, and round entrances, they were trios...

Dave

[Ravens5281]

I have a bird bath heater that is flexible that I'm going to try & heat mine with this yr!! U can buy them at a farm store nearest u!! It's $20

[Chuck Yetter]

The video below looks like a pretty interesting idea also. You can buy 3" or 4" tape by the foot and cut to a desired length and hook them up in series. It is controlled by a thermostat. I received the reptile heat tape I mentioned above and plugged it in to see how hot it gets. It got warm, but I don't know if it will be hot enough to have the desired effect. I'll try it again after I install it under the nest trays to see how warm they get.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hj0OULvRlg

[Ravens5281]

Sorry here's the pic of the bird bath heater

[Chuck Yetter]

Ravens5281--I have a couple of those heaters that I use to keep the water buckets for my cows from freezing. They get extremely hot when they are not underwater and can melt the buckets when they run out of water. I would be very wary of using them in one of my houses. I like your thinking though