Hand Warmers
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edgar w. rice
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Mar 06, 2019 2:42 pm
- Location: grandview texas
removed 3 dead martins yesterday. have about a dozen or so this morning. do hope winter is over
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Sharon - Central TX
- Posts: 696
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 9:20 pm
- Location: Central TX
- Martin Colony History: All Troyer Horizontal Gourds with Conley Entrances
PMCA Member since 2004
I know you’re relieved they returned. We found a female on the ground alive but starving yesterday morning. We fed her and she readily took the food but couldn’t fly. She is with a rehabber now.
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Doug Martin - PA
- Posts: 1988
- Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:47 am
- Location: Pennsylvania/Fombell
- Martin Colony History: First pair in 2009 after 28 years of trying. 3 pairs 2010, 17 pairs 2011 and 35-45 pairs since. Many additional colonies are now springing up around mine in an area once completely void of Martins. I offer 50 compartments at my site consisting of primarily Excluder II gourds on Gemini racks. Also a wooden T-14. I utilize electric fence type predator guards on the base of the poles. Supplemental feeding is crucial in maintaining my colony. I platform feed throughout the season as needed. My site tends to be a stop over point for additional birds as they migrate further north.
Purple Martins don’t freeze when it gets cold. They simply starve to death from no food.
I have brought birds through weeks of temperatures in the teens for highs and zero and single digits for lows.
Your efforts are appreciated by the birds however. You are best off gearing your efforts towards feeding them not trying to heat them. Many times trained birds from the north are in with those birds and they know how to eat tossed crickets and eat from platforms. The others will quickly follow.
I have also used hand warmers as well. But I have seen them change gourds once I placed one in at times.
These birds are adaptive and intelligent with a strong will to survive bad weather. Try making an underhand throwing motion with your arm or a tossing motion and see if any come to you. Us folks in the north use that regularly to ask if they want fed. My birds come right to me right away when I do that and they are hungry.
Warmer weather is here now but cold patterns are tough to break.
Doug
I have brought birds through weeks of temperatures in the teens for highs and zero and single digits for lows.
Your efforts are appreciated by the birds however. You are best off gearing your efforts towards feeding them not trying to heat them. Many times trained birds from the north are in with those birds and they know how to eat tossed crickets and eat from platforms. The others will quickly follow.
I have also used hand warmers as well. But I have seen them change gourds once I placed one in at times.
These birds are adaptive and intelligent with a strong will to survive bad weather. Try making an underhand throwing motion with your arm or a tossing motion and see if any come to you. Us folks in the north use that regularly to ask if they want fed. My birds come right to me right away when I do that and they are hungry.
Warmer weather is here now but cold patterns are tough to break.
Doug
Supplemental feeding plays a major role in Western Pennsylvania. Finally got my 1st pair in 2009 after 28 years of effort. The colony has grown quickly to 45 pairs that I care for. Many new colonies have now sprung up around me in the past few years as well. Where there was none.... there is many.
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Sharon - Central TX
- Posts: 696
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 9:20 pm
- Location: Central TX
- Martin Colony History: All Troyer Horizontal Gourds with Conley Entrances
PMCA Member since 2004
Doug, I understand about flipping crickets or whatever food you use as we have done that in the past. But what about when they are staying in their gourds or housing because of below freezing temps Will they come out on their own or do you flush them out first?
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Sharon - Central TX
- Posts: 696
- Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2004 9:20 pm
- Location: Central TX
- Martin Colony History: All Troyer Horizontal Gourds with Conley Entrances
PMCA Member since 2004
Rrmartins, we have some new ones as well. I watched them out feeding then they all came in. Right now it’s raining 
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