Houses or gourds??

[PMDavid]

Ok this is one for all the seasoned landlords. So I have this neighbor three houses down,and I asked him how many babies he’s had fledge out so far. I asked because there has been a whole crowd of what appears to be young birds hanging around here I haven’t seen and aren’t mine. He said he hasn’t fledged any yet. So then we got to talking about my gourds,he has all houses. He’s really old school and closed minded and preceded to tell me how much better his 6x6 houses are because they have porches and rails and his babies can come out and stretch and flap in preparation to fledging. He then proceeded to tell me that I would loose a lot of birds because they can’t do the same in “those gourds”.and some are gonna just hit the ground and be killed by ants ,cats,etc.... I tried to explain not true. That when they are ready to fledge out of a gourd then they will jump out and fly and I bet I loose none. Well being very Old school and hard headed he wouldn’t have that. So in my opinion ,I’m right and he’s wrong. Would some of you experienced landlords elaborate on this subject for me please. I have natural gourds ,no porch but with a small perch and a canopy. I also have seen people’s set up with naturals with a hole and that’s it and fledge lots of babies. Please elaborate,and educate me. What’s best,houses or gourds?

[rrmartins]

Great question, looking forward to the responses. The Indians used gourds with great success. I think either is fine.

[flyin-lowe]

I guess there could be some good from having a porch but the downside of the 6x6 cavities outweigh the positives in my opinion. I am guessing overall there is larger clutch sizes and more survival from larger cavities then the smaller cavities. It's easy to do something the same way and to have it work. Just because it has worked doesn't mean there aren't better ways out there. I thought I read somewhere that starlings do not like to nest in those small cavities and that is the only argument for them that I have heard.

[Spiderman]

What flyin-low said is all true.

When houses have mites in one cavity, they have mites in all cavities. I Had 6X6cavities in the beginning. Some would have 5 young most would have 4. Nest cavity domination was always going on. When the young started to grow the ASY male would sleep next door.

With gourds I have clutches of 6 young and a few with 7 young each year. There is room on the inside of the Gourd for them to flap their wings. With Troyer Horizontal Gourds owls are no longer an issue. They can't reach them. I don't think the Hawk attaches are as prevalent because it doesn't usually look like there are very many birds here. Most of their time is spent inside.

[Brad Biddle]

You will have some jumpers from gourds, regardless of what they're made from, and regardless of how big they are, when it gets really hot. I'm assuming houses would have the same effect.

[Spiderman]

I live in Texas and we will have some 100+ Degree days before all of the Martins fledge.

I think the old wooden houses were cooler than any of the brands of plastic gourds.

I have added two 3/4" ells to the back of all of the gourds and an additional ell to the cap on some of the gourds. So far I havn't had any jumpers but when it gets above 100 degrees, I think it is just something we all will have to deal with.

[PMDavid]

Thanks guys,I think we are all on the same page . In super high heat sumthin somewhere is gonna jump,house ,natural gourd,plastic gourd,whatever,it’s gonna happen. He was trying to tell me my birds in gourds due to the lack of a porch to “stretch” on just would bail out of the hole and hit the ground,not true. They are born flyers and except for a heat situation,when they are ready to fledge out they will bail and fly! Thanks for the replies and if anyone has additional opinions to add please do. It’s always good knowledge and insight to receive as many views as possible.





6 Pr -2019. First full year,feel fortunate!

[Matt F.]

Brad is correct - when it gets real hot (especially with late nests) your going to have jumpers even with aluminum houses.
Aluminum houses usually have a lot of slots, holes, spaces, etc. that allows a good amount of air to move through them, which helps.
Unfortunately those same slots and holes have a tendency to let rainwater get into the nesting compartments, which is why elevated subfloors are so important in aluminum houses.
The one thing there is no debate on, is how crowded and unsafe the Martins are in 6"X6" compartments.
Easy for a predator to reach right in, and the nest and babies are much more exposed to the elements in the small compartments.
Someone referred to houses with 6"X6" compartments one time, as "owl feeders".