PM house brands
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Guest
Hello, I am new to the PM community, and purchased a house house with out checking into things. Yes, not a good idea but it happened. But on a brighter side I have 5 nesting pairs. The houses I have are a Heath 12 room and a Coates original 12 room. I would like to know if this is a bad setup. if so what should be done to correct it.
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klcretired
- Posts: 2174
- Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:06 am
- Location: Grand Prairie,Tx
L.ORR,
Welcome to the forum , we are glad to have you, in answering your question please don't think badly of me as i am just trying to help you and mostly save you from some heartaches and disaster down the road.
You will probly be okey w/ the Waters edge House if it has deep nesting compartments so long as you can raise & Lower the house to do nest checks, maintance, etc,etc.....but that Heath house is a terrible house to have, first of all the Nest chambers are way too shallow allowing starling, sparrow's & Predators easy access to your martins and or egg's....it is certain death and destruction....Not tryin to scare you but it happens to us Landlord's all of the time and it does hurt when it happens....another thing is the pole for the Heath house, those telescoping poles get hard to raise & Lower with time, they become rusted and such....you need a good pole with either a cable/winch setup or rope/winch setup...you can look around here on this site under pmca/shop/housing&accessories . a good pole and deep nesting chambers/compartments help in protecting your martins and egg's, also another thing that will help you is to change those round hole entrances to SREH's (Starling Resistant Entrance Holes).
I hope this info will help you make a decision and if we here on the forum can help you in any way please let us know.Thanks for Caring about the Martins.
Welcome to the forum , we are glad to have you, in answering your question please don't think badly of me as i am just trying to help you and mostly save you from some heartaches and disaster down the road.
You will probly be okey w/ the Waters edge House if it has deep nesting compartments so long as you can raise & Lower the house to do nest checks, maintance, etc,etc.....but that Heath house is a terrible house to have, first of all the Nest chambers are way too shallow allowing starling, sparrow's & Predators easy access to your martins and or egg's....it is certain death and destruction....Not tryin to scare you but it happens to us Landlord's all of the time and it does hurt when it happens....another thing is the pole for the Heath house, those telescoping poles get hard to raise & Lower with time, they become rusted and such....you need a good pole with either a cable/winch setup or rope/winch setup...you can look around here on this site under pmca/shop/housing&accessories . a good pole and deep nesting chambers/compartments help in protecting your martins and egg's, also another thing that will help you is to change those round hole entrances to SREH's (Starling Resistant Entrance Holes).
I hope this info will help you make a decision and if we here on the forum can help you in any way please let us know.Thanks for Caring about the Martins.
Pictures Taken with Canon Rebel XT Digital using a Sigma 50-500 Long Lens.
Wishing everyone a Great Martin Year
Happy Martining for 2022 to everyone,
K.C.
[email protected]
Wishing everyone a Great Martin Year
Happy Martining for 2022 to everyone,
K.C.
[email protected]
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Guest
Hi and welcome aboard,
I'm not a big heath house fan. I like you -and a bunch of others- started with one, which now sits on the side of my house... they last forever! I did keep the telescoping pole and made a gourd rack, about four is all you'll want on it.
The Coates is a better quality house. Next year, you may want to enlarge the rooms - cut a 2" hole in the middle wall- before the PMs arrive, great winter project! There are other houses of higher quality(read $), you'll have to decide which is best for you and the PMs.
Last but not least, don't let starlings or sparrows gain a foothold on your colony.... I don't even let them get a toenail in!!
Have a great year
Chuck
I'm not a big heath house fan. I like you -and a bunch of others- started with one, which now sits on the side of my house... they last forever! I did keep the telescoping pole and made a gourd rack, about four is all you'll want on it.
The Coates is a better quality house. Next year, you may want to enlarge the rooms - cut a 2" hole in the middle wall- before the PMs arrive, great winter project! There are other houses of higher quality(read $), you'll have to decide which is best for you and the PMs.
Last but not least, don't let starlings or sparrows gain a foothold on your colony.... I don't even let them get a toenail in!!
Have a great year
Chuck
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John Miller
- Posts: 4866
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Welcome
Don't panic with our suggestions to renovate these houses. Trio came up with 6 x 6 compartment aluminum housing in the late 1960s and it's housed martins for over 40 years. Starlings mostly look at it and move on, but it leaves baby martins vulnerable to weather and to owl predation. You'll want to consider newer standards for next season. This year there may be time for you to hang a couple of quality plastic or natural gourds below the housing. You've probably got all this month to attract sub adult martins, and I bet you could as you already have ASY pairs in residence.
John Miller
Don't panic with our suggestions to renovate these houses. Trio came up with 6 x 6 compartment aluminum housing in the late 1960s and it's housed martins for over 40 years. Starlings mostly look at it and move on, but it leaves baby martins vulnerable to weather and to owl predation. You'll want to consider newer standards for next season. This year there may be time for you to hang a couple of quality plastic or natural gourds below the housing. You've probably got all this month to attract sub adult martins, and I bet you could as you already have ASY pairs in residence.
John Miller