Troyer Horizontal Gourds?

[LoneOakMartins]

I would welcome any pros & cons on the Troyer Horizontal Gourds please.
Thanks

[klcretired]

The martins love the deep Troyers, they also offer protection from predators as well because of their deep cavity, usually my offered troyers are taken first by the PM's while other martins that come later are forced to the Goliad Housing or Super Gourds which i added tunnels w/ porches to the SG's so they are deeper as well.
when you place nesting material in the gourd fill to the bottom of the entrance hole , usually the pm will make a bowl for her nest at the rear corner of the Gourd.
good luck this season, Let the Games Begin!!!!!!!

[Emil Pampell-Tx]

The martins like them. The deep nest bowl offers good predator protection.

Problems: They have no ventilation, they get too hot in the South
If you live in the North, they may produce condensation, the nests get wet and the wet environment may cause problems. Ventilation is the major concern, but the martins simply love them.

[klcretired]

Emil is right but you can add two 3/4" 90 degree elbo's very easily to the rear top of the HZ's , I have never had any problems from jumpers and believe me i live in Grand Prairie , Texas where the Heat never ends.
If you need any simple instructions on how to install the elbos just email me at [email protected] and i will be glad to help.

[flyin-lowe]

The last three years that I offered TH they were the first gourds taken. Last year I threw some Troyer vertical gourds in the mix and they did well also. Steve Kroenke has a super colony and typically he reports the TH gourds are chosen first. I am guessing this year will be no different.

[Steve Kroenke]

I use over a hundred Troyer Horizontal Gourds and purple martins thrive in them. Martins seem to like the deep cavity with the narrow tunnel like entrance area which gives greater protection from predators. Also, Troyer Gourds are opaque, that is they are non-translucent and do not allow light to penetrate the plastic walls. The Troyer Horizontal is my favorite commercial gourd.

It is easy to vent Troyer Horizontals and many southern landlords use these outstanding gourds. I use two methods. The easiest approach is to drill 3/8 inch vent holes under the two small canopies in the upper back of the Troyer Horizontal. These vents will help to expel humid hot air which can build up in these gourds. The other method is to install two ¾ inch PVC elbows in the upper gourd backs and this method does a good job of eliminating humidity and heat.

Here are links to two Forum articles describing these venting methods:

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic ... horizontal

http://purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic ... horizontal

[Luv Ya Purple]

Will two of the horizontal troyers stay level (entrance wont sag) if hung on the bottom porch of a sunset inn house?

[LoneOakMartins]

Thanks everyone for the great info. I have vented all my excluder gourds with 3/4" pvc 90, and I'm assuming the process would be the same. I'm thinking that I'll offer some of the Troyers. Thanks again for all the help from everyone. You guys really are great!

[flyin-lowe]

Will two of the horizontal troyers stay level (entrance wont sag) if hung on the bottom porch of a sunset inn house?

The gourds themselves are designed to hang level assuming you use the holes that are on the gourd. That said you must hang them from something sturdy. If the hanger you use sags then obviously the gourd will sag. If you have something sturdy and use the holes in the gourd it will stay straight.

[tonyg]

One of the best gourds on the market!

[Luv Ya Purple]

Will two of the horizontal troyers stay level (entrance wont sag) if hung on the bottom porch of a sunset inn house?

The gourds themselves are designed to hang level assuming you use the holes that are on the gourd. That said you must hang them from something sturdy. If the hanger you use sags then obviously the gourd will sag. If you have something sturdy and use the holes in the gourd it will stay straight.

Forgot to add if hung with wire? Looks like the hole might be long enough to get it level with wire?

[James Strickland FL]

You have heard it from the best on the form. It is a great gourd!

[Ben@SWMichiganPM]

Just picked up 4 Troyer gourds to hang from my Trendsetter 12. (Anyone have a picture of this setup?)

I got the hanging arms and gourds from the PMCA store. They recommended them for being on Lake Michigan.

They also recommended round holes at first (to get the colony going), then to switch them to SRE as soon as eggs are laid.

Hoping the gourds kickstart my colony and this will be my year.

Ben

[daveh]

Ben, I have 4 verticle gourds under my Trendsetter. I tried using the gourd hanging arms but it tweaked the thin metal floor quite a bit so didn't use. These Troyer gourds are heavy.

I replaced the 2 fiberglass perching rods that came with the house with 2 all thread rods with the same diameter and length and attached my gourds to them. That worked real well.

dave

[Ben@SWMichiganPM]

Dave, Thanks for the reply.

I just realized I bought the original Troyer Gourd. Not the Horizontal. Should I exchange them? Pro's/cons?

I'll look into how you mounted yours. Do the gourds just slide onto the rods?

Do you fill yours with pine needles to be level with the entrance?

[Louise Chambers]

Ben, the original Troyer is a horizontal gourd. They added the vertical Troyer gourd recently. Which do you have? Both seem very popular with landlords and martins.

[daveh]

Ben, I don't have any horizontals but lots of people use them and like them. I have the Troyer verticals and I like them very much. But I have excluders and a few super gourds and they are good also. The birds seem to like all of them. They're all very well put together and should last a long time. I store mine in 55 gal. plastic drums in the winter time.

I have gourds under all 5 houses. I enlarge the hanging holes to 1/2 inch so that a 3/8 inch id copper pipe 3 inches long can be installed in the holes. I caulk the pipe in so no water leaks into the gourds. They all slide onto 3/8 inch hanging arms or all thread. It's important that it doesn't leak around these hanging holes. I use automotive clamps to hold gourds in place on the all thread and hitch pins that came with the hanging arms.

I put 1-2 handfuls of pine needles in each gourd and house compartment.

dave

[Ben@SWMichiganPM]

Lousie,

I'm not really sure which I have...

I have the one labeled "Troyer Gourd" on the PMCA site.

I don't have the one labled "Troyer Horizontal Gourd".

http://shop.purplemartin.org/Troyer_Gourds-list.aspx


I also don't see the veritcal gourds on the PMCA site in the Troyer Gourds section?

Is the one labeled "Troyer Gourd" really the "Vertical Troyer Gourd"?

[daveh]

Yes Ben the Troyer gourdis the vertical gourd.

dave

[flyin-lowe]

In the link you posted above the top row of gourds marked Troyer Gourds and the quantity are the newer Troyer vertical gourds. The next row down is a Troyer horizontal gourd with a round hole and a tale prop. Then down a few more rows are horizontals with Conley II entrances.

Some people start with round holes and switch over. I started my colony with 100% SREH and the martins did fine. This day and age more likely then not the martins that might come to your site were born and raised in a house with some type of SREH. Even if not they can get in and out of them fine. I never liked the idea of trying to switch mid season, but some have done it without and problems.

Both the horizontal and vertical gourds from Troyer are quality products.