When to put up cages?
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John A Green Jr
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2012 3:54 pm
- Location: North Carolina/Elizabeth City
- Martin Colony History: Currently have 4 gourd racks with 24 Bo-9/11 gourds on each. All have tunnels and porches. One Lowes martin house.
I have the materials for the cages I will be installing on my gourd racks. I have also changed over all round holes to SREH and the Martin's are slowly figuring it out. I currently have around 16-20 Martin's. I'm not sure if right now is the right time to put the cages up beings how they're dealing with the entrance issue currently. Should I wait some and pray the owls stay away for a little longer? Thanks for any advice.
Proud Martineer
2011- 1 pair
2012- 10 pair
2013- 28 pair
2014- 33 pair
2015- 53 pair
2016- 73 pair
2017-
2011- 1 pair
2012- 10 pair
2013- 28 pair
2014- 33 pair
2015- 53 pair
2016- 73 pair
2017-
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Trishy
- Posts: 451
- Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2008 10:25 am
- Location: Wisconsin/Shell Lake
- Martin Colony History: Colony started in 2009 with 2 pair.
Currently I have 3 gourd racks with 24 gourds. One gourd rack will be for sy arrivals only.
Bo Eleven gourds 20
I put my cages up prior to the martins returning last year, but I already use sreh entrances, so that part I didn't have to worry about. I was really nervous all the same. The martins adapted very quickly to the cages. If you have already had problems with owls at your site, I would put the cages up now. They will not wait for the martins to get acquainted with the entrances. If you haven't had owl problems yet, you could probably wait a few days, but it will not take long for the martins to adapt to the new entrances either. You will sleep much better with the cages up. I do.
Trish