I just read in this book about a small housing unit about 12 inches square and 6 inches high with a porch. The sides look to be 1/4" hardware cloth and it is mounted about 3 feet below some gourds.
QUOTE:
A homemade fallout shelter,Nestlings that have fallen out of their nests can be placed in these shelters and will be fed by any adult bird.
I never heard of this,has anyone used this approach for jumpers?
dick
Is this so????????? Stokes Purple Martin Book
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The Olsons
- Posts: 3200
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Dick,
I also have that book and read about the fallout shelter. I also have not heard of anyone doing it, or being successful with it....maybe you will get an answer from someone who knows more about it. I am also curious....
Astrid
I also have that book and read about the fallout shelter. I also have not heard of anyone doing it, or being successful with it....maybe you will get an answer from someone who knows more about it. I am also curious....
Astrid
Love it or leave it~~~Astrid :-)
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Guest
I have seen pictures of these shelters too. We're going to make one for this season. I had a couple of jumpers last season and would have liked to try using one.
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blanchar40
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- Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 9:13 am
- Location: alabama/ozark
For the last 3 yrs I have kept an empty gourd available for jumpers. When I can't determine what nest the jumper is from, I put the jumper in the gourd and attach it on the pole under the gourds where I think it came from. An adult, usually a male will start to feed it. I assumed it was the parents doing the feeding, but it could be all adults in colony. I have done this 4 times in the last 3years and it has worked every time. There are some old postings about this somewhere in the forum.
dick, I have a PMCA Fall out shelter I bought years ago. It sure is pretty, but it's never worked for me. I may turn it into a bird feeder for the winter months 
I'm a "nestcamaholic" Is 18 hours a day a bad thing? (I have 2 this year, luckily I have 2 eyes!)
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Dick Sherry
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- Location: Tulsa, OK
Many years ago I learned about these from a man in Ponca City, OK who built and sold birdhouses. I made them for a number of martin houses, and they did work. What I noticed was that usually one pair took responsibility for all the ones in the "playpen", plus whatever young they still had in their nest. During the day, the young birds would stay in the shadow of the house to keep cool, and at night would huddle next to the pole. The "playpen" was made from hardware cloth mounted on a wooden frame. The two halves fit around the martin house pole and bolted together. It was made so it was about 4" longer and wider than the martin house.
At that time, all the martin houses I made and plans for building martin houses had 6"x6"x6" rooms, and there was little attention to mite control. I suspect that using larger compartments and some form of mite control will dramatically reduce the number of young birds that will jump from their nest.
Back then, all my houses were mounted at the top of the pole, and to check on nests, etc., I had to climb an extension ladder. The "martin playpen" was mounted on the pole about 6" below the house. So many martin houses today can be lowered and "jumpers" returned to their nest that the need for a "playpen" is greatly reduced. Plus with the increase in the number of hawks that raid martin colonies, these babies probably would not last long in many colonies.
At that time, all the martin houses I made and plans for building martin houses had 6"x6"x6" rooms, and there was little attention to mite control. I suspect that using larger compartments and some form of mite control will dramatically reduce the number of young birds that will jump from their nest.
Back then, all my houses were mounted at the top of the pole, and to check on nests, etc., I had to climb an extension ladder. The "martin playpen" was mounted on the pole about 6" below the house. So many martin houses today can be lowered and "jumpers" returned to their nest that the need for a "playpen" is greatly reduced. Plus with the increase in the number of hawks that raid martin colonies, these babies probably would not last long in many colonies.
