How to offer egg shells?

[BirdBrain]

I had my first successful PUMA breeding pair last season, and they appear to have returned this year. For the last three nights I've had an ASY couple in residence and, from day one of their return, they did not spook at my approach like last year's SY tenants did when they'd first moved in.

Last season only two of their four eggs hatched, and I'm keen to give them a better success rate this year so I'd like to provide them crushed egg shell, but I don't yet have a feeding platform. Is there some way I can leave it in/around the house? Since there's only the one couple in residence, what about leaving it in one of the unoccupied chambers?

I do have an elevated songbird feeder about 75 feet from the PUMA house and 25 feet from my house, but I've never noticed the PUMAs venturing that close to my house. Plus, it's made from a steel pet food bowl, about six inches in diameter and three inches deep. If I put egg shells in the bottom, I don't know how the PUMAs would ever notice. Not to mention the songbirds are habituated to that feeder, so it's like I'd be luring the PUMAs into a conflict with the songbirds.

And it goes without saying it isn't my intention to feed egg shell to the entire neighborhood, just the PUMAs.

I do have some 4' wooden dowels, and some light gauge steel pipe about the same length I keep around to use as a cheater bar when I'm in greasemonkey mode. I could fasten a pie pan to the end of one of those, but I don't see that as ideal solution, not exactly "storm-ready," and it only gets the 'feeder' maybe three feet off the ground. The bottom of the house is about 16 feet off the ground.

So what would you recommend? Scatter the shells in one of the unoccupied chambers of the house, attach a food trough to the house, put it in the dog food bowl, set up a low height feeder that the thieving HOSPs and starlings doubtless would get into, or something else I haven't thought of?


On a random note, ever since I've learned to identify a PUMA on the wing, periodically I'll notice 6-10 of them performing their aerobatic hunting two or three hundred yards to the south of my house. I've only ever had the one pair, which begged the question, where are the rest of them living? I don't know how I'd missed this but a week ago I noticed a neighbor three houses down has three PUMA houses in his back yard, 56 chambers total, plus eight gourds. And his backyard neighbor has a house the same size as mine, 12 chambers. I guess my birds just prefer living in the low rent district.

[John & Linda - KY]

We scatter egg shells on the edge of our driveway, the martins find and partake fairly quickly. It's best to put them in an area that doesn't have any hiding places for cats or other preditors. Other birds will take some, but I enjoy having them around. If trash birds find it, makes for good hunting. -- John

[daveh]

I use a plastic tray that's big enough for egg shell, oyster shell, pine straw, and mealworms and about 20-30 ft from my first martin house. I installed on a telescopic pole that doesn't work anymore about 7-8 ft above ground so that I can refill easy. I would use either a landscape timber or a metal pole to attach to, not a dowel. The tray should have sides, mine are 2 inches tall, so that the wind doesn't blow everything away. The birds will find it.

dave

[R Onnen]

I had a single house on a pole that dropped with a rope, but upgraded when wind broke 2 eggs. I added another house and 4 gourds to my set up on the 3" square pole, so I bought a couple feeders for my smaller pole. A welder friend made me a hub to put the feeders on. I put oyster shells on one side and when they start making thier nest, pine needles on the other.

[Guest]

This works well at my site. Simple wood platform about 6 feet high. About 25 feet from the martin housing.

[Joe Creason KY]

I use a cake pan that is mounted on one of my arms that hold my gourds. I drilled a two holes through the pan on through the arm and used small bolts to secure it. I also drilled a couple extra holes so the water could drain from the pan.

Good Luck!!!!!


Joe