larger Rooms in Housing

[James Strickland FL]

I have been thinking and looking at the trio Mk 12 and the Castle. The Trio has a hole drilled in the enterer door for the female to build a nest and it is on 6 by 6. The castle has a panel that you knock out a hole that the female goes into to nest. How is this any different than using a 6 by 6 nesting chamber for all the rooms. When you open up to make it 12 by 6 you are not using all the space. Also I understand about owls and crows and other birds reaching in, but that much wasted space that really could be used for other martins to nest in.

[jr 2]

if you have 6x12 you also have room for both the male and female and too use sreh you need the larger rooms;years ago i always heard that the male would stay in a seperate compartment from the female;;jr2

[DornCounty]

I have noticed in my Trio with expanded compartments at home vs the 6x6 at the community colony that the expanded compartments stay much drier than the 6x6 which would create higher fledge numbers. I have also noticed in town that the few expanded compartments we do offer are selected first.

Another thing is during heat waves it will allow the young to stay cooler.

[MandyinMO]

I have read on here that you rarely reach 100% occupancy with 6x6 compartments anyways because of male domination, etc. Modified housing can get 100% occupancy. I prefer to have a few less well-protected martins than more martins that are less protected.

[MandyinMO]

I also like that the nesting room is still 6x6. I actually don't want them to have too many eggs (more than they can feed in case of weather extremes)

[Laverne]

I think we should give the Purple Martin enough room in their cavities to raise 6 young. I think we should let the Purple Martins decide if they can feed 6 young. I don't think we should be limiting their numbers by squeezing them into 6 x 6 cavities.

[parkerdes]

I modified my Trio MSS-12 with 4 clinger tunnels & two 45 degree 3" PVC elbows with clinger entrances & all nesting compartments are claimed. It has 6 tunneled compartments & 2 double wides with the partition taken out. It leaves 2 single compartments for spare-o-door traps. All nests had 6 eggs & 1 has 7. One of the compartments is being claimed by a single SY that is still trying to find a mate.
I put porch partitions up on my expanded 24 castle but only have 3-4 nesting pairs in it. I have either clinger or crescent entrances on all expanded compartments.
Here are pictures...
http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv10 ... 200015.jpg

This is a picture of the castle before I put the porch dividers up!
http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv10 ... 200014.jpg

[flyin-lowe]

I think if I remember right an adult Martin is about 7 inches long. Imagine if you were 6 foot tall and had to stay in 5 foot room. Then imagine having 6 kids that would also be 6 foot tall in a month. Not sure how they do it in s 12 inch rooms not to mention the 6 inch rooms.

[tonyg]

I agree with everybody above. That's why my 2 trio's are modified..

[RC Moser]

IMO Trio and Castle style metal housing are really inadequate housing without modifications. They leak water in during storms, why you need to raise the nest, 6x6 rooms in metal house really too small along with the round hole. this was based on 1940 standards. We have come along way even since 1990. More room equals better security if L shaped entry (even straight through compartments are better than 6x6s, bigger clutches, hidden nest chamber. Raising nest platform, expansion of compartments, srehs brings this style housing into the 21st century.

[James Strickland FL]

Great Point everyone. Thanks for your inputs.

[John Miller]

I think points mentioned about a dry nest are important. I'm helping now with an un modified house that has several martin nests, and nests can get soaked by blowing rain.

If you use the subfloors in the back nest room, and overlay those with a snug square of cork or a roof shingle, the nest will stay mostly dry. Older babies later will move around and use the front room too.

John Miller

[daveh]

I agree with John. The babies can spread out, especiallyduring a hot spell to cool off. I also use Johns idea of roof shingles cut to fit subfloors. Seems to help keep nests drier. They do add some weight which I'm not crazy about, these round Trio poles are pretty whimpy, they don't need any more weight on top. Cork, is probably lighter and might be the way to go. Haven't tried it though.

dave

[jr 2]

i took the dividers[ except for middle on the bottom;i left it in for strenth and it gives me room for a spar-a-door on each side on bottom in the middle] out of my m12k's and durocraft and laid them down in the back room for subfloors;; we had some strong wind here last year and they seemed too do fine;;jr2

[Carlton]

I have a lot of experience with the modified MSS-8 and the MSS-12. I have found that having the back room, with the hole in the partition, is GREATLY preferred by the martins even over a 6 x 12 inch single room. The martins really feel much safer back in there. Also, I have not found the clutches of eggs to be much different, if at all, from my other housing. I have had several with 6 or 7 eggs in the 6 x 6 inch back room, with the "foyer" up front and all of the young successfully fledged. Usually the clutches are 4-5 though. I have never really lost any young in those 6 x 6 back nesting rooms except for one year when we had DRIVING RAINS for days and water got into the houses. There was no food to be had. It was like a monsoon that just would not quit. The rains were coming sideways and the storms just seemed to stay over us all week.

I DO NOT like the 6x6 inch single rooms with the outside entrance door in each room AT ALL. That configuration is just asking for trouble with water and with predators.

[Charlie Rogers]

So Am I to understand that the 6x12 is one large with or without a partition and if with thena 2 1/4 hole going to nesting room?

Charlie

[John Miller]

Charlie

The hole through the divider wall should be larger -- about 3 inches, about one inch off the floor. The smaller size can pose a risk of wing entrapment when two martins are inside there fighting, and would not be seen by the landlord in time to save.

I agree with Carlton about leaving the interior wall, creating a snug back nesting pocket. I think the female martin prefers this. One can take the wall out, but you need some sort of low barrier, much like a nest tray, to hold the nest secure. The rod that runs through these houses can be the barrier, but as Carlton says, leaving the wall, or most of it, seems to make a nice pocket and although we might think that a nest of growing martins needs more room, martins seem to do well back there (based on egg clutches and fledge rates) and can move about to the front room and the front entrance for feeding as they near fledge age.

John M

[James Strickland FL]

John and Carl I like the idea of leaving the center in and having the nesting chamber. The new Mk 12 have a hole already cut for you.

[daveh]

James, I bet that inner hole in the new MK12 is only 2 inches. The castle I have originally had 2 inch inner holes. I lost several birds to wing entrapement. I enlarged to an egg shape hole that's about 3 1/2 x 2 tall. Haven't had any problems.

dave

[MandyinMO]

I drilled 3" holes in mine, 3/4" up from the floor. No worries of wing entrapment and still maintains the nesting chamber. I was wondering though if I should put traction tape on the "foyer" floor? Sometimes I hear their feet slipping around in there.