Purple withdrawal setting in

[Martintown33]

The purple withdrawl is setting in..The last of my colony departed today. The first thing i always notice is the silence. Man, I miss waking up to their singing and chirping and getting up to go outside to check on them. My colony always departs around July 1st, give or take a day or 2. Amazes me how they know almost exactly what day it is. I’ll definitely miss them, til next year!
Hope all have a great season,
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

Mine were still here this morning, but I haven't seen them yet this evening.

[Martintown33]

Hey Conrad. Your colony and mine are probably on similar timetables. You’re only about 17 miles from me.
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

Yes, I saw your post and decided to add my experience. An update to that post, I watched for any activity. No activity, no birds, nothing- They are all gone.

Martintown33, if you are in any local stores (WalMart, Tractor supply, etc), and see any S&K houses at a reduced price, let me know. I want to expand my colony next year by a house or two. A couple years ago, WalMart had the houses for $9.99, and the tri-tel pole for the same price. Thanks

[Robert Anderson]

What a difference a few latitudes make. I'm still waiting for my first eggs to hatch.

[Martintown33]

Ok Brent. I have to go to Walmart on Thursday. I’ll check the prices and let you know.
Rob

[Martintown33]

Sorry. My post was for Conrad in Paulina. Sorry bout that.
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

Thanks.

[C.C.Martins]

Congrats Rob,
Yeah, it is something quite different than all the activity. Glad they made it and grew up. The silence is deafening isnt it, bet you find yourself outside looking up.

Here, just had the first chick fledge today. Others poking their heads out so have a few weeks to go. One nest has 4 eggs...its a re-nest. I was a bit worried about that cavity and a cavity in which the female lost her mate, 5 chicks too. They looked good, was a bit surprised. Checked that house in particular yesterday, had to plug cavities. When I opened the cap on one, I was nose to beak with a very surprised female.

Sounds like you have plans to keep you busy though. We both have some Trio castle work sounds like. Off season ill install the winch on the trio mini and plan to put a wire owl guard wrap around the whole thing. Did a search here in advanced search and have a good path forward. So it looks natural, ill match the paint and go with green.
Two of the lower cavities will have the spare o doors only. Can't wait to get started!

[Martintown33]

Sounds like things are going well with your colony , Tom!. Yep, I still go outside and look up. Every now and then, I still see the last family to fledge. Mom teaching babies to hunt..I’m getting pretty good at being able to identify my martins by the tones of their chirps... I know that’s her.. yep, definitely got some upgrades to do in offseason. I saw an old post by Dave, saying how he uses “avian insect liquidator” to spray inside and out before martins arrive. He says its totally safe, and works great as mites prevention. Along with dusting during season. I ordered a bottle from Amazon today. Will be ordering trio with pole and winch when it’s in stock, to add to colony.
Good luck with your colony! Finish strong!
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

That liquid insect control looks like a concentrate. I guess you put it in a spray bottle and spray the housing?? Is it any different than the Sevin liquid spray? The liquid Sevin is not a concentrate, so I guess won't go as far as the concentrate that makes more per container. I see than you can actually spray the insect control directly on the birds, but I can't see the Martins sitting still for that. Is it designed more for the domestic parrots and parakeets??

[Martintown33]

Yes, Conrad..It’s made for domestic birds.. But Dave is very knowledgeable on martins. He says he’s been using it for years very successfully as a pretreatment before the martins arrive. It seems to be as effective as liquid sevin, but totally safe for all birds.. And yes, it is a concentrate. Must be mixed in spray bottle. I’m thinking I’m going to spray it inside all compartments and outside of houses/gourds as a pre arrival treatment.... Obviously, I’m not going to spray it on the martins, but people use it to rid domestic birds of mites and lice...I Will use sevin dust during nesting in conjunction with spraying porches with this liquid spray.
Hope that helps,
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

Yes, Conrad..It’s made for domestic birds.. But Dave is very knowledgeable on martins. He says he’s been using it for years very successfully as a pretreatment before the martins arrive. It seems to be as effective as liquid sevin, but totally safe for all birds.. And yes, it is a concentrate. Must be mixed in spray bottle. I’m thinking I’m going to spray it inside all compartments and outside of houses/gourds as a pre arrival treatment.... Obviously, I’m not going to spray it on the martins, but people use it to rid domestic birds of mites and lice...I Will use sevin dust during nesting in conjunction with spraying porches with this liquid spray.
Hope that helps,
Rob

I am thinking that is a good idea. Spray the housing, a day or two before. After it dries put the nest material in the compartments and dust with Sevin.

[Martintown33]

Yep Conrad, that’s my plan too. It says the liquid works for 6 weeks, if you wish to reapply.. I just got back from Walmart in Laplace. They had no s and k houses on the shelf. I know they sold them last year bcuz I saw them. Tractor supply has them for $49. You might get a better price buying direct from s and k.
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

Thanks for checking for me. I will keep checking-They go on sale after the season. They can usually be found on Ebay also. I ordered one house and a tri-tel pole from S&K a couple years ago. They were real easy to deal with. I will keep watching their site also. I don't need it until November or December when I get ready for next year. I definitely will use the avian insect eliminator or Sevin spray next year.
Do you plan on getting the avian spray online or did you find it at WalMart?

[Martintown33]

Hey Conrad. No problem. Yep, s and k is very easy to deal with..
...It’s called avian insect liquidator. I bought it online. Amazon has it for $18.:
Rob

[Martintown33]

P.s. Conrad, .. the new “safe haven” s and k houses come with 8 compartments, 9x9 inches. I like the big compartments. I also have 2, standard 12 compartment, s and k 6x6, that I converted to 6x12. Along with gourd rack... I’m sure your s and k houses are converted to 6x12. Just wanted to let u know about the new 9x9.
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

Yes I'm familiar with the Heavenly Haven. Just that it takes a different type of pole (I have the Tri-tel poles). The ground sleeves that fit the tri-tel poles are anchored in cement, so I wanted to stick with them. I think S&K makes some type of adapter to go from the tri-tel ground sleeve to the round pole system, but I would rather keep what I have. I do have my compartments opened up to 6 X 12. Thanks for the info- I might have to switch to that type of pole in the future, it seems S&K is getting away from the tri-tel for some reason. Not sure why they are, I really like it though. I have been using it since 2006 when I moved here from Slidell.

[Martintown33]

Definitely understand about your tri tel poles..The safe haven can accept the tri tel pole, according to s and k website. I currently have tri tel poles too, but I think I’m switching out to the 2 inch square pole with winch. Just think the winch system will be easier.. I’m going to make a rack that will hook to the pulley system, and bolt my s and k houses through the floor to the rack. The rack will slide up and down the square pole, without turning in the wind, like a round pole would...., but definitely have gotten good use from my tri tel poles.. I’m thinking about getting the mss12r trio house with winch pulley system pole, also.
Rob

[Conrad Baker]

I just looked at them again, and I see they don't really have a porch. I wonder if the young birds that usually sit on the porches of the S&K house will end up falling off of the Heaven house due to lack of porch. If you get them, let me know what you think.