There was a post on this before the Forum went down but unfortunately we aren't able to access the old posts so I will ask the question again. I am going to add a gourd rack and want to know how close/far it should be from my existing house. Looking forward to next year!!
Dave Moss
Seaford, VA
How Close Can Houses Be?
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CUL Lou~Mich
Dave. Most folks seem to think closer is better. The PMs feel more of a family tie that way it appears. Housing/poles can be as close as the landlord wants them, as long as they don't bump/bang against each other. A person would also want them far enough apart that they could do needed work around/under them. CUL Lou
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Laverne
- Posts: 2216
- Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
- Location: TX/Alvin
- Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.
Hi Dave and Lou.
In my experiences - too close together allows for domination across the racks. I have my gourd racks positioned so there is about 10 feet from tip of rack arm to tip of "other" rack arm. This season, I have had the highest concentration of PM nesting ever and so much congestion in the evenings when the parents bring the fledglings back. I am seriously considering rearranging the design of the gourd racks to allow for more spacing. I get very concerned about the fledglings with all the confusion. I have never seen it this bad.
In my experiences - too close together allows for domination across the racks. I have my gourd racks positioned so there is about 10 feet from tip of rack arm to tip of "other" rack arm. This season, I have had the highest concentration of PM nesting ever and so much congestion in the evenings when the parents bring the fledglings back. I am seriously considering rearranging the design of the gourd racks to allow for more spacing. I get very concerned about the fledglings with all the confusion. I have never seen it this bad.
Sincerely,
Laverne
Laverne
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Guest
I have my housing 10 feet apart, with a tray for crushed eggshells under one. Birds from all the housing use it, like one big happy family. 10 feet sticks in my head I think from an issue of the update.
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Guest
Hi dave, regarding our racks, we have them about 20 to 25 feet apart. One rack has 38 gourds on it, and our smaller rack holds 12, with a feeder that Don made to go on it. this seems to be a happy medium for the martins, they have room to fly back and forth on, share the feeder, and just live their little happy lives. Hope my little bit of info helps 
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Emil Pampell-Tx
- Posts: 6743
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
- Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
- Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas
Dave, I have my gourd racks 5ft apart on the arms, 15 ft on the poles. The arms are 5ft long. This is really a personal choice, as long as the martins have a clear flyway to their cavity. It also depends to some extent on how you plan to control sparrows & starlings. If you shoot them, you want your housing situated so that you can easily shoot them. If you shoot them, and if your housing is located too far from a good hiding place, then they will fly away before you can shoot them.
PMCA Member, 250 gourds, 6 poles, 2traps