Bird House
It was late Spring on the farm, and I was in need of a structure to shelter birds as they get acclimated to the locale. There is a territorial gander in the pond, and when new water fowl arrive, the gander will chase the newcomer out of the water. When this happens in the evening, the new water bird will sleep far from the shore of the pond, which means the new bird will probably end up as a snack for a local predator.
To keep birds from getting eaten, the birds need to be accepted as part of the flock, and the only way to do that is to ensure all birds can mingle and get accustomed to each other other while still be separated. To do this, I needed an enclosed shelter/structure that will allows the flock and new birds to get aquainted over time, in a semi-controlled environment.
Fortunately, there was plenty of pipe and scrap in the metal pile with which to build such a structure.
The birdhouse started as 3 long curved spans of pipe that were cut in half to make 6 arcs.
Try to figure out some angles...
Use Inkscape to make a basic design
Start making the frame
The birdhouse is 10' by 10' and the frame is connected to poles that have
been pounded into the ground. Also, I have little idea of what I am actually doing.
Add bracing supports
The frame is super wobbly, and the diagonal supports really firmed things up.
Adding purlins
wood slats were attached so that there would be something for siding to attach to
Make do with what you have
I ran out of brackets, so I made some from California's finest beer
Sheet what needs sheeting
Oh hey, look at that nice little solar light setup :)
Frame in the doorway
the doorway is 2 inches wider than the mini fridge
inspection crew
fence the floor
Any predator that lives in a burrow in the ground is well prepared to dig under the walls.
A fenced floor will keep those predators out of the house.
Fence and sheet the door and end wall
At this point, the birdhouse is mostly finished, and there is a latch on the door.
On Vacation
I vacation on the farm. For 2 weeks, I slept outside in the birdhouse.
Bird housing the birdhouse
Some homegrown birdhouse gourds where turned into birdhouses and attached to the birdhouse.
Fill gaps with rocks
Although the base of the birdhouse is fully fenced, I added some rocks to improve the asthetic.
Goslings
These birds where in the birdhouse for about 2 weeks. During the day, I would open the birdhouse
door and block the doorway with fencing. Then I would feed all of the birds by the birdhouse door. In this
way, the flock would get accustomed to the new goslings.
The Birdhouse!
Once the goslings were accepted by the flock, they were released from the confines of the birdhouse, and are now a part of the flock. The birdhouse is now partially used as storage, but I'm certainly looking forward to have more birds in there.
cheers,
jezra