Nest bowls....

what do members use for nest building, nest felts ? tabbaco (?) stalks etc ?

im using what i always use and that is straw, and my pot nest bowls........altho sometimes i cover the bowl in newspaper first.

what do members use ?

same for me david i also cut a box and sit the bowl on it so it keeps the side walls clean plus sit bowl on a grill for the air
to flow

I swear by straw, but I always put a small amount of shavings in the bottom first as I find this absorbs any moisture once they hatch.

i used to put some sand in the bottom of the bowl years ago, but dont bother now.

Istopped use blue nest felts I use paper thenTobacco stalks if its good enought for Geoff Kirkland*

Straw & Tobacco stalks to reduce mite in the nest

A little trick I use Rene for mite is Citronella.

use straw and tobacco stalks in mine....i did raise the bowls with 2 small strips of wood to stop them from getting damp last year but now the boxes have pull out trays they will be up on grilles anyway

I'd use what the Feral Pigeons use.
Anything that will make a nest.--Just a WARM/DRY place.

Rene A wrote:

Straw & Tobacco stalks to reduce mite in the nest

Same here Rene always used them

But was told to stop mites place a peace of green mineral felt under the bowl my dad would not allow it so i am unable to say it it works

Pine needles will keep mites away also.

yeh been told about the pine needles was thinkin of gettin some but with all the rain wev had over the last few days would take forever to dry out

shavings and tobacco stalks for me and a nest felt and grills in the nest boxes ....................never had a problem with mites before i did try straw on some 2nd round nests last year but did not seem to make any difference either way

Good replies

mines just use tobacco stalks

Rene A wrote:

Straw & Tobacco stalks to reduce mite in the nest

i use these too,but i spray the straw weeks before i use it ,then no mites what so ever

just a note on wrapping nest bowls in newspaper ..........when i was putting paper in the nest boxes i found it drew the moisture out of the air and was damp after just 2 days in the loft .......i would never use paper in the lofts again ........also some fanciers say not to mess with the nest but when the ybs are rung i put fresh shavings in the nest bowl and again at a weekly interval and have never had a problem with the birds leaving the young

hi darren, when i wrapped my bowls in newspaper i never had it going damp to be nonest,, maybe it depends on the individual loft and weather it is prone to damp air etc..........ive know a few fanciers do it this way and never heard them complain of this problem,

also im sure years ago i heard of soaking a piece of cardboard in creasote and placing it under the nest bowl to keep mites etc away.........

The guy that taught me nearly everything I know, swore by the creosote under the nestbowls.

yes soaked beer mats them mite hate the stuff

and the blow lamp once per week

mites are the bigest cause of chilled eggs broken eggs and y/b trod
on in the nest its not the old birds killing them there just trying to stand
up away from them mites
only takes a second to go down loft at night once per week to check

i put diatoms under the nest felt to deal with any mites but to be honest i have never seen any lice or mites on my birds