Cheap material for owl, bat, bird box

n1st

What's the cheapest material for building owl, bat and bird boxes?

Should last outdoors for 10 yrs.

Marine ply is expensive.

Lumen

@Stigura 😀

magicbastarder

why not just use pallet wood? if the wood is exposed (i.e. is able to dry out) you'd probably get five years or more out of it.

i built hedgehog boxes out of pallet wood and they lasted about three years, but as expected the bottom of them rotted out as they were sitting on the ground and there was no air circulation under them.

deadlybuzzman

A very important detail that I only found out about last year is that a box made with the wrong material or the wrong design could end up taking in water and causing the chicks to not survive.

Check out these designs first and then figure what materials are suitable

https://birdwatchireland.ie/irelands-birds-birdwatch-ireland/nestbox-designs-for-birds-and-wildlife/

Stigura

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118233633#Comment_118233633

I wondered what was going on there ...

N1st; Rough deal planks. Builders merchants. Nominally 5 1/2" will make you a batch of 'Tit' boxes. 8 1/2" for Starlings. Hole size is far more important than box dimensions.

The design / plan in that pdf has been around for ever. Never been changed. In real life though they've been vastly improved on. I use the up to date method. Better boxes all round.

I have boxes that have been out there pushing Fifteen years. No problem. Currently producing over a hundred starlings a season.

n1st

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118235301#Comment_118235301

This is where I got the plans

n1st

Hi , some information here on the https://ballyglassthatchedcottage.wordpress.com/2022/01/13/owl-nest-boxes/

https://ballyglassthatchedcottage.wordpress.com/2022/01/13/owl-nest-boxes/

Thanks for the help