How to make a birdhouse with your own hands

Indispensable helpers in the fight against all sorts of pests of greenery are invariably birds. To attract them to the backyard plot you should make a house for them. If you donate a comfortable dwelling to the birds, then you will not need to worry about the safety of the harvest. Although the bird's house is called the birdhouse, not only starlings, but also other birds can live in it. Sparrows, flycatchers, tits, chernushki and swifts live in these apartments.

The location and size of the house for the birds must be chosen in accordance with the characteristics of different birds. For example, titmouses are more comfortable when the birdhouse height is about 30 cm, and the bottom is 12 cm, and the same notch diameter is 3–3.5 cm. As for the wagtails, these birds do not have the necessary paw tenacity, so before entering you should install a small ladder. Such a house is suspended under the roof of buildings, at a height of 3 to 5 m. A pika bird feels comfortable in a house with two through holes located to the right and to the left. The presence of additional cages allows the bird to hide from predators.

Selection of materials

Thinking through how to make a bird house, you should first take care of the preparation of the necessary material for the construction.

Coniferous wood is not suitable for building a birdhouse, because they emit resin, so that the internal space in it will become sticky.

Toxin-releasing materials are also unacceptable for building a bird's house, among them material of fiberboard and particleboard. Plywood is also not an option, because it practically does not let in sounds, and feathered friends need very good audibility to avoid danger. In addition, plywood does not keep heat well, so it will be difficult for birds to leave the brood. The best material for the birdhouse is the larch tree. The inner surface of the boards must remain rough. So, it will be easier for birds to get out. On a smooth surface, you can make horizontal notches with a chisel.

The design and size of the structure of wood

Drawing products can be done directly on the boards. They need to spread out on the table. For marking you will need a pencil and a square. With particular care should be planed boards for the front and rear walls, as well as for the side surfaces. For these purposes we need boards of different widths. At the end there should be 7 blanks with predetermined parameters:

• 2 side parts 15 cm wide, made of edged boards;
• 3 parts for the facade, rear wall and cover, with a standard size of 30 × 20 cm;
• 2 pieces measuring 15 × 15 cm used for the bottom of the roof and the bottom of the birdhouse.

To simplify the connection of parts, they need to be cut as carefully as possible, then sign with a pencil.

The typical size of the bird house is 20 cm wide, 15–20 cm deep and 30 cm high. Spacious apartments for birds are not always the best idea. Of course, in the big house more chicks will shelter, but to feed a brood consisting of many individuals is not always possible for feathered parents! If the chicks do not receive the necessary care and eat poorly, they will not be able to make long flights and grow painful. And, on the contrary, in a compact house there is an opportunity to shelter only 3 chicks, but they will grow up healthy and able to maintain the power of a population of their own species.

Blueprints

Assembly sequence

Initially, the front wall is connected to the side. Nails should be hammered around the edges and center of the board. It should turn out a U-shaped design. Before further connection, it is important to check the reliability and rigidity of the elements that are already connected. For hardening, you can hammer a few more nails between those that were previously hammered.

In order not to drive a splinter into the skin, it is better to work with wood in gloves.

By the same method, the rear wall and the bottom of the structure are assembled. To round the inside corners, you can nail a wooden bead to the bottom. All elements are fixed with nails. If necessary, you can strengthen the structure with additional nails. Now you need to prepare the roof, which must be removable. This will clean the dwellings of birds if necessary. The edges of the roof should stand for the dimensions of the birdhouse itself. This is especially important to do from the front. So you protect the house of birds from rainwater and other precipitation.

The roof should consist of two parts - the sleeve and the main part. The roof is held in place by the second part. It needs to fit in size and connect the two parts with nails. Now a plank or a perch is installed, on which birds will sit down before entering their comfortable dwelling.

When coloring the finished birdhouse, it is better to use soft colors. Dirty green and brownish tones are perfect. Predators in this case will be harder to find a bird house.

Economy option birdhouse

In some cases, you can make a temporary house for the birds, using the materials at hand, such as cardboard. Although this type of construction cannot be compared with its wooden counterpart, it may well become a refuge for birds for the season. As the source material is used corrugated cardboard. The following materials are needed for the work: corrugated cardboard, starch, self-adhesive paper having a laminated coating and twine. Tools: scissors, ruler, knife for cutting cardboard, pencil, square, compasses.

First, all blanks are laid out, they must all be duplicated. From starch it is necessary to cook a paste. Finished parts need to be glued in pairs. All walls will be double, which increases their strength. In the front wall is cut a hole under the entryway. In the back wall, 4 small holes are made, designed for string, thanks to which the house can be tied to a tree. The walls of the birdhouse are glued end to end at a right angle. The result should be a box. At the time of drying, it should be wrapped with thread.

The roof should consist of two parts glued together. Its outer part should be made with allowances. Such a product will be more durable if you glue it on the outside with laminated paper.

Out of the box or plastic bottle

If there is no place to get lumber, then you can make a bird's house from a finished box, for example, from juice or milk, with a capacity of more than 1 liter. It must first be washed and dried. After this cut is cut. To strengthen the bottom, you can use thick cardboard. Small holes are made at the top of the box so that it is possible to pass a wire through which the birdhouse will be attached. Outside the product can be pasted over with decorative laminated paper.

For the manufacture of another option, very few materials are used: a plastic bottle, paint to paint a bottle or laminated paper, wire and a knife. In the upper part of the 5-liter bottle is cut a hole under the tap-hole. In the roof should be drilled two holes for the wire on which the structure will be mounted. Birds feel uncomfortable in a transparent house. Therefore, to create comfort, the bottle can be painted or pasted over with laminated paper.

As you can see, making a simple version of a birdhouse is a snap. However, in order for the bird house to perform its tasks completely, it is important to install it correctly.

Installation rules

It is necessary to follow some installation rules. It is customary to read that bird houses should be installed at the beginning of April, but birdhouses can be installed at any time of the year. The height of the installation averages 3-5 m, this applies to villas and villages. In cities, such structures are mounted at a height of 8–10 m.

The inlet should be on the side with the minimum amount of winds. The nesting box should be installed in the shade or half-shade; it is impossible for the direct rays of the sun to fall on it. Suspension structures need to be at a certain distance from the branches. This will protect birds from domestic cats and other predators.

The position of the birdhouse should be strictly vertical. Suppose a slight bend forward, but you can not do backward bend. If the structure is made of durable materials, it is necessary to provide access to the inside for annual cleaning.

If you follow the simple recommendations, you can build a cozy and comfortable house for birds! If you have any questions, ask them in the comments to the article.