Recycled Birdhouses: Cheap, Quick, and Easy

The first option is making a nesting "jug" out of an empty gallon container. You can use a milk/juice jug, but be sure to wash it very well with soap and water so there won't be any residue left to grow mold. You'll also need scissors, something for a perch if you so desire (small pencil, stick, or I've used chopsticks), and wire or fishing line to secure it wherever you want it.



**Step 1 -- Cut a hole about 1-1/2 inches in the side of the jug about 3 inches from the top. I usually cut just where it starts to curve down. This gives the babies a nice deep nest so they won't fall out. You can add the perch at this point. Just make a small hole and work your piece into it like a perch. I usually don't bother, and not having a perch doesn't seem to bother the birds.



**Step 2 -- Find a place to hang your jug. I use the handle to run the wire/fishing line through and I also put a wrap around the jug just under the hole to keep it from blowing in the wind. I put mine under the awning just outside my kitchen window. As I cook and wash dishes, I can look out and see the mom & dad build the nest and feed the babies and watch them fly away. Make sure you don't hang your new nest in direct sun! These can act like little greenhouses and you'll cook the little birds.



And you're done! These are used by the little wrens in the area. I've done this for years and have had baby birds every time. In the fall I just take the old jug down and put up a new one.

The 2nd recycle is even easier. Take an old plastic flower pot (mine came from Walmart many seasons ago) and mount it under your awnings or rafters, in your barn, etc. This one you can even put in a tree. I use wire or heavy fishing line though the holes in the bottom of the pot or in the holes along the rim to attach it. You can even nail it in place, depending on where it is. I've had robins and morning doves use it, depending on which finds it first. I just pull the old nesting stuff out in the fall and they rebuild in the spring.