New Troyer Plastic Horizontal Gourd

The big news for the upcoming season is the exciting announcement from Purple Martin Society member, Andrew Troyer, that he is now marketing a new molded plastic horizontal gourd.

Many Purple Martin landlords are already familiar with the name of Andrew Troyer as the person who single-handedly changed the face of the martin gourd interest. Andrew Troyer transformed natural gourds into real, individual martin houses with the introduction of simple side-access ports. It has been almost ten years since this gourd revolution for gourdhead landlords.

Today, everywhere, gourdheads have enthusiastically taken to modified natural gourds that give landlords complete access to their martins for both routine nestchecks as well as yearend cleanouts.

Before Andrew modified his own gourds and brought this idea to the martin public, natural gourds were considered mostly a Southern tradition, or sparrow-infested housing, even possibly old technology. By cutting a 4" hole in the side of a natural gourd and replacing it with a plastic jar collar and lid, Troyer transformed a lowly gourd into palatial and modern Purple Martin housing.

Commercial businesses, including Natureline Gourds by Plasticraft and James R. Hill, III’s Bird Abode Co. SuperGourds capitalized on the Troyer design in their own versions of plastic gourds. Well, turnabout is fair play. Now, Andrew Troyer introduces The Troyer Horizontal Gourd to the Purple Martin market for the 2001 PM Season.

There are many gourdmeisters, who already use natural, horizontally-hung gourds, and just as gourd devotees eagerly moved to plastic gourds for their ease of maintenance and gourd longevity, Andrew Troyer anticipates there will be an enthusiastic market for the new plastic, molded, horizontal gourd cousin.

Horizontal gourd use in the PM interest arose, most likely, out of practicality and ingenuity. Many gourd growers found that they had a surplus of long skinny-necked gourds, useless for Purple Martin housing. But, with human ingenuity being what it is, landlords found that when they cut off the neck of the gourds at a precise area, providing a correct opening for Purple Martins, and hung these gourds horizontally, the birds really flock to them.

Why?

Because these horizontally-hung gourds offered roomier accommodations. It didn’t take birdbrains long to realize that the expansive living quarters of a horizontally-hung gourd offered better and safer housing in which to raise their young. With larger gourd compartments, the martins, and their young, were farther from the paw, claw and talon of their enemies.

The new Troyer Horizontal Gourd measures 14" in length and 9" in diameter. The gourds expected arrival will be first of the new year, well ahead of the 2001 season.

An added benefit of the new gourd is that landlords will enjoy the view of the female gazing out the entrance hole with her mate perched proudly upon the top of the gourd. The top of the new Troyer gourd is enhanced with a perchable surface to facilitate easy martin perching.

Troyer’s Horizontal Gourd will be available in both the crescent-shaped hole as well as the traditional round hole.

We are very encouraged by these new gourds and the Society are making them available to landlords.

Overview showing the removable screw jar lid on the side access port.	View depicting removal of the jar lid to expose the opening for the side access port.
View showing the crescent-shaped starling-resistant entrance hole** (SREH). Notice the area below the crescent opening that permits the Purple Martin to naturally brace its tail for entrance into the gourd and/or feeding its young at the entrance hole.	Molded in perching area on the gourd stem which allows both the male and female martin to easily perch above their nesting gourd.
Troyer Product Pricing   Troyer Horizontal Gourds     THG-4 4-pak $  60.00   THG-6 6-pak $  80.00   THG-8 8-pak $100.00   THG-12 12-pak $140.00   THG-16 16-pak $185.00   THG-24 24-pak $265.00   THG-36 36-pak $400.00   THG-48 48-pak $528.00   THG-60 60-pak $660.00   THG-72 72-pak $792.00   THG-96 96-pak $1,056.00   Prices effective 1-15-05 Prices shown do not include shipping and handling. Prices are subject to change without notice. For more information, call PMSNA sales:  (815) 744-9958

Just another reminder -- All profits from sales are returned to
the Society's work in Purple Martin Conservation.

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