How long should a perch be on a birdhouse
What you must know about birdhouses made today is that the most practical ones are those built with no perch at all.
How long should a perch be on a birdhouse is insignificant, as a perch shouldn't be attached at all. You see a perch acts as a way for nuisance birds or predators to enter or reach inside box to kill the birds; whereas birds themselves don't need the help of a perch at all, thus any perch must be cut off.
I will say right now if the birdhouse you are thinking about buying or have in procession now has a perch attached, then its a faulty box that has been poorly designed.
What you must know is that a perch of any length can become a foothold to those who wish to do harm or kill the occupants inside the box, thus a perch can assist any predators as they stand on it to reach or enter, via the entry hole.
How long should the perch be is neither here nor there, because it shouldn't be attached to the birdhouse at all.
Blame the manufacturer who should no better that a perch shouldn't exist, which can in fact lead to other issues evolving around the birdhouse construction and design.
Birdhouses should never have a perch of any kind, thus it must be removed as soon as possible.
If you can guarantee your yard doesn't have any issues with ground predators, then just maybe the perch can stay - though this isn't to say predatory birds won't come along later knowing they can enter the box for a meal.
I recommend to remove any kind of wooden rounded perch of any length dowel or thickness, by going at it with a knife while being sure to remove any stub leftover - as it remains a foothold for predators.
Dowel style, rounded wooden perches is the most common type of perch, while a wide platform acting as a perch on other birdhouse designs can't be removed in most cases.
I will then replace a fancy birdhouse with a glorified perch to replace it with a birdhouse that has an entry hole only with no perch or ways for predators to get a foothold.
Perch length must be zero
As it happens, how long should a perch be on a birdhouse would be zero, nothing, not even a little length to it.
You see birdhouses do not need a perch at all has it becomes more of a nuisance than anything else. More importantly a bird of any species doesn't need the assistance of a perch, as they can happily enter a box without it.
Sure a birdhouse perch can be attached if located in a neighborhood that doesn't invite unwanted, nuisance birds or predators wishing to harm the occupants, but there's no guarantee.
Length of a perch attached to the birdhouse is irrelevant then because a birdhouse does not need a perch of any length.
That is with the exception of large birdhouses built for birds of prey, as a long pole or platform would be needed to assist these birds who use any perch as a place to watch out for prey, usually at night by looking at the ground.
Common backyard birds who use birdhouses such as Bluebirds will never need a perch for the same reason, as they don't benefit from it at all.
Only birds to benefit from a perch of any length are those wishing to do harm, or indeed any natural predators who use the perch as a foothold to get in through the entrance hole.
Cut perch off birdhouse
Its not the end of the world if your birdhouse has a perch attached to it, because all you need to do it cut this perch off.
Rest assured to cut off a birdhouse perch can only improve the effectiveness of the box, all while going towards protecting any occupants moving in come spring. As it happens any birds arriving in colder times to roost will also be better protected.
Saw off the perch as you would close as you possibly can to the birdhouse body - to be left with a stub that can be chiseled off or smoothed over with sandpaper.
If you are in a predatory area made up of squirrels, snakes or similar predators then this stub must be cut off all the way back.
If you are in a safe zone for wild birds to nest in your birdhouse then a stub will do no harm - while a perch on the box may not have to be removed after all.
Of course not all birdhouses are mounted with a standard long or short rounded wooden dowel as a perch; often it can be made up as a wide flat platform or anything that resembles a foothold.
Birdhouses made for Wrens can appear with an odd perch design, thus if it exists on your box there's nothing you can do about. Replace the box if in a trouble area, or keep the box up while keeping a close eye on proceedings.
Stub can remain in place
Whilst the perch attached to a store-bought birdhouse can be anywhere between an inch or three, this can give you plenty of length to cut off with no perch remaining.
Of course to saw off the perch with a tenon saw or a knife out of your kitchen can be achieved, though you'll always be left with a stub.
When its time to cut the perch off you'd need to think of ways to remove this remaining stub to give you a smooth surface, positioned directly below the entrance hole. Chisels can do this with an option of a bit of sandpaper.
With that in mind there can be times when the leftover short perch stub can stay in place - and that is if it remains pleasing to the eye.
While referring you back to a troublesome area full of predators and nuisance birds, if this applies to you then the whole stub must go - whereas an area with no issues evolving around wildlife wishing to do harm to your nesting birds, then the stub can stay.
Birds never need a perch of any length to successfully nest in a birdhouse, as they are fully capable - and as its in a birds nature - to cling on a vertical surface which is easier if its especially made out of wood.
Long perch encourages others
Long birdhouse perches can not only assist natural predators and other nasty birds to enter the box to do harm to the parents, eggs or fledglings, but it can attract more trouble than you know.
Predators can find ways in a birdhouse, thus to cut it off may not stop the occupants getting harmed or killed, so you'd have to keep on eye on the birds in the box to be sure they remain safe.
However a much longer birdhouse perch can now assist local cats who can be seen to sit on the birdhouse while attempting to get their paws inside through the entry hole.
Depending on depth of the birdhouse along with the size of the entry hole, cats may or may not be able to do any harm. What cats will do is disturb the parenting birds which can lead to them abandoning the nest, and therefore their young.
Pets, others birds and ground predators can all be responsible for scaring off occupants, so it can help if you were to scare off any intruders near by.
Short in length perches can assist many of these animals whereas a too long birdhouse perch can attract these creatures and many more larger animals.
Summarize up
If you didn't know already a birdhouse should never have a perch to assist nesting birds, as it becomes an easy foothold for wildlife or cats wishing to do harm.
So you see, how long should a perch be on a birdhouse is simply irrelevant, because a perch shouldn't be present from the beginning.
To have a perch on your birdhouse right now, the best thing you can do with it is to cut it off with a saw right down until its smooth - to prevent predators using it as a foothold to enter or reach into the birdhouse via the entry hole.
Similarly, squirrels could be smart enough to use the perch as a foothold as they may find the roof can be lifted up.
Once the perch has been cut off then begin to sand or chisel back the wooden dowel used as a perch, until its flush with the front of the birdhouse.
You know what, the stub or even the whole perch can remain on a birdhouse if you can guarantee there's going be no issues with nuisance birds or ground predators. In the meantime you can check up on the occupants to be sure they remain safe.
How long a standard wooden dowel perch on a birdhouse normally is, would be about once inch - which can be a bit of a nuisance to the person responsible for cleaning out the box, as its a snag hazard so therefore so can break.
Bonus then because without a perch its going to benefit the occupants more, while it won't be in your way come cleaning out and maintenance time.
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