Welcome, Bob – I too live in Missouri, mid-Missouri and this is my 9th year of bluebirding. Our first BB boxes were from the Mo. Conservation booklet and fledged LOTS of blues. (I believe we made the top of these boxes with a little more overhang than called for) Later, we decided to make some Gilwood-style boxes with front openings, but this is only my 2nd year with them, but they are supposed to be a very popular box. In regard to advise, please do not mount your boxes on posts with barb-wire attached, as this creates a ladder for predators, such as snakes, and raccoons, etc. I personally do use the steel barb-wire fence posts (just because we have them available) as a BASE, and then slip a slick, smooth steel post over them with a baffle underneath, and this creates a very sturdy post system, capable of taking all the strong winds we have. A really great website (which is almost like a BB bible here at this forum) is http://www.sialis.org/ Putting up that many boxes will be a great challenge for your 1st year and it is getting late, but good luck. P.S. Maybe you can just put up a few boxes with proper posts the first year and then expand as your budget allows? Let us know how you do
