Jun 9 2014

A BLUEBIRD “ONLY CHILD”.


This Eastern Bluebird is one of 6 eggs….only this one hatched.  I removed all 4 eggs you see next to this little one.  The other unhatched egg is slightly buried in the nesting material underneath the nestling you see here in this picture, so I left that one so as not to disturb this little guy any more than I already did.   It’s easy to remove the unhatched eggs when the young are at this age….once they get bigger, it’s difficult due to the nestling’s size.   2-3 days after is even more ideal, if you can.  That is not always possible if you monitor the standard once a week at a nestbox.  This bluebird should get plenty of food, don’t you think?   Any questions on removing unhatched eggs?  If so, fire away here!  I’m happy to help.

Hello Monitors! It was easy to remove these 4 unhatched eggs with a plastic spoon, one at a time, and very carefully so as not to disturb this nestling. Once they get to 5-7 days old, it gets more difficult without causing a stir and a disturbance to the young. Try to remove unhatched eggs, if you're comfortable doing so, before the 4th or 5th day of age. If you are not comfortable with it, don't do it. It would be better to leave them if you are nervous doing so. When removing unhatched eggs, learn to do so quickly and close the box. I try not to leave the nest open too long to deter the odors of growing birds and the nest to potential predators out there. I removed these because there were so many and were on top of the nest, more easily cracked and broken and could cause a major smelly, sticky mess to the nest. That is not good.

Hello Monitors! It was easy to remove these 4 unhatched eggs with a plastic spoon, one at a time, and very carefully so as not to disturb this nestling. Once they get to 5-7 days old, it gets more difficult without causing a stir and a disturbance to the young. Try to remove unhatched eggs, if you’re comfortable doing so, before the 4th or 5th day of age. If you are not comfortable with it, don’t do it. It would be better to leave them if you are nervous doing so. When removing unhatched eggs, learn to do so quickly and close the box. I try not to leave the nest open too long to deter the odors of growing birds and the nest to potential predators out there. I removed these because there were so many and were on top of the nest, more easily cracked and broken and could cause a major smelly, sticky mess to the nest. That is not good.

 

4 comments on “A BLUEBIRD “ONLY CHILD”.”

  1. Hello I have a comment. It will probably never happen to me again. I had some unhatched eggs and I had been monitoring closely. I opened up the unhatched eggs and it was past due. I had a “sticky chick” glued to the shell. It appeared to be dead, but I stroked it for a minute or so, and it lived and better yet it did fledge. I wish I would have taken pictures of this stuff. Hugs to you

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