Here's something you can try, Herringboned 28. Take one of the accepted babies and hold it gently until it screams bloody murder. Momma hen gets anxious and then almost frantic. Then put the late-hatcher and the screaming baby in with the mother at the same time. In my experience, momma is so intent on the screamer being returned to her that she never even notices that she is getting two for one. And once it's in there... well, hens can't count. This trick is easier where larger numbers of chicks with mom. In this case, with only two accepted chicks, it might work best if you kidnap both of them. If you wear something with loose sleeves you can tuck the third chick up your sleeve so that it is less obvious to the hen what you are up to. It should be easy to release it with the one you are holding in that hand. I take no credit for this method. Someone's kid thought it up and his mother posted it on one of the forums a long time ago. I thought it was cute and clever -- and so I remembered it when I needed it last summer. Worked like a charm... and the advantage over sneaking it under at night is you don't have to be up at the crack of dawn to make sure mom isn't pecking on it. You can just hang around for a bit at a civilized hour of the day. Towards evening might be the best time... that way they will soon sleep and the little chick will have time on its side to get used to life under a momma hen.

Wow this sounds so much like what went on here. I put a bowl full of mealies out the day they fledge but none after that for awhile. I find they don't come for them much until the babies are ready to come with them. If this is your same female that means Dad was left to raise 5 kids and it may take a little longer with just one parent. My Pop showed up with the kids later than normal. He's always been nearly 2 weeks to the day and this time it was closer to 3. I have learned that NO, Blues do not always mate for life. There is no question this is Hussy Mom and that Pop got ditched with the babies. I have been feeling bad for Pop (but I guess more for myself). I hope I have not lost him, I know hes not too far, I hear him but still have not found his new nest. Pop has been here for 3 years that I know of. Something happened to his first female between first and second nesting last year and that's when he took up with Hussy Mom. I never would have know it was a different female untill she quit feeding the babies.(maybe the fisrt female took off on him too)? There was no question this years first nesting was Pop and Hussy Mom. The thing is I could never be certain I had the same pair each year, there was always a little something different about each nesting except for Pop, he's always been in the same branches and been consistant with his behavior. His red goes down much farther in the front also.I really hope that I will have both Hussy Mom & Joe Daddy AND Pop with his new female next year. I am looking at the bright side, I should have twice the Blues and after all more Blues is what this is all about! I hope your Dad shows up with the babies soon and as stated above, mealies have nothing to do with survival especially at this time of year!

Here in Central WI, I have two pairs of Blues on their second nesting, they are both incubating at the moment. One nesting should be hatching by this wednesday and the other about five days later, both have four eggs. Not sure if any would just be starting a second nesting this late now though. The one pair started the second nest within days of fledging the first brood. The other pair waited over two weeks! This is only my fourth year hosting/monitoring Bluebirds and I have always had them bring the babies back and keep eating the mealworms I offered until they left in Oct/November. Not sure if they all stay at the feeders though, I think it greatly depends on where you live if the Blues migrate from your area in the Fall or not. Donna

We adopted a husky while I was pregnant. We had her for 5 months before DS was born, during which time she grew very attached to me. We also have a cat (well, at 25 lbs, he may be a second dog) who can be a little mean. Luckily, so far everything has worked out. We were a bit concerned because she had been abused, but she is absolutely wonderful with him. We did the things you've mentioned -- sent a blanket home, had DH carry DS into the house, etc. She was curious about him the first day home, but she was PISSED at me for having left her for 2 days. Luckily she didn't do anything but give me the cold shoulder for a while. DS is now 19 months old, and our dog is still wonderful with him. She's a little protective, actually -- she'll get between the stroller and someone who approaches us on the street; she gets upset if he cries, or she'll look at me like if it were her kid, she'd get to that crib faster than me! Food may be another big issue, especially if your dog is used to table scraps. Try putting your hand in/around the bowl when the dog's eating to see how she responds. If she's the least bit snappy, you may have to feed her when the baby naps, especially after baby is mobile. One of DS's favorite haunts when he started to crawl was the dog bowls -- to splash or check out the food (we try to empty the dish if she doesn't finish b/c the food can be a choking hazard in addition to being downright gross). And our DS also loves to feed the dog from his chair, so if that's something that's going to annoy you, make sure you don't let the dog or the baby develop that habit after you start on solid foods. For us, the problem began with cheerios at about 8 or 9 months. I've tried to make it a point to integrate the dog and the baby. We have a jogging stroller, and most days I'll take both of them on hour long walks. I think it helps the dog to just see DS as an addition to her life, rather than competition. We practice petting gently. When DS was old enough to sit up & reach for the animals, we would take his hand, help him pet them, and say gentle. Now if he gets a little rough, all we have to do is tell him to be gentle. That's pretty much all I can think of. We've got great pictures of DS crawling all over the animals and giving them hugs. Congrats.