Donna I'm so sorry to hear about your blues
, I'm new to the site and bluebirding but I've been reading everyone's posts and seems like its a rough year for so many of us I'll be checking back to see what advice your given this is always helpful for me later on Good Luck.

Sounds like the work of a CAT. See if there is anyone with bluebirds in the area
and foster that chick to another nest before it dies.

Ray

Donna, tickle the one with grass to see if it is still alive. Can we try to age the babies? If there was a large poop sack 4 days ago they have to be over a week old (and very good at playing dead already). Use the grass over the hole trick to see if the parents are sneaking in. How is your weather there? Maybe they are having to spend a little more time hunting so you are not seeing them (especially if something has happened to one of them). I don't remember if you have a rehabber around or not. Remember you can always call one out of your area for instructions. Do you have any other active nests in you area? Last ditch effort if you are 100% sure they have not been fed and are about to die bring the nest in and try to feed some meal worm using tweezers, it may buy the chick enough time to find a solution. I know how you feel I watched 3 TRES babies starve because they were simply two week to fledge and the single parent refused to feed them, sometimes it's Natures way.

OH NO. It made me feel so sad to read this. Oh gosh, I wonder what has happened. I'm so sorry. It sounds to me like something may have happened to the mom and then the dad just bailed on them. I doubt that both adults were killed. Seems unlikely. Check the sialis page to help you to accurately age them. I don't know what the rehab survival rates would be with very young chicks, but if you are 100% sure that neither parent is attending the nest of chicks, then I would at least call a local rehabber to ask about what to do. We know that if they are not kept warm and fed, they will perish. Sometimes, there truly isn't anything that we can really do to help them. It's hard to accept that, but as lisa said, it is nature's way. Let us know.~~Angie

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis page to age chicks

Well I may have panicked a bit prematurely!!!!

Saw the Mama go into the box late yesternoon and once this morning, so I feel a little better. However, I have been observing most of the morning and this is the only time I have seen her....it seems they need to be fed much more often, as I have seen in previous successful nestings.

Have not seen the Dad, so it may be that Mama is being the sole caretaker, but not too sure.

Our weather is pretty typical for this time of year...very warm (high 80s) and rains every few days, so bugs should be plentiful. I put out some dried mealworms this morning until I can get some live ones.

Thanks to all for your responses. Keeping my fingers crossed that all is well.

Oh, should I leave the unhatched egg in the box? Thanks!
Donna

Glad to hear this Donna. Something in the back of my mind was thinking premature panic. Seems I have to calm myself every spring too....after 8 years you would think I could relax. It just means you are very in tune to whats going on out there. Get some live worms ASAP IF Moma has lost her mate she could use the help. You can take the egg out if you like I usually do if I can get to it without disturbing the babies.

Lisa, the unhatched egg is in the front of the nest, so not too difficult to remove....would it do any harm to leave it there? Yep, I am sooooo paranoid about these babies!!!

The only place I can purchase live mealworms here is at Petco. (assuming they still have them)...usually very poor quality but guess that's better than nothing!

Gotta leave the house for a bit, but will check on things again shortly.

Thanks again.....Oh, and on a good note, My precious dees have 5 eggs in their nest! Surely have to pray for them as well.

Oh gosh, this is good news. I was really worried about those babies. Glad to hear that mom is alive and well and still coming to them! Like lisa, I would say remove the unhatched egg if you won't bother the babies by doing so.
Congrats on the Dee eggs! I just love the little Dees!

Glad you have seen the mom, hopefully dad is still around too and you just aren't seeing him. Waxworms are good for the Blues too and if you have a pet store around bluebirds love crickets....however you need to remove thier large hing legs so they cannot jump out of the dish. I grab the let with a tweezer and they pop right off. Gross, I know but it would greatly help that mom if she is the sole provider now. Have you looked in the box again to make sure the babies that did hatch are all alive. You would definately want to remove a dead baby. The unhatched egg is fine to leave in the nest. We often have unhatched eggs and nothing happens to them. Good luck!

Donna

Dzyg....ddddaaaa why I didn't think to tell her to get wax worms, you can get those at any bait shop this time of year and they have better nutrition than the worms your going to get at PETCO .

My question is very similar - please help!
This is an urgent situation. The male bluebird of the pair nesting in one of my birdhouses was just killed around 12:00 - 2:00 ET by being hit by a car. I know its him, I cleaned him up off the road and he had a lot more white on his belly than most male bluebirds have. I checked the nest and there is only 1 egg there. Can the female raise this one egg to completion or will she abandon it now? Should I try to put the egg in another's nest if I can find one?

I would wait until tomorrow and see if she lays another egg. She can do it alone but during incubation they do rely on the male to feed them. If she continues laying eggs then I would get some live mealworms and train her to come to a dish of them. To do this you need to know where she perches alot and set the dish (white or clear work well) where she can look down on it from her perch. Once she sees movement in the dish she will drop down and see what they are and eat them. Once she knows there is food in that dish you can move it into a feeder (to prevent other birds from eating them) or to where ever is a safer place to feed her. You can also feed waxworms and crickets (with their hing legs removed so they cannot jump). She may abandon but it is hard to tell for sure. Let us know how it goes and what you observe. So sorry your male was killed!

Donna

Thank you so much for your reply. My Internet went out again just as I entered that post, so today I had to drive down to where I walk to read and post. My hubby and I saw her perch above the bluebird house late yesterday after we buried him by the BB house. It was cold (40s) last night so I hope she was on her egg. Where can I find mealworms? Please let me know because I want to help her. It's warm enough now in the daytime that I think she'll be okay and the eggs too if she has to leave them.

katie, the egg/s will be fine as she doesn't start incubating until the last egg is laid and they usually lay 4-5 eggs. Some petfood stores have live mealworms or you can order them online. I usually order from reptilefoods.com
I would start out with just a small amount though, (500-1000) hopefully you can find them somewhere near you first so you won't have to buy alot until you know if she will take them and if she stays. I think wildbirds unlimited also usually has live mealworms. You can get waxworms at bait shops or crickets at petstores too, if you wanted to go that way. Good luck!

Donna

Thanks you all! I finally hopefully have internet for a while and have seen your replies. I will make a note of the kinds of worms to get.