Cathy only females incubate. Are you sure this was the female from this nest? If so These eggs are probably lost now. Do you know how long the female has been off the eggs? if you think it was recent and the weather is warm you might try calling a rehabber and see if there is any hope. You'd probably have to move very quickly though. I'm sorry.

anita

Sorry for your loss and disappointment.
A rehabber will not take eggs and the male cannot incubate. Be sure it is the same female (where did you find her?)
Place a long piece of grass in the entrance and see if it is removed by the nesting female.
If it is indeed the same female that is lost, the male must find a new mate. Clean out the nestbox and hopefully they will renest there.
BlueBars

I contacted a rehabber first, and yes, they will not take the eggs. They said they would have to be put in an incubator and than hand fed. It would be too hard on the babies. This was the Howell nature center.
I believe it is the same female; no others have been in the area. The male is still around and defending the nest against any birds in the area. Could the eggs be transferred to another BB nest (someone in the Vassar area willing to volunteer?) one egg or so per nest? It's just so sad to see the male defending the nest against any bird in the area, even against me. I'm not sure what happened to the female as she looked fine other than some brown stuff dripping from her beak. I thought maybe that she ran into something. I forgot about the grass trick over the opening, I'll try that. The female didn't look like she was dead very long as her eyes still looked clear, but she was stiff. The eggs feel cool...

I share your pain. That has happened to me more than once at the place we moved from. We had forest adjoining our yard, and all around the area. There were so many obstacles to the bluebirds. We had stray cats, hawks, snakes. Even with baffles, they can still run into trouble when they come out of the box. It is always so hard to watch the male looking so forlorn. He will go off and find another mate eventually, and probably bring her back to build in your box.

Maybe a collision with a window or a car. Even a piercing from a cat's claw might go unnoticed, and cause an infection. If she was not in the nestbox, then not likely HOSP or other predator, which would raise additional concerns, (you did not say where you found her).

Cathy- I take my injured birds to the same Nature Center in Howell. I have a bluebird trail in Kensington Metropark in Milford, a few miles away from Howell, but I don't have any nests with eggs, all mine have hatched - the most recent being Saturday. I am so sorry to hear that this has happened - if I had anything close to your timetable, I would gladly take the eggs from you and foster them into nests. Please keep me in mind if anything happens again - especially with young who need parents. I don't know where Vassar is, but I can find it! If this dead female truly is your mother bluebird, take heart. It is very early in the year and your male will most likely find a new mate quickly. Again, I am so sorry. Malinda

I found her about 35 feet from the nest box under a light post lying in the dirt. We have a baffle up and the sparrow spookers on the roof. Though there was a fight over the box between the BBs and a male sparrow, after there were eggs, I put up the sparrow spookers and I have not seen a HS by the box since. There were no feathers by the box and none by her. I wonder if it could have been a scratch from a cat, because there were feathers in the yard next door (not BBs).

Oh Cathy, I am so sorry. :(

I thought about Malinda first thing and see that she has replied. I was afraid her trail nests were not on the same schedule, that's a shame.

Let me add this about hatching out bluebird eggs via an incubator. Even if they hatch, and THAT is very possible, they need to have their gut inoculated by the female in the first 24 hours after hatching in order to survive. That is not true of all birds but my local songbird rehabber said it is crucial for a baby bluebird to be with its mother (or fostering female) in the first 24 hours.

Cathy...just so sorry about this situation and wanted you to know I'm thinking of you and hope for future success with your blues...

Donna

I put in grass twice, and both times it came up missing. I have been watching, but I don't see the female. Could it be the male that is removing it? He is really busy chasing sparrows away from the feeder nearby?

Cathy - it is very windy here - not sure about where you are. Are you putting the grass over the entrance hole? across the eggs? Both? The male may go inside to check so he could be moving it. I would watch til dark, then first thing in the morning go out and feel the eggs with the back of your fingers -- wash your hands first, just in case. Only mama would make them warm and it is going to be around 40 tonight. It will be very easy to tell. That will answer your question once and for all. If your female is alive, she will not leave those eggs overnight unincubated. And if they have gone overnight unincubated here in Michigan, they will not hatch. Malinda

Cathy I'm in Washington MI not that far and have 3 bb nests but none is that close to yours. One of them hatched one week ago, one hatched two days ago and the other isn't done laying yet. I do know one other lady - actually two (one by me and one in Metamora near Lapeer) but I'm afraid it is too late if they weren't incubated for a full day and night. Let me know if I need to check with them. I sure wish the best for them and I wish I could help.
Cathy

I am over here North of Muskegon....quite a drive but mine are due to hatch tomorrow or in the next few days!. I have 5 eggs. I don't know if keeping an egg warm overnight and driving it over to the West Michigan side is someting you can do but I would be willing to take an egg...maybe 2 if the rehabbers think they could raise 7????

Oh, you can e mail or IM me at lvlice@aol.com

It was the male BB that was removing the grass. I had the house turned away from the wind, and the way I put it in, it had to be removed and not blown out.

I am resigned to the fact that it's too late for the babies. The male kept going to the opening until dark. It was sad. I even tried my Michigan Spring Flora professor to see if he knew of anyone with BB's and eggs. I didn't get the other messages in time -- Lapeer is not too far from Vassar (by the way Malinda, its close to Frankenmuth and Saginaw, MI.)

I am going to bury the whole nest by where I buried the mother. The male is still close by and got some mealies this morning. He is singing for a new mate -- I hope.

Cathy....if you haven't buried the nest yet, don't the nest is clean and can be kept for emergency nest changes!

Oh. I am SOOOOO sorry for your loss!

If it should happen in the future and you try to save the eggs, remember please... to NOT touch them with your bare hands! The oil on your fingers will clog the pores and suffocate the chick inside the egg. Better to handle the eggs with a spoon or gloved hands.

Hmmmmmmm. Wonder if it may not be worth the investment in an egg/chicky incubator for future events?!?!? It sure is worth the time to hang out with an avian veterinarian or avian rehabber now to see and perhaps learn techniques to feed and save a chick if an emergency arises.

At least one would be better prepared and better able to cope in an emergency until the baby can be transferred to someone for a long term care.

Blessings!

C3D :-)

I'm not a rehabber and to do what you suggest would require to become one. The rehabber I talked to at Howell Nature Center would not take the eggs (and they have an incubator) because it was too hard on the babies IF they hatch. I think the best thing would be to know where other nesting pairs are and have them "fostered".

Cathy, I agree. Incubating eggs and then being able to feed new born chicks would be tricky to say the least. You stand the change of causing aspiration, crop burn, etc. I do have pet lovebirds and there have been times that members on my lovebird forum have had to foster eggs to an incubator WITH success but you're talking about a bird that can be hand fed from the beginning and you are also talking about round the clock feeding, at least with lovebirds.

Again, my local licensed songbird rehabber told me that bluebirds, specifically, must have their "gut" inoculated in the first 24 hour of life and they haven't found a "human" formula that can replace what a mother bluebird can give their hatchlings.

A nesting pair on the same or a close schedule would be the best answer in the future if that is a possibility.