One of my broodies last hatches needed help. I think it was due to the heat that the shells were dried out and some of the chicks had a problem getting out. Once they pipped I very carefully pulled small pieces of shell away from their heads so they could get their heads out of the shell. You need to be careful and stop when you see blood. Check the eggs often and help them pull back some of the inside membrane if it is dried out. I would leave them with the broodies and keep an eye on them and help them some. Good Luck!

Congrats, and break out the candy cigars! Sometimes they remove unhatched eggs, sometimes not. I like to wait at least 3 extra days to see if it will hatch, but after that, a nestling would be so far behind the others, it would not likely be able to compete and would not survive anyway. You don't have to remove unhatched eggs, but usually I do. They are SO fragile, though, it must be done very carefully. You don't want to crush it and soil the nest, which would surely attract ants and other problems. You can use a spoon; I have a nice plastic one that came with MiracleGro that has 2 ends, one end is very deep and holds the egg nicely so it won't roll out. BlueBars

You have a Sparrow Spooker, so maybe a House Wren? They are a tiny brown bird with a long sharp bill and they prefer nesting in or near woodlands/brush. They will pierce and remove bluebird eggs. I agree, if it was a predator it would probably want them all and/or disturb the nest Wouldn't be surprised if that's what did it, they slowly disappear one by one. Just take note that wrens are protected and native, unlike House Sparrows. Follow the sialis link for more: ~Tim~ Here is a link that might be useful: House Wrens

What mlkbskt said is correct. A nestbox should never be mounted on a fence/tree or post of any kind unless it can be baffled. Conduit works best for mounting nestboxes on and stovepipe baffles are cheap and easy to put up. Nestboxes should also be put up at least 15 feet away from any trees. With just one egg gone I would think either House wren (are they in Texas?) or House Sparrow. The House Sparrow will usually just go in and smash the eggs and or kill babies and adults that may be in the box, however it could have gotten interrupted by the Bluebirds too. That is why a sparrow spooker is very important to put up after the first egg is laid. Sparrow spookers are easily accepted by Bluebirds. Wren guards are a little trickier though but do help if wrens are in the area. It is best to put them up during egg laying though to make sure they are accepted. The whiter end and ring on the egg is normal, I have seen it before too. A mockingbird would not be able to get into the nestbox so it would not have taken the egg. Is the hole on your nestbox the 1 1/2 inches that is standard for the Bluebird nestboxes? It shouldn't be larger to prevent Starlings or Red Bellied Woodpeckers from reaching in and grabbing eggs or babies. As far as the heat, I know it can kill nestlings if it gets too hot but not sure about affecting hatching, normally the Momma just wouldn't need to incubate as much. Day 15 is not out of the norm, I have heard of eggs going up to 20 days and still hatching. So the eggs can still be good, but if something got one chances are it could come back and get the rest. Raccoons love to reach into nestboxes and pull out babies/eggs and incubating female but they usually do it at night so the momma would be gone/eaten and probably all the eggs if it were a raccoon. Raccoons are everywhere even if you don't see them, they are there! I would keep a close eye on the Blues and see what they are doing. Are they still going to the box or not? Usually they will not give up on the nest if an egg is taken like that, so the nesting should still be ok and also they can sit on eggs a long time before they give up on them. Good luck, hopefully you can get this nestbox safe and can have a successful second nesting. Don't let the first nesting fool you since it was successful, an improperly mounted nestbox is a failure just waiting to happen. Read up at sialis like you said you were, there is tons of great info on there! Donna