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3Babies-1egg-Day 15 of Incubation-Any Hope for the last egg??

15 years ago

Well, it is Day 15 of the Incubation Period and I have 3 Babies and 1 egg.I have a WebCam so I watch alot,In fact,as I am typing this post,I am watching Mama Blue sitting on her babies and that 1 egg.I will start at the beginning...Her 1st clutch (she lays white eggs),there were 5 eggs and somehow with all the watching we did,we missed the disappearance of 1 egg.It seems like the same situation again.So, we do not know when or how that 1 egg got removed from the nest.From all the videos,we believe it was within 2 or 3 days that we didn't see that egg after the other 4 hatched.Now,with this brood, she laid 4 white eggs and as of this morning she has 3 babies and still that 1 egg.Is there any hope that the last egg will still hatch? The other 3 babies are moving all around,flopping sometimes on top of the egg and then we think its gone but as we watch we can see that they are laying on it.So,will Mama remove it and how and when?Will she keep incubate it and for how long before she gives up?Should we remove it,if so, when?I know my bluebird friends will give me some sound advice and help...Thanks in advance.....Koke

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Comments (3)

bluebars
15 years ago
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
janie_may
15 years ago
Koke, I'd do exactly what BlueBars recommends. Really, unless an unhatched egg is easy (not have to poke around the nest or move the babies) for me to remove, I leave it until I clean out the nest box. I've had females who would remove one and a few who did not. When my first female, Ma, wanted one removed she moved it to the rim of the nest for ME to take out for her! :D

There have been times that I never realized there was an egg in the nest till fledging day.
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Well, the eggs under the broodies turned out to be duds, but I think I had too many broodies fighting over them, and they either got jostled too much or always had a hen on them and got too hot! I'm trying to rig up an online webcam for the incubator hatch this weekend, and have invited a bunch of my 8 year old daughter's friends to come over and watch baby chicks hatch. :) newchick, what brand and model incubator are you using, do you know? If you don't have the instructions for it anymore, lots of places online, including the manufacturers, often post the instructions online. You need to follow the instructions as closely as you can for your brand and model. Mine is a Little Giant still air, and mine says to stop turning the eggs and leave the incubator closed for the final three days of incubation--I always make sure and top off the water wells at the final opening & turning before the last three days, so the eggs won't be in danger of drying out. Make sure you have a brooder box, a heat source, chick food and water ready to go for the babies. You've got some cool breeds there, Anconas and Marans are beautiful! Hatching chicks is an amazing experience for kids, I'm glad you are doing it! :) Velvet ~:>
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Hey Cathy, I'm here! :D Yes, I did see an egg that was TWENTY ONE DAYS OLD hatch! Because it was in a box with an in-box cam I KNOW when it was laid and I know when it hatched! There were three eggs laid in that nest and only one was fertile. The female removed one of the three by the 17th day but my friend (it was her box) removed the remaining unhatched egg (infertile, all liquid) on the 23rd day, 2 days after the one egg hatched. We would assume that even though the eggs were laid and she remained in the box she was NOT incubating from the start. It was the first nest of the season and we had a 3 day cold snap right after the eggs were laid. I don't hold out a lot of hope for eggs that don't hatch by at least the 15th day (mine have always hatched by the 14th day when they were fertile) but after that experience I know now that you should hold off removing eggs and a nest longer. I can't say exactly how long but I'd probably candle eggs that remain unhatched in a nest after 21 days. Janie
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Lisa, I thought that I read on this forum that some birds are more sensitive to disturbances than others. All I know about nest-box monitoring I learn from this forum. I respect and appreciate the efforts (and results!) of bluebird landlords, who reestablished EABBs in the eastern US. I do question, personally, the monitoring of other songbirds whose populations are not in trouble; my concern, also, is that some people, way less knowledgeable than the pros here, will think that they can and should monitor all nests, including cup nests. On the BWF, someone took a picture of almost fledged 'dees. I worry about flushing out chicks that age. Not that anyone knowledgeable on this forum would do it, but you all know your stuff. Many people glean information from forums instead of researching, and cannot keep their hands out of nests. Not that I am "scolding" anyone; it's just what I think of, as a visitor, when I come here. Not everyone knows there stuff. But I guess we can't help that. My instincts and background urge me to leave nests alone (except EABBs), because unknowingly, we create more trouble than help with birds that are doing well already, and need the experience of nesting failures to get them right in other tries. Although Janie's save is impossible to argue with!! But Janie, your gut (sorry for the metaphor) is greater than most other's : ) Which nest boxes then are you supposed to not check? Which species was I thinking of? Thanks!
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dzyg
15 years ago
Last year, at a park where I monitor BB houses, I had a Blue lay four eggs, only three hatched. I never removed the egg and it was still in there after they fledged, never broke or anything. This year in that same box (I really think it is the same pair) she laid five eggs and one did not hatch. It was not in the nest when the babies fledged. I have had many TRES that have had one egg not hatch and they have never broken either. I guess I would just let the mom take care of it if possible but keep an eye on it if she leaves it in there.

Donna

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