Dinged Eggs

18 years ago

My prime suspect is HOWR. The first egg was stolen by HOWR on 5/23. The 4 remaining eggs were 4-6 days old when I took this picture. I noticed a tiny ding (indent) on two of them. I can only guess that maybe there was an altercation, and the eggs got damaged. This female bluebird raised the first brood of 4 just fine.

I've heard that cracked eggs can still hatch, as long as the membrane is intact (is that true?). But only one hatched, and he/she is growing fast. Today I removed the 3 unhatched eggs; the 2 dinged ones, and the third one also had a tiny hairline crack. They all had some development, but had dried up inside the egg.

(This is another good reason to NEVER handle wild bird eggs, as even tiny cracks that you cannot see can kill them.)

P.S. A really good tool for removing unhatched eggs is the big side of the 2-sided spoon that comes with Miracle-Gro. The bowl is wide and deep, less likely for the egg to roll out.

Bluebars

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Comments (7)

bridget_bb
18 years ago
Sorry to hear about your unhatched eggs. Let's hope your little one does just fine.

When we cleaned out our Flycatcher's nest we discovered the egg which did not hatch had quite a deep crack in it. We don't know how it happened and hadn't been able to see it until the egg was removed and turned over. We did have a cowbird lay an egg in there so maybe something happened at that time. Who knows.

Good idea about the spoon - thanks!
bluebirdbabe
18 years ago
Bluebars, I found a robins nest sitting on an outside light where I used to work. I think some kids/raccoon knocked the nest over and 2 of the eggs were broken on the porch. Poor mom robin was almost vertical sitting on the nest. I put the nest back into position and noticed that there were 2 more eggs in the nest. One was fine and the other one had a piece of the shell missing but the membrane was not broken. I left it in the nest and it hatched. So, I would have to say that yes it is true if the membrane is not broken the egg will hatch.

Sorry about the eggs!

Karen
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chickadeedeedee
18 years ago
A small amount of melted candle wax (unscented clear) carefully placed over a crack will seal it / strengthen the wounded shell and may allow the developing chick to continue to grow and hatch.
bluebars
Original Author
18 years ago
I would never add melted candle wax on a wild bird egg (except maybe HOSP LOL). No way, no how. They are too delicate and too small. Have you actually done this?!?
BlueBars
chickadeedeedee
18 years ago
Yes. It works. Practice on a chicken egg first to get the right ~feel~ for it.
bluebars
Original Author
18 years ago
No way. Not happening. I won't handle eggs at all, except to remove unhatched eggs.
Anyway, as Karen noted in her post "a piece of the shell missing but the membrane was not broken. I left it in the nest and it hatched" so IMHO it is not worth the risk of doing additional harm, either by the oil on our hands or pressure worsening a crack, or good heavens, dropping it.
Nope Nada Uh-Uh Not doin' it.
BlueBars
chickadeedeedee
18 years ago
No one is forcing you to do anything if you are not comfortable doing it. Sealing a crack in an egg with melted wax is a common practice in aviculture and can be extended to the wild ones too. Of course one would handle the egg while wearing gloves so the oil from the fingers does not clog up the pores of the shell. While the egg is candled, the full extent of the crack or defect can be visualized and sealed with the wax.

One can always practice on an unhatched egg that's found in an empty nest, again to get the feel for the technique. One only covers the defect and extend the seal a little beyond the edges. Again don't try new things if you are not comfortable doing them. Let Nature take over. :-)

Dinged Eggs

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