I agree with Lisa,I don't think one bad day would do them in,Are the parents going to the box?This may be their first nesting ever,sometimes Sometimes it takes a couple of nestings with a young pair before they get it right.If you really want to try to provide food for them,I would take a shallow paper cup and tack it to the top of the box,and put some mealworms or wax worms in it,That way they can't miss them,But I would only do this for a few days,you don't want to attract other birds to the nest box.I do not recommend you bring the babies in the house,For one it is illegal,two,I doubt they would survive.And three,maybe the parents do have things under control.Most nestlings will hunker down during a nest check giving the appearance of a sleeping or weak bird.Just keep a eye on the parents,look for them to be carrying fetal sacks from the nest,If you see that then you know they are being fed.

I would like to update my case. The HOSP made one more attempt (when the wounded BB baby was still alive, but seemed could not compete for food), but that time I noticed that BB parents behaved strange and hesitated to enter the house, though they did not sound very concerned. Just in case I approached the house and stuck my finger in, as soon as I puled it out, the HOSP male flew out and I even touched him, BB parents chased him away. If I knew it before I could catch him. I checked the BB babies and they were fine but scared. I was sure that day the HOSP would not return, The next morning, 2 days later after the first HOSP attack, I found the wounded BB dead and the BB female tried to carry him out. I made her leave the house, took out and disposed the dead BB (smell was already bad). I decided to exploit the smartness of the HOSP against him. As I mentioned he leaned that the spooker was not dangerous, and fishing line was also useless against him. I opened the front wall and left it open to serve as a perch site. Instead I attached two-entry patch and stuck it with a scotch tape. I was certain that the HOSP would be too smart to ignore the sudden transformation of the BB house. Besides the house started looking more scary, like having two big eyes. The other thing I pursued with this transformation is to have emergency exit or entrance, since the HOSP would not be able to block the both holes at the same time. With the 2 holes there was more light inside and I could check the nestlings without opening the door. At first the BB parents were confused, but shortly they figured out their babies were still inside and doing well. As the result I have not seen the HOSP around anymore, the BB parents became more defensive and the three BB babies have fledged yesterday. Now I need an advice or opinion: a) I take the BB house down until I significantly reduce HOSP population. Actually the HOSP infestation was not too bad first, but then numerous young HOSPs fledged from the neighbors house and the area became heavily infested. That house is like the HOSP farm, and at the same time HOSPs would almost never seat on my roof. b) I keep the BB house with the transformed front wall, c) I restore the house to its original shape, where I can set up a trap as needed. Thanks. This post was edited by stal14 on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 11:24

Donna, it truly is amazing sometimes how these birds can manage to beat the odds, especially without our help! Sue, I'm in N.E. Ohio. I know, I'm jealous of her. I don't think I'll be having that many birds any time soon! Just not my kind of luck. 2/5 eggs have hatched. Tomorrow is day 14. Hopefully I awake to the remaining 3 hatched! But for some reason, there are MORE HOSP juvies flying around, and I've only caught like 1 in the past couple days! RRGH! Wish I had a good BB gun! Why aren't they going into the DRST with the rest? ~Tim~

Kathy...I am so very sorry this little one didn't make it. We all were hoping for a better ending to this situation. I know nothing of hole reducers, so I can't speak to that...anyway, you have always been so compassionate and understanding with many others who might question their actions, so let me be the first to offer the same. With your experience and knowledge, I'd like to believe the hole reducer had nothing to do with her death. Think of all the many, many little blues who have made it because of you! Your hard work, experience and knowledge, along with other bb experts, have made that possible! Hope Mom, Dad and her sibling stay around for you to enjoy! Donna