Deadbeat Dad BB ????

15 years ago

I haven't been on the forum much since the fledging of the 5 BB babies on May 30. On June 18 the first egg of a new batch appeared in the new nest, with an egg a day appearing for the next 3 days. She has been incubating the 4 eggs since around the 21st. The problem is, unlike during the incubation of the former eggs, the male is not coming around to help feed the female. She seems to be doing this all on her own. During the previous incubation period the male would come to the feeder all during the day. He would feed the worms to her before eating any himself. He rarely shows up at all ... usually only in early morning and late afternoon around the time I put out the mealies. But he never eats any. The female eats immediately, but she never takes them all. It's like she's being sure to leave some for him. But even though he perches on the nearby fence, and looks things over, he never eats anything himself. Nor does he take any to feed to her. If they are ever both visible at the same time, they seem to ignore each other. Before there was a lot of interaction between them.

Is it possible he is still off helping the fledglings learn to forage? They never did bring the fledglings back to the feeder, though the adults did take mouthsful of mealies and fly off with them. So I assumed they were feeding the fledglings somewhere.

I feel so bad for the mamma ... like she is a single mom. So I have added an additional feeding time to the day so she can be sure to have plenty to eat. She leaves the nest only occasionally, I assume for a potty break and fresh air, but she always returns alone in a very short time.

It is possible, I guess, that this is a different male and her original partner is dead.

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Comments (4)

debbie321
15 years ago
you know I had the same problem with my male, but now that the chicks have hatched (2 out of 5) he comes all the time and is feeding them A LOT and her too.
Maybe he IS taking care of the fledglings since she cant do that right now.
My male would NOT eat the mealies and has not until today (the oldest chick is 3 days old).
I was told he was out getting smaller insects for the hatchlings - but today he started eating them again, though not alot of them. and only for himself.
mulchmamma
15 years ago
Dad is off with the young and mom is left incubating the eggs. When they hatch, he will be around to help feed the young.

The first brood was when the weather was cold and wet & I think the male sensed his presence was needed more to keep the female on the nest. With the second nesting, the weather is warm and there are lots of insects so mom really doesn't need him as much but those hungry fledglings do.

Linda
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michelle_4466
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Hi Guys,
Do not worry about the Dad not feeding or helping the Mama on the 2nd.time around.I have seen this many times. I think the Dad is stressed out because of keeping the fledlings safe, having to teach them to forage,be aware of predators, etc, etc.Our firstbatch had 4 fledglings.They are now 3 weeks old.The Dad brought them to our feeder and scholded one of the fledglings for not diving in and eating the mealies.The little guy was afraid of the mealies because they were a little too active.I had never seen Dad become so responsible.Finally, the fledgling started to eat and he couldn't get enough.
michelle
blumz
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, having an absent father turned out to be the least of Mrs. Blue's worries. A few nights ago something got into the box and removed the eggs ... clean as a whistle. They were probably a week from hatching. One morning the latch on the door was turned, when I opened the box to check it out, the nest was tilted slightly forward, eggs gone. No evidence anywhere of anything. It was just like Scottie had "beamed them up". A little later the male was there checking it all out. It just breaks my heart. It had to be something with hands to turn the latch, remove the eggs, and close the door back. The only thing it could have been is a raccoon or a human. In this new neighborhood, I just cannot believe a raccoon is anywhere around. The male and the female come back to eat every morning, but I guess they're both off raising the previous brood now. They never have brought them back to feed.

I removed the nest, even though it looks like it's never been touched ... since there were no babies trampling it down. It's actually in good enough shape that if I put it back she might use it, IF she gets the urge to raise another family this season. What do you think? Do you think that this was probably her last brood for the season?

Deadbeat Dad BB ????

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debbie321

mulchmamma

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Deadbeat Dad BB ????

Comments (4)

debbie321

mulchmamma

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