Houzz Logo Print
caroline94535

Another change to my PMs' egg count

11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago

Today, 11:43 AM

I did a quick nest check Friday afternoon and found two nests that had to be changed out right then. Gourd 4 was crawling with mites; Gourd 6 was so wet the nest resembled a used sponge. I had checked all the nests Wednesday when I had a home-schooling group here to learn about Purple Martins. Everything was fine then; the mite and wet problem happened so quickly - from perfect conditions Wednesday morning to the problems found in two nests Friday afternoon.

The other 10 nests were still dry, pest free, and fresh.

Gourd 4 still has the original six chicks; all are fat and sassy, and are much sassier after getting a new nest and the gourd thoroughly cleaned and de-bugged.

I had reported Gourd 6 as having seven eggs and hatching seven chicks. I removed the original 7 chicks - all fat and sassy - and changed out the horribly wet and stinky nest. Again, this nest was dry and nice on Wednesday. Once I put the chicks in the covered holding box, and started scooping out the sour nest, I found another egg. It was old, dirty and obviously not going to hatch, but there had been 8 eggs in that nest, 7 of which hatched!

I've never had a nest with 8 eggs before.

So, the numbers have changed to 12 pair with 66 eggs laid, 60 live hatchlings, 2 dead chicks, 4 dead eggs.

I hope to check the gourds again this afternoon. We've been getting strong winds and enough blowing rain to make everything messy. I want to make sure I don't need to make any more nest changes.

Comments (2)

Sponsored
Hope Restoration & General Contracting
Average rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars35 Reviews
Columbus Design-Build, Kitchen & Bath Remodeling, Historic Renovations