If Daisy is broody, then Carrie is the layer. I would separate them. That way you will know all eggs are being incubated properly and she won't push out hatching eggs and take the new fresh -but unvaiable eggs. Most likely if she pushes one out you can candle it and tell if it is viable and if so just put it back, sometimes they just don't realize they have pushed some out from the bunch. But sometimes they may know something we don't--that the egg is bad and she doesn't want it to ruin her nest.

I remembered something that happened years ago. My mother kept hearing birdies in her closed patio and couldn't figure out where the birds were. On a closer inspection outside her house she saw that the there was a small hole in her soffit where a bird had made her nest and had her chicks. My mother, smart woman that she was, went to the lumber yard and tooks scrap wood flooring, asked the guy to cut them into 1' lenghts, put a piece of scrap wood at each end and bore a small hole in the side. The birdhouse was shaped like a rectange (I believe my mother used a 1" round boring bit though you should check out what the proper size should be since I forgot exactly what she used.) After the birds flew the coop in the fall and before the birds came back in spring, she hung the homemade housewren box right under the repaired eave. That first spring the birds took up residence in the box and they did every year until her death a few years ago. The new owners asked us what that was all about and when I told them they thought it was a good idea too so I don't think we have to worry about the birdies losing their home. LOL.

The Mom has to get them through the first few days. You always want to be 100% positive the female is gone, they do not always start incubating right away. A new female will not care for this nest. If Pop is not calling for a new mate Im not so sure Mom is really gone. You said it is very warm there, she may just be hoping in to turn them and you are missing her. Even if you THINK you are 100% sure she is gone I would still candle the eggs before disposing of them. (Shine a bright light through them to see if they are clear or if there is a mass inside)be sure your hands are clean. If the eggs are clear and your sure it has been 3 weeks you can assume the female is gone and you can remove the nest (but keep it for emergencies). Go to www.sialis.org to learn all you can about Blues and other cavity nesters. Please be 100% sure she is gone. Good Luck!

Time for my annual post! One of the many things I learned when we got our small flock of hens last year is that eggs don't need to be refrigerated until they are washed. In the US, eggs are washed and immediately refrigerated when gathered from commercial hen houses. This remove the protective coating, or bloom, that the hen secretes when she lays the egg and allows bacteria to enter. It is true that It is true that egg operations here whose focus is providing fertilized hatching eggs refrigerate eggs to retard the growth process, but unfertilized grocery store eggs are refrigerated to prevent bacteria growth. I don't refrigerate my hens' eggs unless they're cracked or one is so filthy I have to wash it. A few weeks ago, my husband thought that the egg in the fridge was hard-boiled and took it to work for breakfast. It took him a while to clean the egg off his desk. In other countries, eggs aren't washed until the consumer takes them home from the store and wash them, so they don't need to be refrigerated. Just thinking of all the energy saved not refrigerating eggs makes me wish we did that here. Floating eggs in water tells you how fresh the egg is, but not if bacteria is growing in it. I'd use grocery store eggs that were left out overnight.