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Bluebirds - nestlings (part 4)In addition to the Messages that have appeared on the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, also see the Audubon Society of Omaha: Predators and Problems On The Bluebird Trail Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2003 08:12:06 -0500 At 04:44 PM 4/27/03 -0500, BJ Boykin wrote: Meal worms alone are not a balanced diet. If these babies are truly abandoned they need to get to a rehabber, as they will require every-15-minute feeding all day long for several weeks, followed by a period of time teaching them to get food for themselves and to fly fairly well. Most people are not equipped to foster insect-eating birds and do not have the time required to devote to them. Kate Arnold From: "Stan Blaylock" <stanb103"at"bellsouth.net> Has anyone observed whether the parents divide the food between babies or do they feed them in order so that each chick gets an equal amount? Stan Blaylock From: "Michelle Martin" <shell7"at"cox.net> Hey everyone - I have a friend on a birding forum ask me question about her EasternBlues fledging in the coming up storms expected at her house in Stone Mt. , GA . Here's her question and I sure hope you all may have an answer for her. I don't what to tell her : I'm really worried, & am hoping I can get some reassurance on this issue. The baby bluebirds in our yard will be fledging any day now. I thought it might be today, & we had perfect weather, but looks like they're still waiting. If we have bad weather (storms) tomorrow, will they stay in the nest box until the weather improves (supposed to be real nice Saturday)? Or will they leave the box regardless of weather? I'd hate to miss them fledge, then have them die in a storm (will be working tomorrow)...... Michelle Martin From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) The birds will fledge when they are ready. They don't get a weather report before deciding. Many times I've had them fledge when a storm was coming,and that same night it poured down rain and wind blew,but all turned out ok. With a tornado it could be different,but its beyond your control what they do. I'm sure they prepare for a coming storm even tho it looks hopeless to us. Joe Huber, Venice Fl. From: "Michelle Martin" <shell7"at"cox.net> ...
Date: Sat, 10 May 2003 20:52:50 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA
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Date: Sat, 17 May 2003 23:55:29 -0400 Hi All, We have a disabled Male. He has been attacked by something, we suspect a hawk as he isn't the only injured bird in the last few days. He has lost many feathers on one wing and isn't flying very well. We suspect that he will be having a lot of trouble feeding and want to give a lot of assistance. We have our own mealworms, but probably not enough at the proper size. How many would you suggest feeding per day to assist this brood of 5? As far as we know the female is healthy, however these babies are only a few days old and need a lot of brooding. Thanks for any help you can give me, I haven't been around on the Bluebird list in a few years, I'm sorry to come back asking for help. Laney Date: Sun, 18 May 2003 06:08:30 -0700 (PDT) Nancy Johnson, Gainesville, FL This was my first year serving mealworms, and I bought 5,000 of the Large size which lasted about 2 months. It seemed that the parent birds would eat ~10 mealworms themselves then start carrying them back to the 4 babies, 2-3 worms per trip. The mother did 95% of the feeding and I'd put out about 40-50 mealworms in the morning before work and again after work ~6pm. I didn't have other birds taking them, so I just put out a bunch and took back in what wasn't eaten at night. With one more baby, and an injured Dad, you may need to put out more mealworms. The babies all fledged about 10 days ago (just before dark) and are starting to accompany their parents to the feeder now, though none has entered it yet. It's great to see the young fledglings up close, last year they just disappeared to the treetops and my neighbor's yard for 2 months. Good luck, she will do fine. Nancy Johnson<BR>Gainesville, FL (North Central FL ~3 mi W of I-75) Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 12:21:52 -0400 Haleya Priest, Amherst, MA Date: Sat, 31 May 2003 12:48:45 -0400 Our vet has cleaned the wings of Mollie our little parrot. She used only water, let it soak and rub with fingers gently. You can put wing under running water, just a string of water from the tap. Even dried up blood is easy to remove this way... Let the bird dry for a while before returning to box. (On our parrots we can use the hair drier to dry them faster after a shower, we do this sometimes, most of the times we wait till they dry naturally, but in your case, I'd dry him a little anyway...) Fawzi Emad in Laytonsville, Maryland From: "Nancy C. Hebb" <Fencroft"at"msn.com> What do fledglings sound like? How long 'til they sound like the adults, or do they as soon as they fledge? Trying to figure out what I'm hearing. Nancy in MI From: hubertrap"at"webtv.net (Joe Huber) Hi Nancy, The fledglings sound about like they do while still in the nest. They will gradually change so later this fall when they sound more like adults. Joe Huber Venice, Fl. Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 22:48:53 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 00:38:18 -0700 Linda Violett - Yorba Linda, Calif. Haleya, if you are certain that its leg(s) are not tied to the nesting material, look to see whether its feathers are in good condition. A few years ago on my trail, a Western Bluebird was crying in the nestbox after its siblings fledged. Its feathers were of the proper length to fledge but they were ragged and wouldn't "zip" because of a vitamin deficiency--which could have been rectified. Its cheeps gradually grew weaker as the days passed and the parents gave up. Still haunts me. You might want to take the chick out of the box with its parents nearby and watching. Look it over for any defects. If all seems OK, try holding the chick's feet lightly between your fingers of an open palm and lower your hand to test the flight worthiness of the feathers. If the chick's wings are air-worthy, release your hold on its feet on an upswing stroke near low tree branches. If all goes well, the chick should be up in the tree and the parents can lead it away. But if there are any defects, takeit to the rehabber. You mentioned the parents are not keeping the nestbox clean and I just had a situation last week after a fledge where a nestling's leg was stuck to a dirty nest by urban trash (Easter Basket grass); no parents or siblings nearby. The chick was alert and in fairly good condition but smelled horrible and was taken to the rehabber. Because of the dirty nest, the chick had developed a bacterial skin infection If you decide to let the chick stay in the nestbox, at least flip the dirty nest over, or change nests so the chick isn't sitting in a dirty nest. Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 12:24:58 -0400 Haleya Priest Amherst MA Her feeling was that there isn't a definite answer at this point as to why it didn't fledge, but she was just at a rehabber conference and learned that diet can affect birds more than we think. This one had been on an earthworm diet for awhile (although I've had chicks fledge on earthworm diets before). But she feels this little guy has a good chance and she is going to really clean it up, feed it some really good diet combos that she learned about at this conference to help get it "back on its feet" and in the air! I'll keep you all posted. :-) H Date: Sat, 21 Jun 2003 15:11:42 -0400 Hi all, Does anyone know if Bluebird parents begin to feed nestlings as soon as they are born or do they wait a few hours or a day? Someone told me that they are born with some of the yolk unused and that they are not fed immediately after being born. I would appreciate some input on this. My two fledglings are 41 days old now and the five eggs in the nest should be hatching any day. Thanks. Ruth From: EHDerry"at"aol.com Ruth: The Bluebird Monitor's Guide states that "the parents will start feeding soft insects to the chicks within an hour of hatching. Both the male and the female feed the nestlings. During the first few days, Dad may be especially busy feeding because Mom has to spend much of her time brooding the babies Judy To: Bluebird-L"at"Cornell.edu Hatchling passerines ( perching birds) can survive for some hours before their first feeding ( about 4 hours) the parents usually begin feeding immediately. In fact many parents sit at the edge of the nest with an insect in their mouths anxiously watching and waiting for their youngsters to finish hatching. During its first days, the hatchling bird sleeps, gapes, swallows, and defecates, but moves around very little. It relies on parents completely. Characteristics include a large, protruding abdomen and semi transparent skin. The eyes are closed and bulging in most species. The mouth is wide, and colored, enlarged flanges( lips) on either side. These gape flanges are full of nerve endings, and the slightest touch will cause the bird's mouth to open. The bright color of the inside of the mouth stimulates a feeding response in the parent bird and serves as a target for the parent bird during feeding. Over the next few days, the bird grows and developes rapidly. The rate of development varies from species to species and is related to the length of the incubation period, the size of the bird and thesafety of the nest. For example, the nestling of a ground species ( about the size of a bluebird ) may spend 9-10 days in the nest. The nestling of a cavity-nesting species of simular size however, would spend about 15 days in the nest. A nestling song sparrow, occupying an open ground nest, leaves the nest between days 9-10. A nestling cedar waxwing is slighly larger in size, and occupies an open tree nest, it does not leave the nest until sometime from days 14-18. Kathy Bennett
In response to a post: "Around day three they weigh as much as the female.By day five they weigh about 2>3 times as much as the female and only one at a time will actually fit under her brood patch.about 2>3 times as much as the female and only one at a time will actually fit under her brood patch." I actually think that from my perspective as someone weighing these guys, they weigh 0.07 oz at birth and weigh 1.6oz (or as much as the female) by day 12, not day 5, which is when their eyes open. There is no way they could grow that quickly; their metabolism, bone structure and feather growth could not support it. From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 9:23 AM Subject: Weight of Baby Birds When I read the statement "Around day three they weigh as much as the female. By day five they weigh about 2>3 times as much as the female and only one at a time will actually fit under her brood patch", I was startled, too, until I realized he meant the total weight of the babies! They can and do grow that fast. It amazes me looking at babies one day after hatching, because it would already be impossible for them to fit back into their shells! The growth rate obviously slows down as protein goes into forming feathers, wing muscles and the like, but if you think of newly fledged birds as teenagers, each day of a nestling's life is the equivalent of a human year. Kate Arnold From: Kathy Woods [mailto:phoenixcenter"at"comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 5:36 PM Subject: Re: Weight of Baby Birds Got it!! I somehow never thought of their total weight...but now I realize From: Kathy Woods [mailto:phoenixcenter"at"comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2005 5:41 PM Subject: Re: Why baby birds die in the nests & sorry Got it...you meant aggregate weight!!! sorry i misinterpreted that. FROM: Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas I believe Kathy Woods is right even with the aggregate weights the time frame should be bumped on ahead several days to get the aggregate weight above the weight of the female that much. I believe someone could do a search and find the chart showing how much weight bluebirds gain each day somewhere on line. As the young birds increase in weight they require more food and less brooding depending on the weather. The colder the outside temperatures the less species of insects on the move and the more time hunting the adults will need to spend away from the nest. Adults are also going to be different in their ability and desire to feed and brood their young. Are first time parent bluebirds doing this by instinct? Surely they did not remember what their parents fed them the first few hours out of the egg! Cornell is tracking the temperatures outside and inside the nestboxes during nesting season across a lot of territory and they will have more answers to some of these questions in a year or so. KK From: Lawrence Herbert [mailto:lherbert"at"4state.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 6:32 PM Subject: 11 days old [In response to a photo of babies 11 days old] Crystal, glad you told us. It is interesting how all bird very during the nestling stage. If you hadn't told us I would have guessed 8 days old and doing just ok! Variations occur, of course, due to amount of food available/provided; weather; parasites; number of siblings, etc. EABL are usually able to be sexed at 10 to 12 days. The birds in your photo are not, so I'll guess 8 days.... But, you were there, so I guess I'm wrong.... Good birding, Larry H. Joplin MO. From: agriffee [mailto:agriffee"at"adelphia.net] Last week I asked about mowing close to BB nest. Today I mowed and when no more than twenty feet away mommy keep feeding those babies. Also opened box on Course that recently BB laid eggs and mommy wouldn't leave even when top was open. Didn't know she was in there. She just sat there quietly like nothing was going on. Surprise! PS Have never seen the babies that hatched on June 4th raise up or open mouths when I open box to look. Maybe they're not as old as I think. From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 2:06 PM Subject: RE: BB Fright & age I rarely see the babies gape, either. They usually hunker down and remain Kate Arnold From: JOHN & BARBARA SIBIO [mailto:jsibio"at"comcast.net] Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 5:32 PM Subject: Re: BB Fright & age I had bluebirds nesting every season at my previous address, for about ten years. Whenever I looked in the nestbox, they would look right at me and some would gape. The mother always flushed, if she was in the box when I opened it. Here, I've had nesting birds for three seasons now and they react completely differently. When I open the nestbox, the mother stays put. I can even touch her and she won't leave. If the babies are alone, they hunker and keep their eyes closed. The first time I saw this behavior I thought they were dead! Yesterday I looked in the nestbox for the first time since the second clutch hatched, and one of the chicks gaped. Guess they are all different. Barbara in Cloverdale, CA From: Lana Hunt [mailto:lanahunt"at"kcp.uky.edu] Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 7:21 PM' Subject: Re: BB Fright & age Barbara, I have found that the Mother usually stays put if she's there when I open the nest box. The younger the nestlings are it seems the more they gape. When only a few days old, they start gaping as soon as my shadow covers the nest box entrance hole. As they get older they seem to be more aware and just sit quietly but leave their eyes open if it stroke it with my finger. I do hope I am not frightening them. Mother and Dad will fuss at me from the tree but come quickly when I put the mealworms in the feeder. I usually only open the box when I'm taking out mealworms. Lana in Morehead, KY From: agriffee [mailto:agriffee"at"adelphia.net] Been watching a nest with three eggs since June 10th. Saw first egg had hatched this am as went by on golf round. Both parents flew out, was sorry I looked. However the baby wasn't moving or opening its mouth. Didn't look long as wanted to leave nest alone. Now wondering if should go back this afternoon in case the one baby is dead and remove it before it contaminate nest? From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 5:10 PM Subject: RE: BB hatching They don’t necessarily move very much at first, especially in the heat. If the baby had just struggled out of its shell, it was probably exhausted, and they don’t necessarily start gaping for food the minute they hatch. Once hatching has begun, I leave the nest alone for a few days because the babies are so vulnerable and helpless at this stage. They are extremely fragile so I would be very hesitant to touch one. If you feel the need to check I would wait until tomorrow to look in. Even on day two you can tell the babies have grown a little because they already look too big to fit back into their shells! If they are growing, they are eating and all is well. I rarely see the babies open their mouths at any stage—they hunker down and stay very still. Kate Arnold From: LauraSue14"at"aol.com [mailto:LauraSue14"at"aol.com] Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 7:17 PM Subject: Re: BB hatching Hi Kate and all, This was where my infrared camera came in handy. I have rarely seen the babies gape when I've monitored my boxes. The parents (at least the ones I have experience with) are very protective and do get agitated when I or any other critter might be nearby their nestbox. I think they give out a little warning and the babies just hunker down. I've read that some people make a noise (squeak or whistle?) and get them to gape when monitoring. With the camera in the box I saw them gaping frequently, not all of them at once unless a parent was there with food. Just after hatching and for a few days they looked like they would break their necks, they just flopped all over the place! When they got bigger they had much more control and gaped even more, some one was always hungry :-) Laura From: Mary Thomson [mailto:Mary"at"marythomson.net] Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 7:21 PM Subject: Bluebird Hatching! Hello All, What a thrill! When checking the box this evening, I found one of the babies ready to hatch (egg cracked) so I ran for my camera. The mom (Molly) didn't both me while I photographed the baby hatching! I decided to revisit the box again about three minutes later and the baby was out of the shell with shells already removed from the nest! This is the third year for this pair raising broods in our yard and the third brood this year (only three eggs this brood, five each of the first two). ...It was awesome to be able to photograph the baby hatching! Mary Thomson From: Laurie Jonckheer [mailto:lauriej"at"insight.rr.com] Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 5:05 PM Subject: feed me ...This is a Laurie J From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net] Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 8:39 AM Subject: Re: Can you say feed me please!/cowbirds Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas Cowbirds would have had their eyes open a slit for 4 days or so by this age and they will actively seek out the foster parent when they enter the nestbox or simply position themselves to be under the entrance hole and receive the most food. The baby cowbirds have a dark orange or red mouth lining which really stands out in a group of yellow open mouths. If there is a shortage of food in any species of bird nest then the runts normally starve to death first since they cannot get enough food to maintain body growth. Starvation even for a few days will create weak bone, muscle and feather growth. Remember that these baby birds will have to be able to recognize and avoid predators in as little as 10 more days when they fledge! Life for these birds is a continuous race against time! They must remain in top physical condition as the ones who lose any of their senses are more apt to become predator food. Just like the bike racers in France who get eliminated from the race when they fall too far behind due to fatigue, accidents, illness or equipment failure, in a birds life they would be terminated by an unfriendly environment. Even though all of the men in the bike race are in top condition compared to the rest of the human population they only have a few years where they can compete at this level. That is why small songbirds can live for 20 years or more in a cage but only a few will live beyond 5 years old in natural habitat where the weak or the slow or the ones simply careless for just an instant are eliminated. KK From: Kat [mailto:bergiekat"at"rmbb.net] Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 12:04 PM Subject: Need your bluebird expertise! Hi group! I'm worried. The two blue babes that hatched on Tuesday and Wednesday always seem to be sleeping when I've peeked in. (Three times). They aren't sitting there with their beaks open begging for food like everyone else describes. I know we've had some hot weather in TX lately. (The nest box has a vented protective sun shield on the top and the west side and that is keeping the temp down nicely in the box.) I'm concerned. Should I be? Mom's been on the nest (two unhatched eggs) until yesterday late and dad keeps stopping by but not every 20 minutes. Are these babies getting enough to eat? When I peeked in this morning, mom not on the nest, they were breathing...but again, sleeping I guess? They are getting fuzzy! Kat From: Trish Culpepper [mailto:trishkcully"at"earthlink.net] Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 1:08 PM Subject: Re: Need your bluebird expertise! Kat, I only noticed BB babies gaping for food the first day or so. After that, whenever I peeked in, they seemed to be sleeping or hiding whenever I peeked in, but they did just fine. Maybe it's just their instinct against possible harm that's kicking in. If they are getting fuzzy, I bet they are fine. From: Kate Arnold [mailto:koscharn"at"cox.net] Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 3:17 PM Subject: RE: Need your bluebird expertise! Only once have I seen babies gaping for food. In this heat, birds don't necessarily do much feeding during mid-day, but seem to concentrate their efforts earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon. Remember in the heat they won't require as many calories to maintain a body temp as in cooler weather where some food goes for growth and some for keeping warm. If your babies are growing and getting fuzzy, I wouldn't worry. Kate Arnold From: Evelyn Cooper [mailto:emcooper"at"bayou.com] Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 4:03 PM Subject: RE: Need your bluebird expertise! I love seeing mine sleeping peacefully. Before I started using the solar Evelyn Cooper From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] I just put up a webpage at http://www.sialis.org/runt.htm with a photo series of developing nestlings. I was closely monitoring this nest because one nestling hatched a day later than the rest, and was way behind developmentally. It ended up staying in the nest for two full days after the others, and did fledge successfully. I have two questions: 1. At what age does the egg tooth ( sharp, hard rasp structure that forms on the bill tip of a hatchling that enables the baby to break through the egg shell) drop off on Eastern bluebirds? I thought this would help in “aging” nestlings. 2. How long does it take an eastern bluebird to pip through the shell? I read that hatching can take hours to days, depending on the species, and Albatross can take up to 6 days to hatch! (In the interim, the bird breaths in the airspace in the egg. I could hear a duckling peeping inside the egg shell while it was pipping.) For different photos of developing nestlings, see: Eastern Bluebird Daily Growth Series by Glenn Williams (TX Bluebird Society) and Age Picture Book by Pam Ford (MD Bluebird Society) , and The Bluebird Monitor's Guide to Bluebirds and Other Small Cavity Nesters photos by Malinda Matsuko, pages 32-40. From: Lawrence Herbert [mailto:lherbert"at"4state.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2005 7:31 AM Subject: late developer Bet and bluebirders: It so happens I had a late developer on my sw Missouri trail too. The runt was hatched a day late but never did seem to be healthy looking. If the whole brood would have looked like that I would have suspected blowflies but the brothers and sisters were ok. She fledged a day or two late also. Good birding, Larry H. Joplin MO. From: Sue [mailto:siouxzieq_0"at"cox.net] Even though we weren't here when they hatched, I think I am on spot with their age. My research says eyes start to peep open around day five. Am guessing they hatched on Sunday so that is about right. Does anyone else have anything different? From: Sue [mailto:siouxzieq_0"at"cox.net] Went to check on the nest today and found one of the babies pushed to the side of the nest and chirping loudly, begging for food. The other three were sitting in there quietly just like their parents taught them. I then noticed that baby was missing an eye. Not gouged out, just missing (there is a smooth flat space where there should be an eye). I thought there might still be a chance something might have been at him and gently examined the rest of him. I noticed his beak is also deformed a bit (the tips are crossed). Now I am wondering if the parents aren't feeding him because of his deformities. If/when he dies, will they remove him or will I have to be on the lookout for it myself? From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Depending on whether or not you can tell if the parents are feeding him, If you can find a wildlife rehabber in your area, he might not have to die. If there is a National Park or a college with a vet school, that is where I'd try to find a rehabber. I live not far from UT here, and have the number to call if I need to let them know I'm bringing a patient. So far, thank goodness, haven't needed to. From: Shawn [mailto:shawnee4"at"charter.net] Try to find a bird rehabilitation person. If you have a local college with a vet school, they might be able to steer you to one. Good luck! Shawn in Sevierville, TN From: Amy Louise Marr [mailto:MARR_AMY_LOUISE"at"Lilly.com] That is very unfortunate indeed. It is good that you noticed that something was not right- good obs. Does the baby look less developed than the others? Amy Marr ... From: Sue [mailto:siouxzieq_0"at"cox.net] They are about ten days old. This one is considerably smaller with fewer feathers than the others. He was still shoved out of the nest this morning and begging for food. I came home at lunch and now he is back nestled down in the nest with the other three. He is not begging anymore either. He doesn't look listless. Wondering if they fed him? He looked terrible all day yesterday and still this morning but appears ok now. I guess I will just keep monitoring. From: John Schuster [mailto:wildwingco"at"earthlink.net] Dear Sue, They may have feed the baby bird, but I doubt it. The settling down could just be that it has no energy reserves left to beg for food and it's resigned it's self to it's own fate. You really need to monitor now Sue, it may make it, but the cross beak is not good and it still may die for lack of food. Personally, I do not believe it is going to make it, but lets hope I'm wrong. From: Paula [mailto:PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com] Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 8:43 AM Subject: Re: Nestling on ground Gail, I am going to share with you & your niece what I learned last summer. I am familiar with EABL and cavity nesters, but not as familiar with open nesting birds. A neighbor girl found a baby robin on the ground and asked me to help it. She said it could not fly and was hopping around. Because I was unfamiliar with robins, I called my birding guru friend and she explained that the best thing I could do for that chick was leave it where I found it. EABL and other cavity nesters remain in the nest until they are ready to fledge, i.e. fly on their own. Nature allows this because they are relatively safe in an enclosed cavity. They generally remain in the nest longer than open nesting birds and leave the nest ready to fly. Open nesting birds are not as safe. They are more likely to become a meal for predators than our cavity nesting birds are. Therefore, it is nature's way for these birds to leave the nest a little early. The chicks will hop around on the ground, getting stronger, while their parents continue to feed them. With chicks in different locations, they are less likely to all become a meal for a predator whereas if they had remained in the nest, their chance of survival would be less. The reason I bring this up is because you mentioned that the chick has feathers. If it has feathers, it was probably meant to be hopping out there so parents could feed it. If things continue as nature intends, the chick gets fed, the flight feathers develop a little more, and in a few days, off he goes. Unless there is some obvious injury to the chick, I would try replacing it where you found it and observe from a distance. You could set the chick on a low lying branch to keep it a little safer from predators. See if the parents return to feed it. If you find an open nesting bird chick on the ground WITH feathers, the best help you can give it is to keep the cat indoors if you have one :) Paula Z From: Bet Zimmerman [mailto:ezdz"at"charter.net] The runt in a clutch of 6 here lived last year BUT I was feeding mealworms. She fledged two days later. The parents continued to feed her in the box. I kept a close watch. Bet from CT http://www.sialis.org/runt.htm - photolog. From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Yes, Bet's observations are consistent with mine in that runts can survive in a large clutch (five or more chicks) *if* an ample food source (mealworms or natural) is available. From: Robert Barron [mailto:rebarron"at"gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 5:50 PM Subject: baby hanging out Hi everyone, I have 4 babies about 12 days old in a large nest box with the entrance 9" off the floor. Yesterday all four nestlings were sitting patiently in the nest but today one keeps hogging the entrance hole and a few times the parents had to muscle their way in to feed them. I haven't had a nest box this close to the house before and maybe this happens all the time and I just didn't see it. Thanks, From: lviolett [mailto:lviolett"at"earthlink.net] Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 6:39 PM Subject: Re: baby hanging out Same thing happens sometimes on my trail with a chick "hogging" the hole and Linda Violett From: Sheila Rogers [mailto:sheilarogers"at"charter.net] Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2006 12:59 AM Subject: Blue are ready to Fledge:) Been in the back yard when I can, it's driving us crazy...watching with my scope and thinking they our about to split:( Their our 5 Blues and one is hogging the view all day...he/she even fell asleep perched on the inside the hole, I was waiting to catch it if it fell out while dozing:) Then Dad came to feed them this evening with a mouthful of tastes MW's ( Thank's to me:) The juvenile wouldn't budge from his view to feed the other 4 kids...Dad push him aside and heard them screaming. Looks like Mama Blue took a bath some place, must of gone to the " I have a feeling that they will be gone tomorrow morning..of course I have lots of errands to do...will miss it all:( Sheila |
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