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Yesterday 4 new BB babies cracked their shells and honored me with a peek. They are so tiny at this stage, but Mama and Papa are as busy as can be. I had a few mealworms from a small container I had purchased at Walmart in the bait dept. and I gave them to the adults to celebrate their parenthood. I ordered mealworms on line since Walmart does not carry them anymore and they should arrive anytime between Mon and Thurs. I am so excited to have this happen again this year. I hope I am instrumental in adding to the BB population year after year. One man told me he had never seen so many BB’s as he has this year, he counted 14.
Connie (PA) :
Great Connie – hope every thing goes well. Mealworms on line (live) is really the way to go once your blues have found them & love them. Much cheaper than purchasing the small containers. I order 10,000 at a time, which usually lasts me 3 months. I take them out to feed every week or every other week and put some thinly sliced carrots on top of the wheat bran for their moisture. This batch I got 2 days ago I let eat for 24 hours after delivery, and had to replace the carrots 3 times they ate so many!
Hi Carol:
I certainly didn’t expect those mealworms to eat so much, but carrots are easy to come by. Did they come in wheat bran as a bedding or is that something you had to buy separately.
New at this part, last year I only bought the small pkgs. from Walmart.
I think I read somewhere that cornmeal works too, but then I might have made that up. LOL
Connie (PA)Thanks Lisa, Tammy and Randy:
I do have some sad news to report, I lost two babies the other night, I don’t know for sure but I suspect a raccoon, was worried about a fence but thought sure it was far enough away but something reached in during the night and snatched two of them. I have a small feeder bowl attached to the pole that I can put mealworms in and that was slid down the pole so I am figuring that is what frightened whatever was there away and also what brought my attention to the box that morning….Anyway with Mama and Daddy watching we moved the box with the nest and 2 remained babies about 20 feet away and in about a half hour or so Mama and Daddy checked it out and things have gone back to normal. Thank goodness for that. Like everyone said we learn from our mistakes. I hope that is the last one of that nature I make.
ConnieSorry!!!! It is so hard to lose them! I am really worried about my nesting. It’s just so late in the year ;(
I am so glad they accepted the new nest! They are quite determined and invested once they have eggs or babies. Best of luck!!!
Connie, I am so sorry for your loss. Hang in there; your two remaining babies will be beautiful!
Randy
Bedford, New HampshireSorry for the loss, Connie – that is hard but it happens. The worms you buy in bulk are packaged in newspaper & a white netting, there is no wheat bran – you need to purchase it when you package them up in containers. I believe instead of cornmeal you can also use some oatmeal as bedding, but from experience, that is harder to sift out from the worms when you feed them than wheat bran, which is only about $3 a box. The wheat bran is their main food and carrots are for their moisture, & they usually really gobble the carrots up, also. Connie, you would be better off if you moved the worm bowl away from their nesting box, as it does attract other critters/birds. If they have eaten the worms, they will come to the new location, maybe just move it a small distance at a time until it’s final resting place. It is only recommended to attach it to the nest box to get them attracted to it, then gradually move it away. Great that you got the box moved away from the fence. Good luck.
Glad you moved the box farther from the fence. Do you have a raccoon baffle on the pole?
Gin
Atlanta, GAHi Lisa:
I hope all works out with the late nesting. I am hoping that when these fledge at the end of the month I will be lucky enough to get a second nesting. Time will tell.
ConnieHi Randy:
I am keeping a close eye on my remaining babies but no one can be on guard continually. Sunday evening as we sat here in the family room watching TV I saw what I thought was someone on the patio and then had a second look and it was Mama and baby bear. Mama was trying to reach my Hummingbird feeder and standing straight up teaching baby how it is done, luckily it was out of her reach but then I started to worry about my BB’s. One of them bent that feeder I had attached to the pole but thankfully they did not touch the box, so yesterday we moved it to a separate post and both Mama and Papa BB have found it. Hopefully we will not have any more unwanted guests. Whew, raising baby BB’s can be taxing.
Connie (PA)Hi Carol:
My mealworms arrived and goodness I never expected them to be delivered the way they were. They came in a box with holes punched in the side, and a cotton bag inside with the worms. I believe there were as many dead as alive, and the smell is kinda overpowering. I started to try to separate the living from the dead but that would have taken hours. Maybe I just made a mistake in where I ordered. So I just take a scoop of both and the BB’s seem to separate them on their own. I did use the cornmeal because that is what I had on hand but I will look for the wheat bran tomorrow. I added some carrots but they did not consume them all so when I switch the bran for the cornmeal I will remove what is remaining so that it doesn’t mold. Feeder bowl is moved and is working great in it’s new location. Thanks for the info.
Connie (Pa)
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