Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Nicole, is your cage feeder one that has 1 1/2″ squares of wire around or is it one that is only open on both ends? The later one is not as acceptable by the birds as the round ones with square openings. Good luck on your 3rd nesting!
Yeah, Susan – we told you she would love those worms. Sounds like you are on top of things, thinking about the heat & all. We all have to start somewhere when we begin to host these beauties – I read everything I could find, especially the Sialis.org website, and boy is there a lot to learn – like life, you never quit learning if you are doing anything at all!
I learned something new this season with this current mama – who is a different one from the very 1st one this year. When she is incubating she does not come off the nest like all the others did – a couple of times she surprised me when I thought she was off nest, and when I peaked in to check the eggs she was in there and did not move one bit. Of course, I very quickly closed the lid & left her alone.
Rich, I know nothing about blow flies – don’t believe we have them here – is it the heat that brings them in?
Dana, it varies about a male finding a mate. Usually during nesting season it does not take them very long. My male lost his mate after they had 5 eggs for 1st nesting, and it was only a few days that he had attracted another. Of course, this was at the beginning of nesting season. If you see him and he is interested in the box and he is eating your mealworms, he might get another gal yet. But it is getting a little late – bet he returns next season. Remember to have your box(s) up in January or February (probably more like February or March where you live), as this is when they are out scouting. By the way, welcome to this forum! I believe you will find lots of knowledgeable people here. Our administrator/moderators & participants have been here for years – I’ve been here for 9 seasons and several were here way before me.
Nicole, your box sounds very good – thick wood & good air vents, which is how we build our boxes. But in a very hot area and especially if they are in direct sun (all four of mine are), I truly believe the shields are needed – but just my thoughts. I know my first year I had 4 babies just die in the box in July, all at the same time, and although I suspected pesticide poisoning (all dying at once), it could have been heat related because I did not know about heat shields. Great you have your 1st egg – my pair finally have 3 eggs and she began incubating yesterday. I have to be more concerned about the wren than the HOSP on this one!
Nicole & Susan, yes heat shields are used after babies are born – think about 4 or 5 chicks growing bigger in that small box and in the heat of summer. I am not sure about putting it up after they are hatched (most of us have it up when we just get eggs). Like Nicole said, If your box is in full sun in a hot area, I would definitely have up a heat shield, and they still have about 2 weeks before fledging. It is put on the top, south & west sides of the box – of course not on the front. Spacers are critical, otherwise you just keep the heat in and with spacers you have a dead-air space for the heat to flow through & out. Give it some thought, but you need to do it quickly if you are going to. Again, you have a brave mama – papa is gone and in the past, but you have a chance to help her. Good luck!
I would imagine they are no good by now – it has been over 8 days since you have seen mama. Did you dot the eggs with a marker to see if they were being turned, or just looking at their position? I’d wait a few more days and then clean out nest & eggs – it would be getting late in the season there for another nesting I imagine, so no hurry about removing them. Sorry this has turned out bad.
Susan, those worms will not survive heat or direct sun very long. A lot of people say you can attach a small butter cup of worms directly to the bird house, maybe with a push pin or something, and she could not miss it. Also, just put a very few out at a time, maybe 10 or so, until you see if she will eat them. You must not leave the food directly on the house but for maybe a few hours, just long enough to get her acquainted with them. Like Gin says, once she gets started, they are hooked! Please don’t give up – but do just put out a few at a time so you don’t waste them. You do know that they need to be refrigerated, the ones that aren’t out yet? Good that you got to see the babies – there is always 1 or so that you cannot always see, so you may have more than 3. Yes, we can get attached, but these are wild birds & nature takes its course sometimes. Hang in there!
That’s good, Rich – but you will need to leave the box closed from now on or the babies may fledge prematurely and not be able to fly good enough to survive. Whew . . . . .
No, you cannot feed the babies – the mama will feed the worms to the babies after they are about 3-4 days old, at least that has been my experience. The worms are for the benefit of the babies mostly, but the mama will eat some, also. Sorry I did not explain this. You will see her get a mouthful of worms & then kind of beat them, I guess to kill them or something, and then bring them to the box for the babies to eat.
Susan, this is great news that mama is tending the babies and overcome her fear of the spooker. The main help you can give is the mealworms, but you do not want to overfeed them to the birds. Usually 10 worms per day per bird, twice a day, is about right. They need natural food mainly, with only one parent it will be a little harder for her. There are great instructions on the mealworms sites, such as Rainbow, Grubco, Nature’s Way, the Sialis website, etc. But get a small amount (a cup of 100 or 500) locally and once she learns to eat/feed them you can purchase in bulk online, which is MUCH cheaper. Yes, I hope it was just papa Blue’s time and not the result of pesticides. I had 5 babies my very first year of bluebirding succumb to pesticide poisoning I believe, because they all died at the very same time, one day they were alive and the very next day they were dead. These birds are amazing, aren’t they, the bond they have for their young, and even before they hatch, i.e., to the eggs themselves.
This is touchy situation – I’m not familiar with the harm of blowflys. If this is day 12 it is especially hard to decide what to do – if they look healthy I would be inclined to leave them alone. If needed and you had a spare nest, you could do a nest change, but this would be hard at their age and need to be done immediately. Other opinions here?
Susan, this is so sad – was there any pesticide spraying done in your area – if so, this is a possibility for your males’ death, but probably from natural causes, since there was no sign of trauma. You definitely need to have a spooker up – whether you see HOSP or not, because they are usually around somewhere. If your mama has been back to feed the babies (how far are they from fledging), I believe everything is fine. Sometimes for a new mama not used to a spooker, it takes then a little time (a few fly arounds the house) but then they usually will go in. Keep close eye on this – if she still is spooked tie up about half of the streamers and just let 1 or 2 float around, then gradually let them down. I really believe she will continue to feed them, but she will have a hard time after they fledge, but it CAN be done. If you help by offering meal worms, that would be a big help to her. Start out with a small amount from local pet store and train her to come to the feeder bowl. Put it close by the box to start with, but only for a short period of time (so as not to encourage predators) and then gradually move it away. This help may make the difference on those baby birds’ survival, unless they are just about to fledge. But even then she will need help feeding them! Good luck. P.S. Be sure the streamers on the spooker just brush the top of the box, not in front of the hole.
Nicole, sounds like you are doing it right with 2 successful nestings. Wow, to have another nest going this late there in AL would be pretty hot for them – additional heat shields would be good for sure, but you should be okay if they are not in direct sun. Do you use spookers, wren guards & baffles for the crawling critters? Congrats the success so far and good luck. Do have a question, you mention your box is a “newer well insulated” one – is the insulation for cold or heat, i.e. where is the insulation & what is it made of? Did you buy it this way?
