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That should be one very well fed youngster. And yes, I agree on the Grubco order. The worms were much larger than the initial 1,000 I bought from WBU. Thank you for your recommendation.
David
Stafford, VAThanks Carol. I have refrigerated some of the larva but even they develop pupae after a time. It has been just about a month since I received the big shipment (10K) mealworms,and they were turning into pupae in about 10 days. I believe that I read in some of the literature on bluebirds that they will take the pupae, as it is still soft and moist like the larva. I counted last night and I have a total of around 800 pupae. At 50% females and a mere 150 eggs per female, I could have over 60,000 mealworms by August or September. I will need to feed them larger helpings or freeze them for winter. If they lay more than 150 each, I am going to have to find more blues to feed.
David
Stafford, VAWe are up to 4 eggs now but it started to rain toward the nest, so i did’t get any new photos today. Will try again tomorrow when there should be a full house of 5.
David
Stafford, VALove it. Just Keep it up. They will return when they are ready. You are keeping a “safe house” for them.
David
Stafford, VAPhilliblues – Mine just started their 2nd nesting. Possibly 3rd egg today. So there is still time. Good luck for the rest of your season.
David
Stafford, VAGood for you. At least one is out of the way. In a few days you might be like Carol and trap a pair. Keep on trapping!!!
David
Stafford, VACarol – 3 eggs – did another one hatch? I would definitely wait another day or so to see if the others hatch. Maybe the heat messed up the incubation cycle for the female if she left the box for a long period of time.
Gin – good information. I had not heard about candling a colored shell egg. I guess if it is thin enough it would work. I also did not know about the coloring difference on the shells. I have noticed white streaks every once in a while but not a difference in the main color. But I have only had a couple of eggs that did not hatch. Like Carol said, it is good to see you back.David
Stafford, VAOnly one so far but the others have been hopping on the top of the cage. Mom bird is now going into the cage as much as dad bird so the others will probably follow.
David
Stafford, VAJudy Congratulations on #5. Nest step is the hatch.
Carol – you are getting to be and “Ace” when it comes to HOSP trapping.
About the birds in the trees – we can only speculate that if mom and dad don’t come back to the nestbox for a while, the little ones will stay where they are. When both parents begin to come back to a feeder or to begin their new nest building, the older fledglings will venture out with them. Once they learn where those delicious mealworms come from they will return more often. Just my thoughts. No evidence that this is the actual way Nature works.
David
Stafford, VAI am not sure Carol. If the eggs were laid in the normal 1-a-day sequence, they should all hatch within a 4-5 day period at most (if each egg needs the full 14 days to hatch). I would give it another day or so just to be sure. I don’t know of a way to visually check to see if the embryo is still “alive”.
Good luck. We can only hope for the best.David
Stafford, VAI am with Carol on the Baffles. Mine is a 6″ stainless steel stove pile, with a hole cut to fit the 2 inch pipe. The Baffle is mounted on 2 1/2″ screws in the pipe 180 degrees apart so it will wobble if touched. I also inserted a snake trap made from 1/4th inch hardware cloth cut in different shapes and put together so that it does not allow thin snake entry thru the stovepipe cap. I bent the edges of the shapes down so they would act like a rough and sharp sticker guard inside the baffle. I use a lithium grease on the pole 4″ up at the base, I also put the grease 2″up from the top of the baffle and just below the nestbox.
Carol mentioned the wood poles as being deadly. So is mounting the nestbox on a fence, fence post, or tree, as snakes can easily climb these and attack the box from the top. Stay away from over hanging bushes and tree branches as they also drop on the box if they are hungry. Clear open area is preferred. The Sailis site is a great resource for all things bluebird.
Good luckDavid
Stafford, VA
