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A 1 1/8 reducer will keep a HOSP out of the nestbox. They need a 1 1/4 inch to get in.
Apparently I SO didn’t know that. I always thought they could enter a 1 & 1/8.
Gin
Atlanta, GASadly a 1 & 1/8 will admit a HOSP. I do use that size to keep out EABL if a CACH starts in a box of mine.
Gin
Atlanta, GAYou can plug the hole with almost anything including a rag. Just stuff the thing in there.
Did that lone survivor fledge? I would be checking him long about now although I have had them go at a whopping 23 days.
Gin
Atlanta, GABTW – that was supposed to be a ( in front of the 5 in the post above. A nest of 95 birds would have been a monstrous feat. :)
Yeah, I just skipped over that one. 95 would have been some kind of freak occurrence for sure.
Gin
Atlanta, GAThat’s really sad. How old were the chicks?
Ten years? I’ve been doing this a lot longer and have seen too many things I never wanted to see.
Gin
Atlanta, GAIt could be he’s not feeding them because he’s not the father. If those aren’t his genes in the box he’s going to be pretty much uninterested in their survival.
There isn’t much you can do to distinguish one male from another unless you have one trained to a feeder and you go by behavior.
Gin
Atlanta, GAYou could try a spooker and see if they will tolerate it. They might if you introduce it gradually and do it during egg laying. What did you do about that HOSP?
There is no hole reducer small enough to keep out a HOWR and admit any other bird.
Gin
Atlanta, GAHow about giving those eggs 21 days? Sometimes, rarely, not often there are late hatchings.
Do you know what you would look for if you candled the eggs? If you don’t, look at this: http://archive.is/pS5DK Chicken eggs but eggs “is” eggs.
There is another way to look for bad eggs if you don’t candle. When you look at them and if they’re old enough, you’ll see a clear line of demarcation about half way between one end and the other with one end being darker. That’s a bad egg.
Gin
Atlanta, GAWere there visible injuries on these chicks? It’s unusual for a HOWR to leave them in the box. Most of the time they toss them out. If their bellies were bloated you can’t go by that as an indicator of poison. In death, they will bloat. Quite often cause of death remains a mystery.
Good idea to empty the boxes and leave them open. That might help with the HOWR but since they have established a territory they’ll probably stick around for another battle with you. So sorry! I deal with them all the time.
Gin
Atlanta, GA
