Help with bird's nest!?

Question

At our cottage, we recently realized that there is a bird's nest on one of the lights outside our cottage. There are 4 blue eggs, and one is beginning to hatch. The mother and father visited the eggs quite often, but for 3 days we haven't seen them. Will they come back? If not, how can I feed them to keep them alive?

Answer 1

If one is hatching, the mother and father have definitely been visiting and are constantly looking for food (hence their scarceness). Don't worry. Just watch them grow into adult birds. It sounds like you have a Robbin's nest. And if the parents have ditched their kids, do not touch them. Turn on the light (for warmth) and call animal control and have them pick the birdies up. It's illegal to touch a wild bird or egg.

Best of luck! Wait until you see them get their first feathers. They look so goofy. And seeing them fly for the first time is incredible.

Answer 2

Do not touch them.

It is against the law to diturb a nest after there are eggs in it.

The parents will come back. And if they don't you can buy baby food for the birds at a pet store.

Answer 3

Ok. First of all do not let the parent birds see you. They very well could flee the nest. Or they will wait until you are gone. Lets say you watch on and off for 2-4 hours and no return and the babies are there. You need first and formost to keep these babies warm. Bring nest in put in box and put box on a low set heating pad. Cover babies with a tissue loosley. As far as food goes. NEVER give a baby bird water at all. They get hydration from their food only. They will aspirate the water and die in minutes. There are hand feeding formulas at petstore called Kaytee hand feeding formula. Should be warm not hot. Can put in a small 1cc syringe or even use a blunt end of a popsicle stick or coffee stirrer. You need to put this food in the back or their throats. Do not worry they wont swallow the stick. It will seem like it. Do not feed until babies are warmed. If they are cold they will not gape or peep. Should be warm to touch. You can also get mealworms at petstore and chop up and feed to them. It sounds like these may be Robins. your best bet is always to let parent birds raise as mortality is high when we try. Call a vet they can refer you to a wildlife rehabber in your area that will take them and raise them properly and release back  into the wild. It is illegal to posses these birds without a license. You can until you get them to vet or rehabber. Good luck with the little ones and lets keep are finger crossed that mamma and pappa come back. It is unusual for them both to go. They may be near by watching so stay hidden. Oh important note here baby birds have to be fed every 20-30 mins from sun up to sun down. 12 hours a day. kthey do not eat at night. :) If you go longer it will kill them. When they are featherd you can go 30-45 mins and then up to hour.

Answer 4

Do not touch them. The mother and father very well could be searching for food. You may not see them come back but because the babies are beginning to hatch, they spend a lot of time searching for food to feed the babies. Please do not touch the nest, they can sense you  and will not return. If for some reason they do not return, and you would like to help take care of them, it is just like having a baby. You will need to get a syringe with a long stem, some feeding formula from the pet store and feel them every 3 to 4 hours, little by little. They will also need water and be kept at approximately 80 degrees.

Answer 5

Unless you are watching continually and from a hidden area, you are most likely missing their visits to the nest.  Keep in mind if you are close to the nest, they are not going to go to it while you are there.  Also, it would be illegal for you to take these birds to raise on your own, all wild native birds are protected by law.  Try and avoid too much activity near the nest, and if you really want to know if they are still tending to the babies..watch from afar continually.  Visits to the nest can be quick and sometimes infrequent.  ONLY if you are positive these birds have been abandoned..you can take them to a local wildlife rehab to be raised by experts:

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact....