How do i care for baby bird eggs? how can i tell if they are alive or not?

Question

i found some baby bird eggs and i know the mother was dead... she looked like she had been dead for a little while... how can i test the eggs to see if they are alive or not? how can i hatch them without an incubator if they are alive?

Answer 1

Exactly where did you find the eggs...in a nest?  If so..put them back immediately..as in many species the males will also incubate eggs.  He may still be tending to the nest.  If this is not the case and the eggs have sat for a long time without being incubated...then they are dead and there is nothing you can do for them.  Also, it is illegal for you to have taken these eggs..in either case..but them back where you found them.

Answer 2

You can't hatch them without an incubator. I raise quail, and their eggs can go two hours without a mother on them.

Answer 3

If the eggs have got too cold for a long period they're probably dead, so I would get an incubator.  Hold the egg by a light to see if any light comes through, if you can see a dark area they have probably been fertilised.

Answer 4

If the bird was a native species, you would be in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which protects nearly every wild bird in North America, if you kept and hatched these eggs. Never mind the fact that chicks hatched in captivity by someone who doesn't know what they are doing would most certainly die; if they managed to survive, the chicks would be imprinted on humans and not know how to feed themselves or be birds. This is why wildlife rehabilitators exist: take the eggs and nest to your local Audubon if they have not been abandoned for too long (more than a day or two). If the eggs have been untended for more than a day, they have probably chilled enough that they are no longer viable. Best thing to do in that case is to simply throw them in the garbage as they wouldn't hatch, no matter what anyone did.

If, on the other hand, you know for a fact that the birds are English house sparrows, European starlings, or common pigeons, they are not protected by the MBTA and you can do whatever you want with them without fear of governmental involvement (check the mother's description against a good bird guide to make sure). These species have been introduced and are detrimental to native bird populations in many ways, and very messy, not to mention carriers of diseases that are transmittable to humans. You really wouldn't want to have them as pets.

This is a reality of nature. Birds die while nesting. Trees get blown down. Predators like cats, raccoons and possums find nests and eat the eggs and young. It's sad, but nature provides enough surplus chicks throughout the species to make up for individual losses.

Answer 5

u dont have to get an incubater just put the eggs in a small box(shoe box)with blankets and put them under a 60watt light bulb they should do fine