Can this be true????
I did a nest check this morning and was blown away by what I found! One of the nests has 12 eggs!!! The eggs all look normal. As soon as I raised the house the martin pair came back and the female went inside. I need to know from the experts what I should do! Do I wait until the young hatch and throw out any bad eggs? Do I distribute eggs or young to compartment that only have 4 or 5 eggs? By the way Emil - this is in the big wood house you gave us years ago to get us started!
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Sherrie
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Louise Chambers
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Sherrie, I'd wait for the babies to hatch (could take up to 3 days for all, or even 4) and then remove unhatched eggs. You've got two clutches of eggs there, and probably second clutch is only one that will hatch. May be the same female laying new eggs because she knows old ones won't hatch, or a new female entirely.
Was this room empty on last check, no eggs? Most clutches are 4-6, rarely 7 and very rarely 8. So (this is a good thing!) not all will hatch. Be sure to let us know what happens
Was this room empty on last check, no eggs? Most clutches are 4-6, rarely 7 and very rarely 8. So (this is a good thing!) not all will hatch. Be sure to let us know what happens
Sorry I'm just now posting a reply to your question about my earlier nest check Louise!
I'm quite vertically challenged and can't see in all the nest compartments when I bring the big house down unless I bring the ladder out with me. What I do is stick my iPhone up in the top compartments and snap a picture! If the picture looks okay I go to the next one! Often I see obvious signs of eggs covered with leaves. or babies. This time I did have the ladder and was able to see inside each nest. I honestly don't know how many eggs were in there last week! I'll sure keep you posted on what is happening inside!
I'm quite vertically challenged and can't see in all the nest compartments when I bring the big house down unless I bring the ladder out with me. What I do is stick my iPhone up in the top compartments and snap a picture! If the picture looks okay I go to the next one! Often I see obvious signs of eggs covered with leaves. or babies. This time I did have the ladder and was able to see inside each nest. I honestly don't know how many eggs were in there last week! I'll sure keep you posted on what is happening inside!
Sherrie
There are 15 eggs now instead of 12! I checked the nests about an hour ago. I counted and re-counted. If I was reading this being posted by someone else I would have suspicions that the landlord was playing some sort of trick - but I swear to God I have not messed with this nest in any way! To me some of the eggs look smaller, but maybe it's just because they are a little farther from the camera. I am really anxious to see how this turns out!
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Sherrie
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Nichole Haddox
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- Location: Washington Missouri
Oh wow! That is and amazing picture you have 
You are a lucky landlord!!
You are a lucky landlord!!
Gotta be a record.....I have lowered the house almost daily to check this nest with 15 eggs. Today I noticed the parents going in and out constantly so knew there must be babies. When I checked this evening I counted 7 - or possibly 8 - new babies! We will see what happens with the rest of the eggs.
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Last edited by Sherrie on Tue May 20, 2014 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Sherrie
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DakotaLady
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- Location: Bismarck, ND
Sherrie,
That is incredible. I wonder if they are done hatching now or if you will have more youngsters. Holy smokes that would be awful to lay that many unhatched eggs. OUCH. ha ha
That is incredible. I wonder if they are done hatching now or if you will have more youngsters. Holy smokes that would be awful to lay that many unhatched eggs. OUCH. ha ha
~Tangula~
2013 - 16 pair, 79 eggs, 71 fledged
2012 - 4 pair, 18 eggs, 18 fledged
2013 - 16 pair, 79 eggs, 71 fledged
2012 - 4 pair, 18 eggs, 18 fledged
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Emil Pampell-Tx
- Posts: 6743
- Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
- Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
- Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas
Sherrie, congrats on your large family! That is really amazing. I have seen 2 nests with 6 egss each, but never saw 12 eggs in one nest. I would just check them regularly and see what happens. If some more hatch, you may need to come up with a strategy to feed all of them
I am happy that you are still using that cedar house, and glad that you like it.
I am happy that you are still using that cedar house, and glad that you like it.
PMCA Member, 250 gourds, 6 poles, 2traps
Just did a nest check. Ten of the 15 eggs have hatched with healthy looking babies! I unstacked them to be sure. There are 5 eggs yet. I'll check them again tomorrow.
Is it safe to start distributing babies to other nests that have only four or five babies??
Does this need to be documented in any way? What fun - and how interesting!
Is it safe to start distributing babies to other nests that have only four or five babies??
Does this need to be documented in any way? What fun - and how interesting!
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Sherrie
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Louise Chambers
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It's possible that two females each laid eggs in the same nest - only blood tests could confirm that, but it's certainly unusual to have 10 young in one compartment. Highest number recorded in one brood has been 8.
Have you been able to watch and see if two birds are feeding the young, or possibly three birds? Please keep observing and taking photos. I would be hesitant to interfere unless you see that some young are not being fed. If they are thriving, I'd leave them alone. You could supply some supplemental food - put dead crickets and mealworms inside the entrance daily, or twice daily.
Have you been able to watch and see if two birds are feeding the young, or possibly three birds? Please keep observing and taking photos. I would be hesitant to interfere unless you see that some young are not being fed. If they are thriving, I'd leave them alone. You could supply some supplemental food - put dead crickets and mealworms inside the entrance daily, or twice daily.