7 nestlings ! Runt Catching up, just fine !!

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Anthony Neira
Posts: 1319
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:12 pm
Location: San Antonio /Texas
Martin Colony History: Started in 1992 From neighbors old 1950-60's colonies. Have 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 4 MPP Poles, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals ,& 2 S&K 11" WITH Troyer Porches ready for 2019 Season !

WoW! one of my Gourds Has 7 Nestlings ! :shock:( I Have 3 other rooms/gourds with 6 each ! :grin: ) But, I HAVE to Really keep an eye on the runt, Which is already WAY smaller than the other 6 ! The oldest is 10 days old & the runt is 4 days old. I ALWAYS tell my other PM friends to NOT Worry about the Runt! They usually catch with the rest of the nestlings, I ONLY do my "Runt Rescue" ONLY when it is BEYOND Clear that it will NOT Catch up with the others ! ONLY then, will I remove them from the nest & put them in a home with 1 or 2 nestlings the same size) I use to let the runts with 5 or more offspring alone to see if they can catch up with the rest, only to find them dead, jumped out WAY to early, & died, or left alone when all the others fledged, & the parents Did NOT return to feed it ! :-( )
For you newbies, DON't Worry, odds are, your runts will catch up & fledge with the others !
Again, I ONLY do this as a Last Measure to save a runts life, which I'm Happy to say has worked over 90+% of the time, it's great to check up on the "Adopted" New parents home And NOT be able to tell the offspring apart ! :grin: & then to find them All have Fledged !
PMCA Member, 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals + Tunnels, & 2 S&K Bo 11"s WITH Troyer Porches ! 4 MPPs, For 2019 Season !! :grin: Started in 1992 from Older '50-'60s Colonies.
Anthony Neira
Posts: 1319
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:12 pm
Location: San Antonio /Texas
Martin Colony History: Started in 1992 From neighbors old 1950-60's colonies. Have 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 4 MPP Poles, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals ,& 2 S&K 11" WITH Troyer Porches ready for 2019 Season !

UPdate, this past Friday, right after I posted this, the runt positioned itself in the perfect place, all of the babies had formed a circle in the center of the gourd facing out, and the runt is/was facing directly in front of the entrance, so as to be the first to be feed !NOW it's hard to tell which one is the runt, it looks like no "runt rescue" will be needed here, he/she is catching up just fine ! :grin:
PMCA Member, 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals + Tunnels, & 2 S&K Bo 11"s WITH Troyer Porches ! 4 MPPs, For 2019 Season !! :grin: Started in 1992 from Older '50-'60s Colonies.
-=DKC=-
Posts: 356
Joined: Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:26 pm
Location: Corpus Christi, TX
Martin Colony History: ................
2019: 11 pairs
2018: 11 pairs - 43 fledged
2017: 4 pairs - 17 fledged

Anthony Neira wrote:
Tue May 21, 2019 1:12 pm
UPdate, this past Friday, right after I posted this, the runt positioned itself in the perfect place, all of the babies had formed a circle in the center of the gourd facing out, and the runt is/was facing directly in front of the entrance, so as to be the first to be feed !NOW it's hard to tell which one is the runt, it looks like no "runt rescue" will be needed here, he/she is catching up just fine ! :grin:
That's awesome. Runt rescue can be stressful.

I have a clutch of 5 with a runt and a monster "Bay Huey". But my runt has caught up nicely as well.
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on suckin' till you do succeed." - Curly Howard
Anthony Neira
Posts: 1319
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 1:12 pm
Location: San Antonio /Texas
Martin Colony History: Started in 1992 From neighbors old 1950-60's colonies. Have 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 4 MPP Poles, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals ,& 2 S&K 11" WITH Troyer Porches ready for 2019 Season !

Thnks =dkc=, Good to hear your's is catching up also, I DO hate to take an original chick from it;s nest !Have a Great rest of the season ! :grin:
PMCA Member, 8 Trio 6 Room Houses, 1 Heath Deluxe Gourd with Troyer Porch, 8 NatureLine Gourds with Troyer Porches, 5 Troyer Horizontals + Tunnels, & 2 S&K Bo 11"s WITH Troyer Porches ! 4 MPPs, For 2019 Season !! :grin: Started in 1992 from Older '50-'60s Colonies.
John & Linda - KY
Posts: 599
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2003 10:19 pm
Location: Kentucky/Hawesville

I have a clutch of 5 with a runt and a monster "Bay Huey". But my runt has caught up nicely as well.
Are you sure "Baby Huey" isn't a cowbird? -- John
-=DKC=-
Posts: 356
Joined: Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:26 pm
Location: Corpus Christi, TX
Martin Colony History: ................
2019: 11 pairs
2018: 11 pairs - 43 fledged
2017: 4 pairs - 17 fledged

John & Linda - KY wrote:
Wed May 22, 2019 9:14 am
I have a clutch of 5 with a runt and a monster "Bay Huey". But my runt has caught up nicely as well.
Are you sure "Baby Huey" isn't a cowbird? -- John
Yes, I'm sure this one is a Martin. I've watched the progress closely. This one hatchling is a day ahead of the rest. However, I've never really thought about watching for cowbird eggs in my Martin nests. I guess I was assuming that they wouldn't be able to breach the SREHs. Now I'm curiouswhether they could get in or not. I need to look into that.
"If at first you don't succeed, keep on suckin' till you do succeed." - Curly Howard
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