We've got Babies!!!!

[J and J]

Finally, after much hand wringing and lots of questions....We have hatched! 5 eggs and 5 babies!

First egg was layed May 25th, and I had calculated June 9th as "hatching day"....but probably due to the inclement weather...June 17th was the day. So to those of you worrying about "late" hatching...Keep the faith....

This is our second year as landlords and we only have one pair...I really have an appreciation for the saying 'having all your eggs in one basket--or in this case one Nest"

Thanks to all of you who have answered my questions all season. ...Sure missed having the Forum available last week...It is a blessing for us "newbies"

Thanks Pat for getting it back up for us....

[Guest]

Congrats on the babies. This is my 2nd year also. I have 3 nests. Two hatched their eggs, 3 and 4 babies. The third only has 2 eggs and hasn't hatched yet. It was projected to hatch 6/12. Maybe mine will be late like yours. Or they are not viable. One thing is, I am going to wait forever for them to hatch. Seems strange that there are only 2, 3, 4 eggs this year. Last year I had 4 nests with 4-5 eggs each. I think I lost some birds to a neighbor because I switched to SREHs and expanded rooms. Oh well, we may get some of their fledges next year

Good job. I too am dependent on the forum for all the expert advice. I have found that even though we don't have alot of birds, our houses are visited alot, because we take care of the S&S and predators.

[Guest]

I think I replied to you about this issue on the other bulletin board. Does this quote sound familiar?

>>Martins don't start incubating when the first egg is laid. Like most birds, incubation is postponed till all or most of the eggs are laid, so that the nestlings will all hatch about the same time.

You count incubation from the day the penultimate that is, the next-to-last, egg is laid. In your case, if the first egg was laid May 25, the 5th egg was laid May 29, so the next-to-last egg was May 28. Fifteen days from that date would be June 12, the earliest date you could expect hatching. Bad weather can delay hatching by up to 10 days, which takes you to June 22.

Before you give up on this clutch completely, I would wait a few more days.<<

Anyway, congratulations on your successful hatching. Isn't it exciting? Doing nest checks throughout the nestling phase is a really good idea. Not only can you monitor what is going on with your fledgling colony, but it is TOO much fun to watch the babies grow. Every 3 to 5 days is recommended, but with small, new colonies, you can check every day if you like. Many people recommend doing nest changes at 10 and 20 days incubation to minimize nest parasite problems. Just remember to stop nest checks after the babies reach 20 days old, to avoid causing premature fledging.

[J and J]

Yes, Kathi- You were one of the posts I was referring to. You gave me hope with your post....We had about given up....Not that we would have thrown out the eggs, but we were feeling a bit discouraged. Thanks again for all you advice...I am an avid reader of the forum...and always appreciate your comments.

Suecola: We have kids in Wichita, actually Bel Aire....They live near a small lake. We visited last week and there are about 5 martin houses around the lake, all occupied, but with only 2-3 pairs each... I was surprised to see that only one had SREH on them...Last year when we talked to one of the residents, he said he had had a hawk attack....and put up a guard, but it wasn't on this year...

We also have lots of visitors, but our male is very dominant....We put up a gourd rack hoping we might attract a few there.... because NO WAY was he going to share his house....I think he is the same male from last year. We are going to add porch dividers for next year and see if that helps....Anyway....we are grateful for our "pair"

Thanks again....