Eggs in 2 nests

Bob Lockman · Fri May 22, 2009 8:30 pm

I have my first pair of martins this year. noticed when they started building there nest that they were taking material into two different gourds.I heard that sometimes they would do this.I noticed that they were putting green leaves into both gourds.I looked in both gourds Sunday and their was not any eggs but i looked in one of them wednesday and there was two eggs so looked again thursday and there was still eggs,tonight i looked in the same gourd and there was two eggs,so i decided to look in the other gourd and there are two eggs there.I only have one pair of martins so i don't know what happen and i was wondering if i put the two eggs with the other will they hatch.I guess the female laid two in one gourd and then decided to move to the other.I don't know what could have happen but i guess i will leave the eggs like they are.

Donna - TX · Fri May 22, 2009 8:34 pm

Bob I have three nests this way where the female has laid in two different nests, this is their way of dominating that nest. A lot of the times one of the nest does not have fertilized eggs so I would just leave them be, she knows which nest she needs to incubate. If they do this I just let them have the two nests and I don't mess with it.

Michael Sanford ~ OK · Sat May 23, 2009 8:32 am

Hey Bob,

This happened to me my first year. I moved mine and all hatched and fledged. The trick is to figure out which nest she plans to sit on. She can't obviously sit on both. If you can get the eggs she dumped into the nest she is tending to just as soon as she starts incubating then they all should hatch. It's all about timing.

Donna - TX · Sat May 23, 2009 8:57 am

I can't do that because that would give my birds over 10 eggs in one nest and I think that would be way to many for a pair to handle.

I do like them doing this sometimes since I have major SY trouble and when a bird dominates a nest next to them they ward off all SY's trying to get in their nest and the other nest. I do not lose babies from the nests that do this.

jerleen · Sun May 24, 2009 9:54 pm

I have a pair that seems to have three eggs in two different gourds too. I watched her tonight and she sat in one gourd for awhile and then went to the other gourd. The male did not go in one of the gourds and she and the male both went into one gourd to spend the night. Both gourds have three eggs laid about the same time. I will watch tomorrow morning again and think I may try to combine the eggs into the gourd that they are spending the night.
Do you think six eggs will confuse them as she seems to be trying to sit on both sets of eggs?
Any help will be appreciated. This is my second year to have martins and we have 14 pair and SY's now nesting and laying eggs.

RJM · Tue May 26, 2009 12:36 pm

I just conducted a nest check today and found the same thing. I have one pair that started laying yesterday. They have been spending the night in the gourd where they layed the 1st egg. Do you think moving any eggs layed in the 2nd nest to the one they spend the night is the best bet? Thanks for your help.
RJM

jerleen · Tue May 26, 2009 1:02 pm

I went ahead and moved my eggs yesterday. The female still wants to go back to the nest where I removed the eggs but she and male did spend the night again in the nest where I moved the three eggs.
I am hoping they will hatch but they are overdue already.
Will wait and see when I do my next nest check to see if any of the 6 eggs will hatch.