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Hatching Bird Eggs
Name: Jaclyn
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
I am Jaclyn's mom. On Sunday, we found three robin's
eggs just laying on the ground. My daughter thought they were cute. In
an effort to expand her educational background for science, we took a
clean, old butter container and filled it with grass. She gently placed
two of the three in the grass filled container and we have placed them
under a lamp for warmth (one broke as my youngest was holding it).
We are wondering a few things. 1) Will they hatch? 2) How long will it
take before they hatch? 3) What do we feed them (I was thinking
worms?)? OR are we better off not attempting this?
Replies:
This is a good question and we have several discussions within our
archives on caring for bird eggs.
First, you realize that unless you turn the eggs every few hours, they will
not develop. Second, if they were indeed on the ground, the chances are
that the eggs are not viable in the first place. Third, if and when the
eggs do hatch, they will imprint on humans and not ever be able to survive
in the wild. Feeding them any meat will probably suffice.
As a naturalist, I discourage this kind of activity knowing full well that
it seems like a good project for kids. These birds will not survive in the
long run.
Steve Sample
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Update: June 2012
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