Cultural Diversity Skips the Nest

Just a short and late follow up to the blue egg in the chicken coop. 

I'm afraid the dream for a robin born in the barn under the tutelage of eight hens was short lived. On the third morning, the egg was fractured, though still in the nest between hens eggs. By evening, most of the evidence was gone. 

Accident? Sabotage? One can only guess.

Only Time Will Tell

Last night I thought perhaps we had a pullet egg, but no, that egg was definitely blue, and way too small.

The barn swallows are back, rowdy, and nesting like mad. But they have white speckled eggs. This sure looks like a robin egg. I'm leaving it in the nest to see if another shows up and also to see if the hens hatch it.

Oh! Yes. That is a golf ball. It is to remind the hens where to lay. Otherwise we find eggs all over the barn.

Empty Nest

Three...

Two... One... Flight! I actually got to see this last robin fly from the sill, to the fence rail, bounce off, and hit the tall grass in Jake's old field. I was so thrilled to be outside at the right moment. Here he hid while mom checked up on him. Finally I left him alone and went to find my next garden project, when suddenly I felt eyes upon me.
Robin Two!

In the VIDEO BELOW YOU HEAR THE MOTHER ROBIN CONSTANTLY chirping in the background.

With all the calling, the parent robin is not hard to find, so therefore neither are her babies. And without the window screen, we can finally see the details in these newest farm members.

Robin Progress With Only Three

This is the only still photo I have managed to get of the robin parent with the nest. Love it!As of the beginning of the week, one of the four must have fallen out of the nest.
I imagine it was a tight squeeze.

VIDEO OF ROBINS BEING FED IN THE NEST -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAdaeVgOx_Q

Notice near the end, before she flies off, the parent picks something up.
She cleans their manure as soon as they produce it and takes it away.
Amazing! Can she work in my barn?

Then today we have this. They seem to double in size every day!I am always peeping from behind a folding indoor shutter, so I thought one had flown the nest. No. It had wandered to the end of the sill. I think they are not much longer for our window entertainment.

Robin Babies Are Thriving

When you last saw the nest there was one fleshy little thing and three eggs. By the end of the morning we had one egg left. It seemed that it would not hatch, and then a little hole appeared, and movement, as the beak worked its way slowly through. Soon we had four desperately hungry beaks to feed.

Now we have fancy feathers starting to form.
What's hard to believe is that by two weeks old, they will be leaving the nest.
Its a long way down. I hope they get it right!

Three Hatchlings

Is that what little birds are called out of the egg?This morning I showed our contractor the nest with four eggs.Soon after, this little bird was in the nest, and by the end of the afternoon, three were getting fuzzy. See the little wings?
VIDEO OF FIRST LITTLE ROBIN.
Demolition of our bathroom is pounding in the background!
We'll check up on things tomorrow.

Robin Egg Blue

While I was away, we had another family move in.

On our window sill.
On the second floor.A robin has taken over an abandoned nest that was built at least three seasons ago.
It was built.
Blew off.
Rebuilt, and then abandoned.Yesterday morning, I went to water plants on the window sill and startled the bird, who startled me.
When I took the first look, there were two eggs.
By afternoon, there were three.This afternoon there were four.
I have yet to get a picture of her on the nest, but now that I closed the wooden blinds, I hope to sneak up sometime and catch her before she flies off. I do hope she stays long enough to hatch her young.
We have a great view of it from inside the house.
She has a great view too.