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Rick3857 · Monday 20th June 2011, 17:20

Hi,
My name is Rick and I'm new here. I live on the East Coast of GA around the Savannah area. We've had two broods of bluebirds in our nestbox this year. This is the first year we've had it and it's been much fun to watch them this spring! My question is should we clean out the nest box after this last brood has left? It has a full nest and two unhatched eggs left. What should we do to prepare the nestbox for next time? Or do we need to do anything? Thank you.

**KCFoggin** · Monday 20th June 2011, 17:27

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum

If you are completely sure that there will be no other nesting done, then go ahead and clean out the box but I would wait a couple of weeks before you clean it out, just in case another Bluebird family decides on another round.

Rick3857 · Monday 20th June 2011, 17:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCFoggin

Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum

If you are completely sure that there will be no other nesting done, then go ahead and clean out the box but I would wait a couple of weeks before you clean it out, just in case another Bluebird family decides on another round.

Thank you - If we left the nest and another Bluebird family wants to use the box, do you know how they dispose of the eggs? I could just take them out couldn't I? Thanks again!

DownyWP · Tuesday 21st June 2011, 22:34

How long ago did the last bird fledge the nest? Here is a link to the Sialis site, one of the best sites for information about cavity nest box care.

http://www.sialis.org/clean.htm

If you can see those eggs are broken, I would suggest a through cleaning, but please read the page about cleaning the nestbox before doing the actual cleaning.

Monday 20th June 2011, 17:20	#1
Rick3857 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Guyton, GA Posts: 2	Empty Nest Hi, My name is Rick and I'm new here. I live on the East Coast of GA around the Savannah area. We've had two broods of bluebirds in our nestbox this year. This is the first year we've had it and it's been much fun to watch them this spring! My question is should we clean out the nest box after this last brood has left? It has a full nest and two unhatched eggs left. What should we do to prepare the nestbox for next time? Or do we need to do anything? Thank you.

Monday 20th June 2011, 17:27	#2
KCFoggin Super Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Myrtle Beach SC "Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places" Posts: 116,811 My location	Hi there and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum If you are completely sure that there will be no other nesting done, then go ahead and clean out the box but I would wait a couple of weeks before you clean it out, just in case another Bluebird family decides on another round. __________________ KC a/k/a common KC Karma - What you send out Comes right back at ya
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Tuesday 21st June 2011, 22:34	#4
DownyWP Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Everett,WA US Posts: 8,030	How long ago did the last bird fledge the nest? Here is a link to the Sialis site, one of the best sites for information about cavity nest box care. http://www.sialis.org/clean.htm If you can see those eggs are broken, I would suggest a through cleaning, but please read the page about cleaning the nestbox before doing the actual cleaning.

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