Help abandoned nest, with eggs (1 Viewer)

undefined Hello, I am new here. I think this forum gets the most posts. Anyway, I have an abandoned nest with eggs in it. The mother was killed by a neighbor's cat.

What,if anything can I do? My kids are upset. I am mad at the cat. Ugh. There are 4 eggs in the nest and no mommy bird around. I am unsure as to what type of bird it was.

Can I put the eggs in another nest we have in our yard and hope for the best? I don't know. I did a search and it seems like the best thing to do is leave them. They will die. Ugh. I feel sad. Babies are so helpless. Can I do anything? Please help. I hate to see these eggs without a mama. She made a nest in a paper bag of flower bulbs on my porch. I wanted to move it somewhere safer but was scared she wouldn't return. Any help is apperciated,Qbigs

Did you actually watch the mother get killed? How long were the eggs unattended? Have you watched the nest to see if the father is still tending it? What species of bird was it?

Many questions.

I saw the dead body of the mom bird and the cat looking guilty. :C It has been since this morning. No father to be seen, no activity in the nest. There are 5 eggs. I am not sure of the species. The mom was small,brown,w/orangish beak. We live on the east coast in WV. (if that helps) I have been trying to id the species from books but not sure so far.

I can take pics of the eggs if it will help. I don't know if I should bring the nest inside for the night? Will the eggs get cold? We have been quietly checking all day,in hopes that I was wrong about the mom being dead. Like I said no dad has been observed. The nest is in a brown paper bag on top of some flower bulbs on my porch. Thanks for any help.

Queen Bigs said:

I saw the dead body of the mom bird and the cat looking guilty. :C It has been since this morning. No father to be seen, no activity in the nest. There are 5 eggs. I am not sure of the species. The mom was small,brown,w/orangish beak. We live on the east coast in WV. (if that helps) I have been trying to id the species from books but not sure so far.

I can take pics of the eggs if it will help. I don't know if I should bring the nest inside for the night? Will the eggs get cold? We have been quietly checking all day,in hopes that I was wrong about the mom being dead. Like I said no dad has been observed. The nest is in a brown paper bag on top of some flower bulbs on my porch. Thanks for any help.

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THe chances are that eggs are already dead. Birds are evolutionary marvels - and are able to keep the eggs at the exact right temperature. Without knowing the species you would not know at what temperature to incubate the eggs, nor what to feed the hatchlings.

Hi again QB. The info Terry gave you is pretty succinct. It would be wonderful if cat owners could keep their cats in doors especially during this time of year but it is usually a losing battle with the cat owner. Sorry your kids had to see this.

Thanks for the help. Darn cat. I feel sad. I guess it is better they die now. Nature can be tough. My daughter put cotton over the eggs in hopes to keep them warm. I am gonna but a bell on that cat if I catch it again.

Queen Bigs said:

Thanks for the help. Darn cat. I feel sad. I guess it is better they die now. Nature can be tough. My daughter put cotton over the eggs in hopes to keep them warm. I am gonna but a bell on that cat if I catch it again.

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I know just how you feel, Queen Bigs, and it's really tough on the kids. Have a look at my thread 'Cat attack on nest' in the forum section on Garden Birds and Nestboxes, similar story, but unfortunately abandoned eggs really are finished. If you put them in another nest, the disturbance might be fatal. Even if you could incubate them (which is well-nigh impossible without the right equipment), you wouldn't be able to find the right food in sufficient quantities for the nestlings. A BirdForum member (and cat lover) called Jos Stratford has an excellent post all about how to protect nests from cats with various techniques. It's about all we can do. No use blaming the cat, as I did, it's just a dumb beast. The cat owners where I live are pretty irresponsible, none of the cats in our neighbourhood have bells on or get their claws trimmed, they roam freely and cause havoc at this time of year. Protect the nest-sites next year with Jos's advice, see details on the thread I referred to.

Answer to your question

I have been in this sittuation before, even though im 13. what you do is take the nest into your house. then place it close to a lamp. keep them under the lamp, make sure its not too hot or cold. . check on them every day. BUT DO NOT TOUCH THE EGGS WITH YOUR HANDS!!! the oil from them will kill them. if they have not hatched within 3 weeks, sorry ut they're gone. thats all i know. GOOD LUCK!!!:t:

Its a real problem having a cat, I have one. I let it out about 7am without food, I don't think that cats kill for food, not domestic ones anyway. Its when they had there feed and its natural hunting, if it moves they chase it and usually the bird dies of shock.
My cat does its small jobs and then heads back to the house for feed, then with cat tray in the house it stays in till around 6pm, it then heads for the sheds and mostly it arrives on the lawn with a mouse and after the taunting of the poor mouse the cat comes in for more feed and then it stays in. That's the plan anyway.