I must be out of my ever lovin' MIND!!!

[Serrin]

I don't know what possessed me to do it. I think I must have had the mother of all brain farts in doing this. And heaven help me, I'm in for it now!! So, what did I do that could be all that bad? I stuck an egg in the incubator! But not just any egg, oooooh no!! Not by a long shot!!

The Story:

Almost a week ago we had a huge wind storm that swept through these parts from last Saturday night and it lasted until about Monday evening. Trees were dropping all over Spokane County. We even lost the top out of one of our bigger pines in the back end of our ten acres. My DGD came up to me Tuesday evening after her after dinner walk and presented me with a perfect Robin's egg. Completely intact and not a scratch on it. It was totally cold to the touch. She suggested that I put it in the incubator. And just for a lark, never, EVER expecting anything to come of it, I did just that!!

I put that minuscule little blue egg in my incubator, right along side of a monstrously huge egg from one of my girls. Right along with the six Ameraucana eggs from Jean Ribbeck and the two from my girls. It looked so ridiculously small next to them, but it was kind of cute too. And as I said, never in a million years would I expect this egg to do anything.

I know the Robin's have been nesting for awhile now around here. We must have at least 15 different nesting pairs up in the front meadow alone. To the best of my time estimation, the chances were more in favor of it being an egg that momma had started to set, but then lost it and probably the whole nest, to the three day windstorm that swept through here last weekend. And the over night temperatures had even dipped down below the freezing point Monday night. There was frost on everything Tuesday morning. So, just for the S&G's of it all, I put it in there. Partly to make Annie happy, mostly just as a lark on my part.

And now that moment of temporary insanity looks like it's about to come home to roost, if you'll pardon the pun. I'm on day 10 of the incubation of the Ameraucana eggs from Jean and my own two. Tonight, when I candled them for the first time, I almost completely forgot to candle the little Robin's egg. But when I did......OMG!

Not only is it developing, but I saw movement as well.

Well, I don't mind telling y'all, I darn near dropped the poor little thing!

How can this be? This egg has literally been through H-E-Double Toothpicks and back, and it's DEVELOPING!!! What do you suppose the chances of that are???

So, now I've painted myself into a dandy corner! I DO NOT have time to take care of a baby Robin!

I'm sure there are more than a few people out there saying to themselves, "Well you silly woman! You should have thought about that BEFORE you put the egg in your incubator." But in my own defense, seriously people, would YOU have thought it had a ghost of a chance after that wind storm, and those freezing temperatures? Not to mention falling heaven only knows how many feet to the ground. We grow rocks better than anything else around here, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a big bolder. Just the odds of this egg landing safely on one of the few patches of grass around here must be astronomical! Something tells me this little bird is just supposed to come into this world!

So, come Monday morning, I will begin desperately calling around to the various nonprofit animal rescue agencies in the area to see if they'll take him/her once s/he hatches. After doing just a little bit of research on Robins, I discovered that their incubation time is only 12 to 14 days, and the temperature needs to be up around 104 or so. At least according to the one really good article I could find said that the females body is about 104. Now, whether that means the egg needs to be kept that warm or not, I have NO idea.

But no matter what the articles and books might say, that little goober is developing, right along side my chicken eggs!

I have no idea if the (assumed) lower temperature means that it will take the egg a little longer to develop or not. As it stands right now, if this egg makes it all the way to hatching, then it should do so sometime between the 16 to the 18th of this month. My chicken eggs go into lock down on the 16th. I sure hope he or she pops out of there before then! It doesn't seem to me that it could fair too well with gigantic chicken chicks bouncing on it's head!

I may have to cordon off a section of the incubator if it hasn't hatched before I go into lock down. And if it hatches during lock down, golden rule or not, I'll have to snatch it out of there as quickly as possible. And then, with any luck, it's off to the animal rescue people!

I must be out of my ever lovin' flipping mind!

WHAT was I thinking???

Wish me, and the little Robin egg good luck folks! It has been through so much already. I can't bring myself to pull it out of the incubator now and just let it die. Some part of me really wants to see it make it. Even if that means I have to alter my entire daily life routine to take care of it. I know, I know...it's not like Robin's are an endangered species or anything. But, there's just something special about this little egg and the promise of new life it holds in its diminutive blue shell.

Yup! I think I'm absolutely certifiably bonkers for doing this now!

 

[mylittlechickpea]

I sure hope you find a sancuary for your little robin. After all of that it certainly deserves the chance to hatch!! I hope all goes well.

 

[Horsewell]

Good Luck with your robin egg

I really hope it hatches for you, and its sake!

 

[Rammy]

I would call the Fish and Game people and ask them what to do. They may be able to give you ideas on how to feed it when it hatches. If it were me, Id start digging up worms. I know when I was young I found some babies that got blown out of a tree and fed them worms. There are rescue places that probably would take it and raise it for you once it hatches. Maybe a place like Waldens Puddle.

Rammy

 

[vetgirl00us]

Having raised a TON of baby wild birds myself, I can say that this baby's chances are slim if it hatches. They are so fragile when they are hatchlings and we humans just don't have a clue. I hope it does and you or somebody wants to feed it. If it hatches and doesn't make it, don't take it personally- just like incubating our chick babies, somtimes it just beyond our control.

Here's what I do- of course keep them warm. I make a nest out of a bowl and line it with paper towels. I usually use a latex glove and fill it with hot (not too hot) water to keep it next to the chick bird. I feed seed or bug eating birds canned dog food- science diet weight reduction food works best but whatever you can get. Use tweezers to feed it tiny little bits of food about every 20 minutes during daylight hours. Do not feed it worms or bugs until it becomes feathered.

Best of luck!

 

[Serrin]

OK, real quick update. Denny found the nest which we fully believe the egg came from. And the best of all possible news, it's low enough to reach without the aid of ladders. Momma Robin took flight as soon as we approached too close and scolded us from a near by tree. Feeling inside the nest, Denny said there were only two other eggs. PERFECT! So, I ran back to the pump-house where I keep the incubator, retrieved the Robin egg, marked it quickly with a pencil and then ran as quickly as I dared with the little egg clutched safely in my hands. Thank heavens for a nice warm sunny day.

We put the egg back in the nest where it belongs and made a hasty retreat, all the while, Momma Robin was pitching a royal fit from the nearby tree! So, we did our morning walk and about a half hour later, I returned to see if Momma Robin had returned to the nest yet. Sure enough, there she was, looking supremely confident and serene in her own egg rearing abilities.

And I am thrilled that I had the chance to assure that one less egg would fall victim to Mother Nature's wrath! I'll continue to monitor the egg as well as the nest. My only regret is that I don't dare swipe one of the other eggs in order to candle it and compare the stage of development with egg that I had briefly in my care. I would rest a lot easier if I knew for sure that they have progressed at a similar rate and thereby should hatch at roughly the same time. But, oh well. Sometimes we just have to trust to nature's ways and hope for the best.

I'll let y'all know in about a week how this whole story turns out. Wish the little egg luck, along with the whole little family, please. I know they're just little Robins, as common as blades of grass. But everything changes my friends, when you take an egg into your care and see it becoming a new life right before your very eyes. After that, there's no such thing as "Just another Robin".

I want to thank all who responded to this thread. And a special thank you to Vetgirl00us for all of the advice. If I had kept the egg, I'm sure it would have been just the information that would have saved it's life. Especially the idea of a surgical glove for a hot water bottle type of thing. I never would have thought of that! Thank you so much! Very good advice! Here's hoping I'll never come anywhere near to needing to know these kinds of things ever again!

Future note to self: Never put anything in an incubator that you don't want to hatch or know how to take care of! Nature has a way of backfiring on even our best of intentions!

 

[vetgirl00us]

YAY!!!!

That's great! I was extremely pleased to discover a Brown Thrasher nest today in the yard so I know what you mean!

 

[nuts4chickens]

Wow very interesting post. Can't wait for updates!

 

[kathyinmo]

Oh, WOW!!! I hope this story has a happy ending. Will be waiting for the next update!

 

[FiveHens]

Good luck! I hope you find a good sanctuary! I would call the SPCA. They can direct you to people.