NEED HELP INCUBATING KILLDEER EGGS

[Kusanar]

They are such adorable little things. I did a photography project around a mama killdeer and her eggs/chicks. Took pics of the nest and the parents doing the "i'm hurt, come get me" dance, then once the chicks hatched, got pics of them in the nest, then when they got up and started running around we managed to temporarily catch one and get pics (mama was watching and as soon as we let it go, she got it and put it back with the others). It was pretty cool.

 

[Puddintaime68]

Thank you all who commented. One hatched yesterday (pics), one died last night, then this morning took the chick and the remaining egg down to the local wild bird rescue. I knew they would take the chick but wasn't sure about "Sheldon" since technically he was still an egg. They didn't hesitate when they saw him and rushed him back to an incubator. What a relief!! I've been so worried about these little guys but now they are under the care of knowledgeable people who are far better equipped than I was to handle their needs. I know their chance of survival isn't great but it's better than the zero chance of survival they had if I had left them in their nest. I have a newly found respect for bird parents... it's a tough gig! Hope you all like the pics!

 

[ldawntaylor]

Great news.

 

[LillySman]

Hello! I need help. Several weeks ago a Killdeer laid her eggs at the edge of the sidewalk running along the side of my mom's house. This is nothing unusual as my mom lives in the country where killdeer are abundant so we put an old bicycle tire around the nest so no one would accidentally step on it. All was well until 5 days ago when we came out in the morning to find one of the four eggs missing and blood and feathers everywhere. There was no sign of Momma or Papa killdeer and the eggs were ice cold to the touch so we figured it was safe to assume that a predator had gotten ahold of them. We put the eggs on a towel in a plastic storage container and set them under a gooseneck desk lamp and adjusted it until we were able to get the temperature stable at 100°. We weren't real confident that they would survive but decided to give them a week or two to see what would happen and then 3 days ago we started hearing chirping coming from all three. Having done some research, we realized that we were in over our heads and if the chicks were to have any chance of surviving, we needed to get them into the care of the local wildlife rescue facility. Unfortunately we were told that they are prohibited by law to take wild bird eggs but if they hatched they could take the chicks. So now we are going to try our best to help them hatch but we don't have an incubator and I'm afraid that we can't provide the proper humidity they need to hatch. Can anyone give me some advice on what to do? They've been chirping for 3, almost 4 days now but have yet to externally pip.

Hello, I Found killdeer eggs in my Yard in the Mama’s nearby but recently one of the eggs disappeared in the mom hasn’t been there for days. I want to try and give Aiva’s a chance of life but I don’t have an incubator. Do you have any advice on taking care of the eggs?

 

[N F C]

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the taking, killing, capturing, transporting, harboring of the birds or hatching eggs, that which are Native to the United States of America. All are protected by state and federal agencies.

https://www.fws.gov/birds/policies-and-regulations/laws-legislations/migratory-bird-treaty-act.php

Any threads started on this subject will be closed.

Thank you for your understanding.

-BYC Staff