Don't Throw the Eggs Out!
From: James R. Hill, III
Date: 6/15/00
Time: 10:55:01 AM
Comments
It is my belief that landlords SHOULD NOT be throwing martin eggs out of nests just because they think they are not going to hatch. We have been following thousands of clutches over the past 15 years here at the PMCA's research sites and it is EXTREMELY COMMON for clutches to take 17-24 days to hatch, especially if the female has ceased incubation during inclement weather early on in her incubation period. ALSO, the martins know when their eggs are bad; they kick them out, often. Landlords don't need to do it for them! Also, often, without the landlord knowing it, they get rid of entire clutches of bad eggs, lay exactly the same number of replacement eggs as in their first nesting attempt, and the landlord doesn't know they are dealing with a "renesting" and wonder why their clutch of 4 eggs (or whatever) took 25-35 days to hatch. We heard a horror story from a landlord who, impatient, dissected his eggs that were overdue to hatch by only 1 or 2 days. He found fully developed and alive embryos inside! He murdered his eggs out of ignorance! I believe the best advice is to never remove unhatched eggs until the end of the breeding season, unless they are obviously rotten, broken, or leaking.
James R. Hill, III
Executive Director/Founder
Purple Martin Conservation Association
