Expert: Roger Lederer - 3/29/2008

Question
My son built 3 bluebird houses and mounted them on our fence for my birthday! We have a two occupied boxes and one has 5 tiny blue eggs.  We have not seen the birds in about 3 days. Is this normal?  Will the eggs hatch without the parents?  What can I do to help? I have water for them and I have read that they like peanuts.  Will crushed pecans and almonds due until I get the proper feed and feeder?

Answer
Sounds like that is a full clutch of eggs - five, that is. It is not particularly unusual for bluebirds to abandon a nest this early in the year (although you didn't tell me where you live or what kind of bluebirds these are, so I don't know how early it is). The eggs will not hatch without the parents and if the eggs were really abandoned for five days, the eggs are probably dead.
Bluebirds will not eat peanuts or pecans or almonds unless maybe they are crushed very small like sand grains. Fruit and mealworms are much better. Here are a couple of recipes for bluebird food:
Recipe 1
Mix equal parts:
Chunky peanut butter
Crisco
Karo syrup
Melt in a pan over low heat. Let cool and stir in yellow cornmeal to a flaky consistency. Keep it in a tupperware container and feed it twice a day.
Recipe 2
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cups quick cook oats
2 cups cormeal (plain)
1 cup lard (do not substitute)
1 cup white flour
1/3 cup sugar
Optional: 1 cup wild bird seed, nuts raisins, dried fruit
Melt lard and peanut butter. (Micro-wave works best.) Add remaining ingredients. Mix in large bowl, fill a wire cage and hang on a shepard pole or crumble on platform feeder.
Roger Lederer