How long should bird hatching take???

Pappy

Pappy

Living the Dream
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Moved back to NY from Florida. 🤓 2025
This robins nest has been over my porch light for almost three weeks. I can’t see into it to see eggs, but shouldn’t I be hearing some peeping of something? I want to get rid of it, but don’t want to kill the little ones.

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It can take several weeks for any bird chicks to hatch. If the robins are still making frequent trips to the nest, they have probably laid some eggs, but if you don't see any nesting or flying to/from the nest, they have probably found another place to breed. Generally, if there are eggs in the nest, you should see a robin nesting there nearly every time you go out the door. Wait until late June, and if you still don't see/hear any activity, you can probably take down the nest.
 
Don M. said:
It can take several weeks for any bird chicks to hatch. If the robins are still making frequent trips to the nest, they have probably laid some eggs, but if you don't see any nesting or flying to/from the nest, they have probably found another place to breed. Generally, if there are eggs in the nest, you should see a robin nesting there nearly every time you go out the door. Wait until late June, and if you still don't see/hear any activity, you can probably take down the nest.
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Oh she’s there alright. Every time the door opens, away she goes.
 
Pappy said:
Oh she’s there alright. Every time the door opens, away she goes.
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Good...that means she probably has laid some eggs, and is "incubating" them. let her do her thing, and enjoy the little one's when they arrive. Be careful when they start to fall out of the nest....and they will....just put on a pair of gloves, and put them back in the nest....gloves, because if you leave your "scent" on a baby bird, it's mother may cease feeding it.
 
As long as you see the Mama bird I'm sure everything is ok. These little creatures don't always pick the greatest spot. I had a nest of bunnies right in the middle of my veggie garden a couple of years ago. It held up spring planting for quite awhile.
 
Don M. said:
It can take several weeks for any bird chicks to hatch. If the robins are still making frequent trips to the nest, they have probably laid some eggs, but if you don't see any nesting or flying to/from the nest, they have probably found another place to breed. Generally, if there are eggs in the nest, you should see a robin nesting there nearly every time you go out the door. Wait until late June, and if you still don't see/hear any activity, you can probably take down the nest.
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Don M. said:
Good...that means she probably has laid some eggs, and is "incubating" them. let her do her thing, and enjoy the little one's when they arrive. Be careful when they start to fall out of the nest....and they will....just put on a pair of gloves, and put them back in the nest....gloves, because if you leave your "scent" on a baby bird, it's mother may cease feeding it.
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Good advice. Its incubating time.
 
Yeah, she's incubating the eggs. The female typically does all the incubating. Once all the eggs are laid (and that can span a period of a few days) and she starts incubating the clutch, it takes 12 - 14 days before the chicks are born.

10-15 days after birth, the babies become fledglings and will leave the nest. If one falls out of the nest before that time, put it back, it's not yet ready. And it's OK to touch the babies with bare hands. Bird parents don't recognize their offspring by smell, it's just not a bird thing. NO worries about them abandoning their babies babies if you touch 'em.

By the time they're fledglings, you might see them hopping around your porch with Mama keeping close watch as they figure out the flying thing. You don't need to do anything other than make sure predators don't get them. Cats, dogs, snakes, hawks, owls...there's danger everywhere.
 
Pappy said:
This robins nest has been over my porch light for almost three weeks.
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Another thing you want to be careful of is the danger of this nest creating a house fire. This old lighting fixture probably generates a fair amount of heat at the base of the bulb and socket, and this dried vegetation could overheat and flare up. I would Not leave this light turned on all night. At the minimum, I would watch the birds closely, and as soon as they vacate the nest, take it down.
 
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