Posted by Jean Keiper on May 10, 2007

Q: my husband opened the hood of a vehicle that has not be started all winter. He found a robin's nest with 5 eggs. He had to move the nest to replace the battery in the vehicle. If we replace the nest, will the parents come back to it? He put the nest in a box in our garage. My son has a heating pad on the nest and has been turning the eggs twice a day. Is this effective? What do we do with this nest? Jean Keiper

State: Michigan

A: Oh my, not a good choice by those robins!! If your husband had replaced the nest immediately after changing the battery, there would be a good chance the birds would resume incubation and all would be well. Of course, I assume he wants to drive that car which creates a problem too. But now that the nest has been away from the original site, the birds will almost certainly abandon it even if it were returned. Your son is to be commended for trying to hatch the eggs but I'm afraid that the chances of success are extremely small. I suppose it won't hurt to continue the incubation but I can almost guarantee that the eggs won't hatch. Guess you might want to caution your son so he isn't too disappointed.

I realize your husband did what he could in an "unusual" situation. Handling the nest isn't a problem (bird's don't smell humans and abandon their nests) but the removal of the nest most certainly short-circuited their nesting behavior. The pair will most likely renest so all is not lost. Thanks for asking.

John Wiessinger ( May 10, 2007)