Should I bother the new mama robin?

A robin has built a nest on our hose reeler (it's attached to the house) that is right in the middle of a flower bed. We have not put up the hose or worked in the flower bed becuase we didn't want to disturb the robin or the 3 eggs she was sitting on. Now the eggs have hatched and we have 4-day old baby birds. Will it disturb the mother robin if we put up the hose and start working in the flower bed? I don't want the babies to be deserted if we spend too much time in such close proximity of the nest.

Should I bother the new mama robin?
I've been breeding birds since 2001. Chicks are adorable when they start growing their feathers! Some birds are very adaptable and nothing phases them, like barn swallows. Silly buggers built a nest over my parents' cottage door one year and continually dive bombed my dad as he went about his work in the garden!





With your situation, the best thing to do is let the birds be. The birds will eventually leave - in your case I'd in about a month. Most birds (especially songbirds, like the robin) have a very poor sense of smell, so don't worry about your smell disturbing the hen and chicks. Most birds are very visual creatures. I'd worry more about a bag fluttering across the lawn or a neighborhood cat more than anything else. If you routinely disturb the hen she may kill the chicks out of frustration. More than likely she'll just take off, leaving the chicks with no-one to feed them and she'll start a new clutch elsewhere. It's cruel, but it insures that chicks AND the parents survive into the next season.





When the chicks fledged, they'll be completely feathered and it may look like their parents abandoned them. Always leave them be. Mom and dad are often hiding in the trees and with some bird species, the parents will feed their chicks once or twice a day. If it's been over 24 hours and the chicks look very weak, I'd call a rehabilitation center :-) .





Good luck with your new 'neighbors'!
Reply:ya just leave it be, its only a short time shes there, and what a neat thing to watch from a distance, you may be able to get some good photos with a long lense. your flowers will wait. ps. birds dont smell , ive picked babies back up and put them back in nests before, parents will come back, unless there is something wrong with them
Reply:Leave it alone, because if you even touch the nest, she'll abandon her babies. She'll smell your human scent on the nest and leave the nest permanently.
Reply:yea leave it alone or wait till they leave.
Reply:Have had several funny experiences with mad mother robins. They will fly at you and dive bomb you if you bother them.


Leave her alone and when the babies are fledged, they will eat bugs from in and around your garden. Hook up your hose at night when she is roosting on the nest. Stay as far away from her and the nest as possible in the daytime. Make her comfortable and she will make another nest nearby this year.
Reply:awwwww no wait til they leave. awww that would be sooo cute. I think you should leave it alone.
Reply:You can call the DEC-- Department Of Environmental Conservation and ask but you might be able to relocate them.. They have info numbers... check the blue government pages in your phone book or go right to their site!!
Reply:wait till the lil birds have grown up at least they can fly


poor things r u gonna kill them or what???
Reply:Let it be...let it be...let it be...let it be(That's what John Lennon would say)
Reply:you can work near the nest but try not to touch anything within 4 feet of nest



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