Holding a newborn Purple Martin

[bbbdco]

Perhaps this is a dumb question. I know that in general, one should never handle baby birds while they’re in the nest. But is it possible to pick one up and hold it for a few seconds if it’s about 5 to 10 days old. I have an older person coming by to see my purple Martins. He has never seen one before. And I may need to take a bird out of the nest to show it to him. Is this wise or should I just show him a picture?

[Phil01]

Yes, it should be fine, I’d keep it short. Try to do it when you would normally do nest checks in the afternoon. Keep the hatchling out of the direct hot sun… Don't keep the housing down more than 20 minutes. If you have a lot of older nests 22 days to fledge date I’d not do it..
Be advised, it’s probably gonna poop when you pick it up, perfectly normal.
Phil

[ToyinPA]

It's OK. I'd be no different if you had to remove them to replace a nest.

Make sure you both wash your hands first or wear medical gloves. Keep chick belly side down, as they do not do good on their back. Keep in mind the chick may poop on you, as they often do when picked up. Keep chick out of the sun & place it back in the nest, on it's belly, facing forward towards the opening. While you have it out do a quick check for blow-fly larva. They can be under wings, on wing, face, legs, feet, etc.. They will look pink, dark pink, red to grey in color. Some can be very small, while others will be larger. Pick them off & smash them.

[bbbdco]

Thanks for the info. I have 24 gourds. 18 of them have PM eggs. So far this year, I have 92 eggs. 12 eggs have hatched. There should be hatchings every day for the next 2 weeks. This is the most PMs I've ever had in the 20 years I've done this. Everyone just loves watching them. I'm having a group come over on Wednesday to see my operation.

[defed]

as stated, i have taken some out and put them on a towel in a bucket to do nest changes. they don't care too much.

[C.C.Martins]

It's OK. I'd be no different if you had to remove them to replace a nest.

Make sure you both wash your hands first or wear medical gloves. Keep chick belly side down, as they do not do good on their back. Keep in mind the chick may poop on you, as they often do when picked up. Keep chick out of the sun & place it back in the nest, on it's belly, facing forward towards the opening. While you have it out do a quick check for blow-fly larva. They can be under wings, on wing, face, legs, feet, etc.. They will look pink, dark pink, red to grey in color. Some can be very small, while others will be larger. Pick them off & smash them.

Toy,
Good to "see" you!

[bbbdco]

Just a follow up. I had seven of my old friends come by tonight for a purple Martin viewing. Most of them had no understanding so it was a wonderful educational experience. They were all super impressed. I lowered my gourd rack and did remove one chick. Absolutely no problems. Lots of photos were taken. And he didn’t even poop in my hand! He was put safely back in the nest, and I raised the gourd rack. All in under 10 minutes. then all of the purple martins came circling back and landing in their homes. Everyone was so impressed by the entire story and experience. These were all friends from my old ToastMaster group which had to end during Covid.

[dsonyay]

Excellent! I’ve done the same thing over the years.

[Mstan]

Very nice, recruiting new landlords.