Will a bird in the attic have a nest of babies?

Mother birds are like any other creatures you will find. They are designed to procreate to continue on their lineage, but they are also concerned about the babies once they are born. This means that they will look for locations where their infants are most protected once they are born.

The reality is that the time that any animal is at its most vulnerable state is in the first periods after it is born or hatched. They have no real ability to defend themselves, and many are even born blind, meaning that they are sitting ducks for any predator that is looking for a small snack to devour. Of course, the mother is also in a vulnerable position as well after birth. She is not only weakened form the birthing process, but is responsible for the care of the young. This can mean they will put themselves at risk to protect their babies and, if the predator is dangerous enough, the entire family may wind up being devoured. That is simply not a good situation at all. 

This is why the mother will look for the very place possible to build a nest. The mother wants it to be in a location where she can safely lay the eggs, keep them warm during the incubation period without fear of some predator grabbing the eggs and eating them, and which also allows her to watch over them and care for them while they are weak an immature. This can be a matter of a few weeks, which is a long time for the babies to be in danger. 

There are many places that a bird will look to set up the nest. You will often find nests in the branches of trees, because these are hard locations for most animals that would attempt to eat the young to reach. They make for a great location, but not the most ideal. The truth is that if a mother bird can get into your attic, then this is the absolute best location of all. If you think about it, it makes total sense. 

First of all, there are very few people that spend a lot of time in their attic. Most people use it primarily for storage. They put boxes of old clothes, newspapers, books, blankets, or other memorabilia in the attic. They don't really check these things very often, so the mother bird knows that she is not going to be disturbed very much. 

The other advantage of these materials in the attic is that they help to make a great bed for the bird. Think about it. The mother is not only looking for the ideal materials for her to sit in while she is waiting for the eggs to hatch, but she wants that place to be warm to aid in the incubation period. What a great thing your old blankets or clothing would make. In addition, once the birds are born she can keep them warm and hidden so that they will be safer and much more healthy.

There are also many great places within the attic for the mother bird to build her nest. If you think about how many attics are built, there are a lot of spots where the slant of the roof makes for very discrete places to build a nest that allow a very limited access to the nest itself. This makes it much easier to defend as well. 

Consider, also, that the attic really limits what other animals are able to get in and attack the baby birds. Not even most cats go into the attic, so it is a very safe place indeed. The mother does not have to worry about raccoons, larger sized birds or other predators. The only real concern is mice or rats and some birds are able to fight off these animals. They can also build the nest on top of a box to eliminate this concern as well.

The way that the mother found access to the attic becomes a great way for her to go out and come back in, so she can get food for her babies. While she is gone she can feel pretty safe about them because most predators cannot get into the attic area to get after her young. This gives her a lot of security and may even enable her to be out for longer periods of time. This means that she can find more and better sources of food to feed to her young. They will be healthier because of this, which benefits the baby birds more in the long-term.

Now, most people may not consider it a big deal that they have a bird nest in their attic where baby birds are hatched and growing, but they should be. Not only do birds carry a large number of diseases, but they are passed onto the young as well. This means that their waste is being left in your attic which is posing a health risk to you, your family, and your pets.

In addition, birds are very messy creatures. Just think what a nest that had babies in it is going to be like for you to clean up. It will not be pleasant at all and if they built the nest into your insulation, then you may have to replace the whole section of insulation, which can get costly.



Also read our other bird tip: How to use one-way exclusion funnels to remove pigeons without trapping them