Question:okay. SO, i was camping on an island in cape breton, and there were 2 eggs in a nest beside our tent. Dad said it was too late for them, and there would be nothing in them. so me and some girls cracked one open to find a almost fully developped LIVE baby seagull inside. Of course it died, and i cried and cried and cried. Then i relized the mother wasn't coming back, but there was still an egg, and it MUST have a live bird in it as well! So I took it home with me, and have it in a jones soda box with a sweater and a heat light over it. so, MY QUESTION: the egg smells reeeal bad, and must have tiiiiiiiny pinholes in it in a few places cause a little bit of stuff it coming out of it. I feel no movement. I KNOW they're is a baby bird inside, but i dont know if its alive or dead- or ROTTEN. Please, if anyone can help, im pretty worked up over this. thanks <3
Answers:
The egg or the chick is rotten and should be disposed of now before it explodes.
The reason the mother would not come back is that you had camped so close to her nest.
You should not have taken the egg as this is illegal and could lead to a fine or jail sentence.
It is illegal to touch the nests of any wild bird.
http://www.artsaquaticsandanimals.co.uk...
You should not have camped there and you should have left them alone in the first place.
don't feel bad, you didn't know, i would say it was dead, but not too sure since i find that all eggs smell bad.
If it smells bad, its dead
If it stinks, that's bacteria inside and it's rotten. If there's fluid leaking out, that's also due to infection. The egg you stole is dead.
You can't tell whether a mother bird is coming back. I know your heart was in the right place but that was very much the wrong thing to do. What makes you think you can care better for the offspring than the mother? Seagulls are terrible, terrible pets and it is good that this one has died - it would have bothered you for many years (at least 30, and that's if you managed to meet its specialist living requirements). It would have thought you were its parent, followed you around demanding food (they are not nice to their parents, unlike cats and dogs). It would have made lots of noise, crapped everywhere and attacked anyone who came near you. Not to mention that what you did was illegal - for a very, very good reason.
So it's a good thing really. Please, in the future, leave wild birds and their nests alone - no matter what you think the situation is.
It's dead. eggs don't stink for no reason.
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