Pregnant Birds

[Rockin Robin]

I was wondering today, how do you tell if a bird is pregnant. Also, i know blue tits can lay up to 12 egs, how on earth to they fit inside it?

[PiratesAhoy!]

The simple answer to the first part is: You can't. As far as I know anyway. The eggs are quite well hidden inside the bird. If you were to pick one up and feel it, you'd perhaps know, but otherwise I don't think you can tell.

I *think* the eggs are only produced one at a time, but I'm not 100% sure, so perhaps someone with more knowledge could fill in here.

[Rockin Robin]

yes, i thought perhaps they produced one at a time but then i thought, if one was older and bigger than the others, the competition for food would be too great for the younger birds to cope with and they would die of lack of food. Also, when i watched springwatch and the blue tit family all the birds looked the same age, and there were about 8 chicks

[stormy]

no they dont get pregnants they lay eggs.
they tend to lay every other day, but most eggs get incubated at the same time, so thats why they all look the same age, a fertile birds egg and be incubated many weeks after laying. so basically they lay a clutch of eggs in a few weeks and then sit on them.
for example we had some ducks eggs and we didnt put them into the incubater till a few weeks after they were laid, the chicks are the same age now.
they dont sit on one at a time. they wait for a load and then sit on them, of course it depends on the bird, as some birds do lay differants times, like barnowls.
and like all nature now and then you get a week bird, a runt of the litter so to speak that looks weaker than the rest.
hope that helps.