How did you find the egg(s)?

An intact egg found on the ground

Look straight above and around the location where the egg was found for a nest or nesting material, which may be in a tree, or even sticking out of the vent or soffit of a nearby building. Keep in mind that birds like Canada geese and mallards sometimes nest on the ground. If the nest can be found, and can be safely accessed, and the other eggs in the nest appear to be the same size, shape, and colour of the egg found, place the egg back in the nest. The egg should be handled and rotated as little as possible to prevent potential harm to a developing baby inside. If the egg(s) cannot be returned to a nest or no nest is found, contact a wildlife rehabilitator for further advice.

An egg was found in the ground or found on top of the ground after digging

Chances are good in this scenario that it’s not a bird’s egg. Reptiles such as turtles bury their eggs in dirt or sand at the beginning of spring and leave them there to self-incubate. The parents do not return to care for the babies when they hatch at the end of spring. The hatchlings, though small, are fully developed at hatching and will migrate on their own to a water source or their preferred habitat. Do not pick the egg(s) up. If they have already been handled or disturbed, return the eggs to where they were found and re-bury them. Eggs should be re-buried with as little handling or moving as possible – some in-shell babies such as turtles can drown in their embryonic fluid if their egg is rotated at a certain stage. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator for further advice if the egg(s) cannot be returned.

A broken egg

If an egg containing an undeveloped embryo is broken, nothing can be done to protect the development of the baby and the egg should be placed in a natural area (e.g. bushes) to decompose or become part of the cycle of life for another wild animal. If, however, the egg is cracked because a baby bird or reptile is currently hatching out of it, it should be returned to the nest immediately, or a wildlife rehabilitator should be contacted for advice. Do not attempt to help the animal hatch from the shell.

A fallen nest containing eggs

If the whole nest, eggs included, has fallen to the ground, and the parents are present, build them a new nest! Please see our section with instructions on how to make a fake nest to reunite baby songbirds with their parents. You need to secure the new nest as close as possible to the spot where the nest fell from. To find the spot, look for parts of the nest that may still be stuck to the tree or building it fell from. If the nest cannot be returned to its original location, contact a wildlife rehabilitator for further advice.

A nest of eggs that appears to be abandoned

Before taking any action, the nest should be monitored over a period of several days before removing the eggs. Egg production is draining, and the females of many bird species need a length of time – from two days to two weeks – to produce a full clutch of eggs before finally sitting on them to incubate. This strategy of egg laying means that the eggs will all hatch at about the same time. In the case of a partially laid clutch, it may seem like the eggs are abandoned since the parent(s) aren’t hanging around.  If, after watching the nest over several days, no additional eggs are laid and no parents return to the nest, the eggs may be removed and discarded, or they can be left in a natural area (e.g. under a tree, in some shrubs) as a food source for other wild animals. Since they haven’t been incubated, the embryos inside the egg will not be alive.

Eggs that can’t be returned to a nest

You should not try to incubate abandoned eggs yourself. Sometimes, with proper diet and socialization, eggs and infant birds or reptiles can be hatched and raised by a wildlife rehabilitator. Many species hatched in captivity do not do well, since the care they receive from their parents is difficult to replicate and they can suffer a host of problems if their specific needs are not met. Egg movement or fluctuation in egg temperature and humidity can also cause babies to develop abnormally. In addition, it is illegal to keep any wild animal at home without a provincial or federal permits, depending on the species. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator for further advice about unhatched eggs.