What Do Hummingbirds Feed Their Babies?

Last Updated on October 5, 2021 by Guillermina

Ever wondered what type of food hummingbirds feed their babies with? Let’s find out. Another remarkable event to witness is hummingbirds feeding their young ones. However, most people don’t get to see this because hummers are pretty good at hiding their nests where their babies grow.

Hummingbird’s young ones have some feeding requirements for them to grow properly and for them to be capable of living on their own. It is their mother’s duty to provide their broods with the appropriate type of food for their proper development.

So, let’s dive in and take a look at what do hummingbirds feed their babies and many more.

Hummingbird’s Laying Of Eggs & Hatching

When hummingbirds arrive at their breeding ground, they get ready to mate and set up their nest to nurture their offspring.

The male hummers will display some dancing skills to impress the female hummers. If she is interested in the male hummingbird, they will mate. However, if she isn’t interested in the male hummingbirds, she will simply fly away and the male hummingbird will look elsewhere to entice another female hummer.

Once the female hummingbird has mated with the male hummers, they go build their nest while carrying about the growing eggs inside them to be laid.

The female hummingbirds will lay eggs and nurture their broods to a particular period. Usually, the female hummingbird lays 2 eggs but each of these eggs is laid on different days. However, these eggs will still hatch together even though they weren’t laid on the same day.

The eggs laid are white small eggs and are about the size of a small jellybean or pea. Egg incubation takes about 11 to 18 days before they finally hatch. The mother hummers always provide care and warmth to their eggs by frequently sitting on the eggs for hours. The hatch eggs weigh about 0.62 grams and are only about 1 inch long.

When the baby hummers are born, they are bald, hairless, have dark skin, and they have their eyes closed. Because they are hairless or featherless, the baby hummers aren’t able to regulate temperature. Hence, their mother spends most of her time sitting on the nest to provide some warmth.

Only the female hummingbirds are responsible for caring for their broods. The male hummingbirds take no part in this.

What Do Hummingbirds Feed Their Babies With?

In the early days of the baby hummingbirds, they need a specific diet to grow adequately. Baby hummingbird can’t leave their nest to look for food. So, it’s the sole duty of the mother to provide reliable food to her broods.

The baby hummers require adequate nutrients, protein, and fat in their diet for them to fuel their fast growth and be on their own. Nectar alone can’t provide these. What the mother hummingbirds feed their babies with is bugs and or insects.

Below you can find some of the food baby hummingbirds eat.

What Does Baby Hummingbirds Eat?

The food baby hummingbirds eat is as follows: Spiders, midges, whiteflies, small beetles, flying ants, and small pods are a good source of proteins. These small insects are great sources of protein required by these babies to grow well.

How Do Hummingbirds Feed Their Babies?

The throat of hummingbirds has a sac known as a crop. This crop is like a pocket located in their esophagus and food can be stored here. The mother hummers use this crop to gather food for their young ones to feed their broods.

Mother hummingbirds go out to look for small insects as well as collect nectar and disgorge them into the mouth of their broods. Once the mother hummingbirds have gathered food, she expels the content in her crop and out into her baby’s mouth.

Baby hummers are always aware when their money is around to feed them and they will open up their beak ready to receive these foods.

Hummingbird mother feeds her broods 2 to 3 times per hour.

How Long Do Baby Hummingbirds Stay In The Nest?

How long baby hummingbirds remain in their mother’s nest depends on when they are ready to be on their own.

In about two weeks, the baby hummingbirds have grown feathers and are now looking like real birds. Their skin begins to look darker and their beaks have grown longer.

The mother still visits once a few times a day to feed them. However, the mother of a baby hummingbird will lead their offspring to areas where they can get their food that include bugs and nectar. Once she is done training them, baby hummers are ready for the next phase.

Drastic changes occur for these baby hummers once they have grown feathers and can now fly and remain on their own. Their mother leaves them or chases them away from her nest to start their new life.

How Long Do Hummers Take To Fly?

In about 3 weeks after hatching, the babies begin to attempt flying with their feathers. They continue to exercise their wings to prepare for their first flight. When they have perfected flying, they are now ready to fly and leave their nest. So, they will leave their nest and this process is called fledging.

Therefore, in about a month, the baby hummingbirds should be ready to fly and remain on their own.

What Do Hummingbirds Feed Their Babies: Final Say

Hummingbird’s life is so full of eventful activities that make them so fascinating to watch. A baby hummingbird developing is another captivating occurrence to witness.

How their mothers incubate and hatch her eggs, how these broods emerge, and how they grow feathers and develop is an interesting activity to watch. The female hummingbird is the sole caretaker of her offspring and the male hummingbird doesn’t take part in any of this.

So, what hummingbirds feed their babies is mainly food rich in protein. They require food rich in protein to grow adequately. These protein sources include small insects, spiders, midges, whiteflies, small beetles, flying ants, and so on. They also feed on nectar.

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