📖 Tallbird Nest Raids: Egg Farming Sans Beak-shaped Scars

Tallbirds are those one-eyed, ostrich-like birds roaming rocky biomes, and they guard the closest thing to a "bird nest" you're looking for: Tallbird Nests. Each nest has one Tallbird and (if recently laid) one Tallbird Egg in it. Finding them is straightforward: explore Rockyland areas on your map – the nests appear as a little round patch of twigs on the ground (and even have a nest icon on the map). There's usually 1–2 Tallbird Nests per rocky biome in Don't Starve, though some worlds might have a special "Tallfort" set piece with ~20 nests!

How to Safely Snag a Tallbird Egg:

Approach carefully! The Tallbird will patrol around its nest and if you come too close or grab the egg, it turns aggressive – these birds hit hard for 50 damage. A classic trick is to wait until dusk: Tallbirds go to sleep on their nests at dusk. You can then sneak in, snatch the egg, and run. Be ready to run several screens away – Tallbirds chase a long distance (but they eventually give up).

After you steal an egg, the Tallbird will eventually calm down and stay at its nest. That nest isn't one-time use – in Don't Starve, a Tallbird will lay a new egg in 3–5 days if the egg was taken. If you decided to fight and kill the Tallbird (which is risky early on), the nest stays but no eggs will spawn until the Tallbird respawns. In DS single-player, Tallbirds respawn from their nest 2.5 days after death (so the nest effectively "revives" a Tallbird). In DST, this respawn is 5 days.

Stealing eggs is one path – but what if you want to hatch that Tallbird Egg instead? Maybe you dream of a cute Smallbird follower or you're pursuing the DST strategy of raising new nests. Hatching a Tallbird Egg is a commitment, but it can be rewarding (or at least an educational misadventure!).

How to Hatch a Tallbird Egg:

First, it needs to be warm continuously until it hatches. The egg will "progress" only when at the right temperature. An easy method is to place the egg near a Campfire or Fire Pit (not too close to be overheated, though). In Don't Starve, the egg takes about 2 full days to hatch if kept warm.

When the Smallbird hatches, congrats – you're a parent! The Smallbird will imprint on you and follow you around, chirping. But now the real work begins: Smallbirds are needy. They have 50 health and will starve in about 2 days if not fed. You can feed them anything edible (seeds, meat, etc.). They'll chirp when hungry.

They will grow in about 10 days into a Smallish Tallbird (Teen), at which point they become more independent (and aggressive). Teens will still follow you, but if they get too hungry they might attack you. A few days later, the teen grows into a full Tallbird. At that moment, it no longer considers you family – it's a wild Tallbird with its own nest instincts.

Not all eggs have to come from giant nests or cages – you can also get normal bird drops by trapping the everyday birds that flutter down in front of you (crows, redbirds, snowbirds, etc.). While these small birds don't drop eggs directly (they drop morsels and sometimes feathers), trapping them is how you get a bird for your Birdcage (and feathers for other uses).

Crafting & Using a Bird Trap:

It's available early (Survival tab), costing 3 Silk and 4 Twigs. Once crafted, you place a Bird Trap on the ground. To dramatically increase your catch chances, bait the trap with Seeds (just pick up seeds and drop them onto the trap). You'll know it's baited when you see seeds on top.

Now, when a bird spawns and lands (birds randomly land near the player during day/dusk), if it hops over the trap – SNAP! The bird is caught. Without bait, birds can still randomly trigger a trap, but it's rarer. With bait, the first bird that sees the seed will hop over.

Feather Drops:

Each bird type can drop a specific feather ~50% of the time when killed:

• Crows → Jet Feather (black)
• Redbirds → Crimson Feather (red)
• Snowbirds → Azure Feather (blue)

These feathers are used to craft Blow Darts – a valuable ranged weapon. That's why some players set up feather farms.

We've hinted at it a lot, and that's because it's arguably one of the most powerful survival tools in Don't Starve: the Birdcage. This single structure can solve your food woes, turn junk monster meat into eggs, and help with farming crops (via seeds).

Crafting the Birdcage:

It's found in the Structures tab. You need 6 Gold Nuggets, 2 Papyrus (8 reeds), and 2 Seeds. Once built, you'll also need to capture a live bird to put in it. Use the Bird Trap method above for that. Any bird type works: Crow, Redbird, Snowbird, etc.

Feeding the Bird – Egg Production:

A caged bird will eat many foods you give it, but the special case is Meats: give it a Monster Meat (in DS, it had to be cooked Monster Meat; but after updates, raw Monster Meat is accepted too) and poof, the bird produces a fresh Egg in return.

This is huge. Monster meat is abundant (from spiders, hounds, etc.), and once you have a birdcage, every 4 monster meats = 4 eggs = ingredients for two Bacon & Eggs or four Pierogi, etc. You've turned a dangerous filler into the cornerstone of your diet.

Maintaining the Bird:

A caged bird isn't immortal – it will starve in about 20 days if you never feed it. In summer heat, it starves faster; in winter slower. To avoid unexpected death (and a rotten morsel in the cage), feed it something periodically.

Sometimes players confuse the term "bird nest" with the occasional nests that appear during seasonal events – namely the Moose/Goose giant's nest in Spring and the little Pengull nesting grounds in Winter.

By now, you're likely swimming in eggs – whether Tallbird or regular – so let's ensure you're using them to their fullest potential. Eating a plain fried egg isn't bad, but using eggs in crock pot recipes is where they shine.

Other uses for eggs include trading with the Pig King (each egg = 1 gold nugget) or as emergency food when cooked on their own (though this is much less efficient than using them in recipes).

1. Locate Tallbird nests in rocky biomes; grab eggs carefully or raise Tallbirds for more nests.
2. Build a Birdcage ASAP, and start converting monster meat to eggs for food (Pierogi, Bacon & Eggs) and other uses.
3. Use Bird Traps to catch a bird for your cage and extra morsels/feathers; bait with seeds for best results.
4. Leverage seasonal opportunities: steal Pengull eggs at night in winter, handle Moose/Goose egg only if prepared.
5. Consider mods or advanced tactics if you want to tame or multiply birds beyond vanilla limits.