If on the first visit the nest has 5 eggs, then on checking 7 days later the nest was empty, what is the observed clutch size? Also, if on the first visit the nest has 1 egg, and when checking 7 days later the nest was empty, what is the observed clutch size?
you can't use such observations for analysis of clutch size, they are good for breeding success analysis. Maybe the first nest could be used in a case when study species lay 5 eggs extremely rarely., and such problem with this nest should be mentioned in methods - when/if you will prepare a manuscript.
I guess that your question is referring to the difference between the most productive and the observed clutch size.
The most productive clutch size is the clutch size yielding the greatest number of young that survive to breeding age, which is often larger than the observed (the number of eggs actually laid in nest) mean clutch size (Boyce, 1987; Godfray, 1991).
Please, keep in mind that clutch size is the number of eggs that an animal lay in discrete groups or clutches.
Therefore, in the first nest the observed clutch size is 5 and in the second nest 1. The numbers that you found 7 days later (0 and 0) are the numbers of eggs in the nests after the impact of a factor, i.e. predation.
For statistical analysis of your data you might want to consider "hazards models" like "The Cox Proportional-Hazards Model".
best regards
Boyce, M. S., & Perrins, C. M. (1987). Optimizing great tit clutch size in a fluctuating environment. Ecology, 142-153.
Godfray, H. C. J., Partridge, L., & Harvey, P. H. (1991). Clutch size. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 22, 409-429.
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