This bird lays a clutch of four to seven eggs, with clutches being larger for birds in the northern part of the range. The eggs themselves are white and spotless, measuring around . During egg laying, the female is dominant, sometimes driving the male away from the nest. Both sexes incubate the eggs during the 10 to 13 day incubation period, with the male usually doing so over the night. Sapsuckers are restless but quiet during this time, and the eggs are left uncovered about 16% of the time during the incubation period. Weather usually does not affect incubation, although on particularly hot days, the parents incubate the eggs for less time. When the chicks hatch, they are brooded for 8 to 10 days by both sexes. Nests with fewer young are brooded more, presumably because smaller broods lose heat faster. After 25 to 29 days, the young leave the nest for this first time, and become independent after about two weeks.