The marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a federally threatened seabird that continues to decline throughout its range. Murrelets utilize late-successional and old growth coastal forest as nesting habitat, and forage in the marine environment. Murrelet adults invest heavily in raising a single young per year, and chicks are dependent on adults for all their nutrition during the 27- to 45-day nestling period. Rates of nestling growth and development are highly sensitive to food quality and quantity. We developed a nutritional model that examined the effects of missed feedings for murrelet chicks. Six dietary scenarios were developed to simulate murrelet chick feeding: a high-quality, intermediate, and low-quality diet, with one or two feedings missing from each diet. Five of the six scenarios resulted in insufficient energy for marbled murrelet chicks, with only the high-quality diet able to provide sufficient energy with one missed feeding. The intermediate and low-quality diets with missed feedings were not able to meet the metabolic requirements of the developing chick, and over time would likely result in growth stunting and starvation. Future conservation actions should focus on avoiding disruptive activities at places and times when adult murrelets are likely to be engaged in meal deliveries to chicks, and on improving forage conditions for murrelets.