So we almost gave up on trying to hatch out our own chickens. This was round three. I excitedly candled my eggs the day I took the egg turner out of the incubator. I had four eggs I was pretty sure had nothing but yolk in them. All the rest had a baby chicken in them. Monday last week I got hoping to see a baby chicken in my incubator. I saw nothing.
Monday night I didn't sleep well and was up every few hours and checked the bator. Nothing every time. Tuesday came and went with no baby chickies. I layed my ear against the top listening for little peeping noises. Nothing. Ok, so give it another day and let's just see. I had my one and only chicky hatch out a day early the first go round, maybe these would hatch a day or two late.
Talk about disappointment when Wednesday night bedtime came and there weren't any pips, no cracks, no little peepy noises. Thursday morning I cheated. I couldn't help it. I snuck a white egg out and took it in the bathroom with a flashlight. I felt a little naughty, but loe and behold, there was still a baby chicken in there. Good veins, good air cell, no blood ring. Ok, so maybe I reset eggs on Sunday and not Tuesday. I've been known to forget, like, Everything. No biggie.
Sunday came and went and I snuck out another egg. Still looking good, but no internal pips yet. Am I THAT bad at math?! Yes, yes I am. Monday night I heard peeps coming from my incubator. I could see two eggs rocking for all they were worth. Of course the quit as soon as Scott walked into the room, but I swear they were break dancing in there. Tuesday came the chickies!! I was just a week off.
32 eggs set. One pitched early due to a crack in the shell and no chick inside. 19 eggs gave me little chickies. One hatched with it's insides on it's outside and didn't live long. One just up and died 24 hours after hatching. Four eggs had fully developed chicks inside and I have no idea why they didn't hatch. None of them internally pipped either. Three had mostly developed chicks, but looked like the quit about a week early. Two looked like they quit at the 10 day mark, and 4 were nothing but yolk.
I was hoping for even only one chicky to have a top knot that would look like a polish, but none of them do. I've got 9 little black ones with white spots on their heads, and white bottoms. One all black. Two greys with white wing feathers coming in. And six blue-ish grey chicks.
The five older chicks have moved into their new digs in the coop on the new property. It's been raining and icky , but I promise pics by this weekend. The silver laced are starting to get their lacing. The white EE has a pretty red coloring on it's body now and a grey head. The one we hatched is a pretty slate blue all over. The little chipmunk chick is going to be a beauty. Black head, black and yellow around the neck and shoulders, and a pretty brown and black speckling over her body. I really promise pics this weekend.
Echo is settling in nicely. She can't meet the other horses yet due to the lice, but she whinnies at them when I bring them up from the front pasture. We're feeding her almost as much grass hay as she wants to eat and I think I can see a little padding over her rib cage. Scott's worked on a little round penning almost every day. I worked on desensitizing with the lead rope. She was scared to death of it, and now I can walk up to her and snap it on the halter without her skittering away. Scott takes her out and lets her eat green green grass just about every day. Even today in the rain he was out there with her letting her graze away.
Monday night I didn't sleep well and was up every few hours and checked the bator. Nothing every time. Tuesday came and went with no baby chickies. I layed my ear against the top listening for little peeping noises. Nothing. Ok, so give it another day and let's just see. I had my one and only chicky hatch out a day early the first go round, maybe these would hatch a day or two late.
Talk about disappointment when Wednesday night bedtime came and there weren't any pips, no cracks, no little peepy noises. Thursday morning I cheated. I couldn't help it. I snuck a white egg out and took it in the bathroom with a flashlight. I felt a little naughty, but loe and behold, there was still a baby chicken in there. Good veins, good air cell, no blood ring. Ok, so maybe I reset eggs on Sunday and not Tuesday. I've been known to forget, like, Everything. No biggie.
Sunday came and went and I snuck out another egg. Still looking good, but no internal pips yet. Am I THAT bad at math?! Yes, yes I am. Monday night I heard peeps coming from my incubator. I could see two eggs rocking for all they were worth. Of course the quit as soon as Scott walked into the room, but I swear they were break dancing in there. Tuesday came the chickies!! I was just a week off.
I was hoping for even only one chicky to have a top knot that would look like a polish, but none of them do. I've got 9 little black ones with white spots on their heads, and white bottoms. One all black. Two greys with white wing feathers coming in. And six blue-ish grey chicks.
Echo is settling in nicely. She can't meet the other horses yet due to the lice, but she whinnies at them when I bring them up from the front pasture. We're feeding her almost as much grass hay as she wants to eat and I think I can see a little padding over her rib cage. Scott's worked on a little round penning almost every day. I worked on desensitizing with the lead rope. She was scared to death of it, and now I can walk up to her and snap it on the halter without her skittering away. Scott takes her out and lets her eat green green grass just about every day. Even today in the rain he was out there with her letting her graze away.
Congratulations on your new babies!! Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteKathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick