Chicks are hatching!
Most of yesterday and part of today was spent unpacking the latest order of guns and bayonets.
Today we have spent a bit of time hovering over the incubator watching chicks hatch. There are 2 dozen chicken eggs in there and 7 duck eggs. By candling them, I feel that only one of the duck eggs is fertile, but the chicken eggs seem to be about 75% or more fertile.
We expect things to be hatching over the course of this week, based on when they were put into the incubator. But last night, they started to "pip". Pipping is when the chick uses it's "egg tooth" to make the initial crack in the shell. The egg tooth later falls off. Sometimes you can hear the eggs peep as well.
We moved the incubator out of the shop and upstairs into the house so it would be easier for everyone to watch. Early this afternoon, Caleigh noticed the first little black chick laying next to a broken egg shell. As I write this, there are four stumbling around in the styrofoam incubator and a bunch more pipping that will probably hatch by morning.
These eggs came from our own chickens, and are the first wave of sustainablility of our flock. What kind are they? Who knows! They are the product of an assortment of heritage breed birds and represent true "dung heap fowl" as would have been found here on the frontier in the 18th century.
OK, I gotta get back to work and prep the brooder to keep the little peeps warm...then I gotta work on my taxes as April 15th looms directly ahead!
Here's a pic:
Today we have spent a bit of time hovering over the incubator watching chicks hatch. There are 2 dozen chicken eggs in there and 7 duck eggs. By candling them, I feel that only one of the duck eggs is fertile, but the chicken eggs seem to be about 75% or more fertile.
We expect things to be hatching over the course of this week, based on when they were put into the incubator. But last night, they started to "pip". Pipping is when the chick uses it's "egg tooth" to make the initial crack in the shell. The egg tooth later falls off. Sometimes you can hear the eggs peep as well.
We moved the incubator out of the shop and upstairs into the house so it would be easier for everyone to watch. Early this afternoon, Caleigh noticed the first little black chick laying next to a broken egg shell. As I write this, there are four stumbling around in the styrofoam incubator and a bunch more pipping that will probably hatch by morning.
These eggs came from our own chickens, and are the first wave of sustainablility of our flock. What kind are they? Who knows! They are the product of an assortment of heritage breed birds and represent true "dung heap fowl" as would have been found here on the frontier in the 18th century.
OK, I gotta get back to work and prep the brooder to keep the little peeps warm...then I gotta work on my taxes as April 15th looms directly ahead!
Here's a pic:
posted by MVTCoPete | 6:08 PM
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