Second chick

CHICKS

Oh My Goodness... that was so fun. My sweet little chicks came a day early. I had friends here from Kelowna and her 2 little girls got to eggs hatching for the first time. as well as my friend Adrianna. We were standing over the incubator from the first pip! And then it took forever for the little guy to do anything else. So we waited and checked back every 1/2 hour... lol and then the little one stared it's little pecking and in about 15 minutes was out of his shell! Amazing. He is little black chick and very cute. The other little chick was a whole different story. He pipped about an hour after the first guy then nothing.. all day. So we lifted a piece of the shell to see if we could see anything. All we could see was a tiny beak and some tiny chirping. We left it for another 4 hours. finally at midnight I decided he couldn't get out on his own.... After way to much wine and hot tubbing we made the decision to hatch this chick. *sigh* so tiny piece of shell at a time very carefully I picked it's shell of it's head. well the membrane had stuck to the chick and it was dry. Very dry. He was very much in trouble. So my darling hubby to the rescue came with some warm water and i stare to rub tiny drops of water onto to membrane. the little guy stared to struggle then quit. So I got his membrane very wet and tried to help him tear it. I was so scared I was doing something very wrong. I was so upset that there was a tiny bit of blood when i tried to tear the membrane. but it was all good. I got his/her? head out and then I put him downt o work the rest of the way out himself. And he did!!!!! and then just slept forever. I almost didn't go to bed I was so worried. Int he morning we had one very fluffy chick!!! The other guy who got out on his own was not fluffy... I guess he had some yolk or something on him and he dried all crusty. Yuck. So I gave him a warm water bath and left him in the incubator to dry! And now we have to very cute black fluffy chicks!!!! lol So now I will post some pictures for you guys!

2 babies....

So we candled again and it looks like we on;y have 2 little baby chicks growing! But I will say it again 2 Babies growing it is still exciting! Better than no babies! So out of 36 eggs I have 2. Not a very good hatch rate. hummm. But then I found out we have mostly white eggs and they are a rare heritage breed call Dutch Leg Horns. And their hatch rate is not good for the chickens. Let alone me. LOL Oh well I will keep you updated on the 2 little peepers!

OMG so cool

OK So i have been a little off these days I haven't made nay posts this time around or even shared any pictures... but I really haven't done anything with eggs. I candles them at 3 days and saw pretty much nothing and was kind of disappointed again. Then i decided to give it another go last night at what 7 days i guess... and wow, we actually saw 2 babies!!! They were swimming around the egg! It was the coolest thing ever! I am going to have to try and get a video for you guys. it was really neat. But 2 eggs out of 36????? I think that may be the worst hatch rate ever... I don't think I know enough about eggs to toss any yet. I did take 2 out last night they were cracked. So sad one had a little chick in it... but it had died with a definite blood ring. and one was nothing. So I will keep you all posted! I also still have 10 baby chicks in my basement.... lol they are getting lots of feathers and starting to look a little awkward... but still so darn cute! <3 talk to you all soon!

Trying Again

Ok, Ok, so we are trying again! lol we have 36 eggs! We bought them from the coolest farm! Soul Shine ranch. http://www.soulshineranch.com/
So we have an assortment of different eggs. I can't wait to see what hatches. I also have 12 baby chicks in my basement. lol they are messy and smelly, and getting louder. But the kids think they are pretty cool. It is going to be a blast for them to see the babies pop out of their shells. We have a different incubator. Our friend Tracy needed to hatch some eggs of her own. But we were so grateful for the chance to use it to begin with! THANK YOU Tracy!!! xoxox
So the incubator we are borrowing now is the same one Promise's class used. I am trying a new system too. I have placed the eggs in egg cartons (cardboard) and I loaded up the bottom with sponges. Then I put the lid on and I am using a 2x4 under the whole incubator and moving it 3 times a day.... I really hope this helps to maybe keep the heat and humidity more consistent. So HOPEFULLY a better hatch. Can't do much worse then none? I think think I may have had a faulty thermometer. This time I have 3 in there!!! Today is Day one... so I will take some pictures and keep you all posted! Fun Fun!
Karen

Fail

This morning has been 23 days. So I decided to poke a hole and see if there was anything to see in there. They all had an air sac, and membranes were intact. But nothing ever developed, so now I don't know maybe I did something wrong? or maybe they were never fertilized. But I am glad there were no little dead chicks in there! That would have been a horrible way to start the day. So we are going to try again. I am going to clean out the incubator and get it all set up again. Then I am going to bug my darling friends for more eggs.... *please* lol. Maybe I will try a full dozen this time. I will call it round 2! So keep following if you want! Thanks again everyone! Talk to you soon!

Eggtopsies day 23

Day 22

Day 22.... nothing. But maybe on day 23? I keep reading about doing a float test or maybe opening the incubator and candling to see what I see. But i am so worried that nothing will happen. So I am going to wait till tomorrow. And then I don't know. I will let you know then! Talk to all of you soon.

Will the real Day 21 please stand up, please stand up...

Ok so today is our real day 21.... I think? LOL ugg. I am making this really hard. So again I am up checking to see if there is any pipping going on or maybe just a little movement? I must look ridiculous with my little flashlight tyring to see inside a little window. But nothing. Not yet. And as luck would have it we are on our way to Williams lake for the day. So help me if we miss these little sweets coming out of their shells.... I may just sit and cry. Well maybe not cry, but I will be so disappointed. I kinda feel the same as when I was pregnant and I keep finding all these wost case scenarios of horrible birth stories... and I am so worried I am going to have a chick hatch with a bloody belly button, or pip and not hatch.. or what if the membrane sticks to the little thing? So i find myself just wishing for healthy. lol I think I may need to get out more? Or go on the Internet less. *sigh* Brian laughs at me. And I wish I could get Milo to quit chirping! Milo is our little love bird. But he makes all these cool sounds, and talks to us (sometimes swears) he makes the sweetest little chirp and I go running to the incubator. It may have become a game to him... Ok I am off to feed the kids. Then to Williams Lake. My coffee pot died this week, and Cinco De Mayo is coming!!!! shopping, shopping, shopping!

What the????

Okay so somehow in all my eggcitement I seemed to have gained a few days???? LOL anyways some good news! Turns out the eggs are not supposed to hatch till the 30th... I put the eggs in on the 9th of April day one would be the 10th because I of the first 24 hour warming period. So the it should be the 1st of May. OMG I sometimes wonder how I manage to get through a day. *sigh* I really hope I didn't do any damage by not turning them for the last 2 days ..... oh man. I am so worried I killed those sweet little things... I am also so glad i didn't decide to try and hatch one!!!! Anyways I hope this lifts my moral a little bit and now I can be a little more patient. It is like getting a second chance to hold and love little sweet fuzzy butts. Now I have to go and explain to the kids how very smart and bright their amazing mother is. Wish me luck!!!

Day 22

Awwww man I have some serious hatching blues.... The kids all day asked to look inside the incubator.... nothing not a peep no movement, no cracks nothing. What a disappointing day. But still the more I read the more I hear... LEAVE THE EGGS ALONE. SO we are going to just leave then and see what happens if nothing happens by Saturday, then we will preform some eggtopisies! witch will be kinda cool too. I think anyways. I am preparing the kids to have no chicks and it makes me sad. I keep considering going to the farm and buying some one day old chicks and putting them in the incubator with some broken egg shells... I shall keep you updated if anything eggciting happens! Have a great one!

Day 21

Today's the day!!! Today's the day! (I can here Dori from Nemo screaming in my head) So I won't tell you I was up at 3:30 am checking to see if any little chicks need help? or maybe if any had started to pip... but nothing. No action at all. So i went back to bed and checked again at 4:30, 6:30 and 7 am... lol still nothing. And my stupid coffee maker died :( really? So I am trying my hand at making a fresh pot of french pressed coffee this morning. grumble grumble. Stupid french press pot. I don' t think it is big enough for the amount of coffee I need today. Promise says she doesn't want to go school today she may miss a baby chick hatching! And just so we all know the first one to hatch is hers... unless it is Daddy's she says. Awww so sweet. .Chase is now calling his unhatched chick peanut butter. I think Raine thinks we are all kinda crazy. Anyways I am so excited for today I really hope we start to see or even hear some action. I hope at least one hatches... *sigh* Have a great day everyone!

Adam

This post is just for you! Thank you so much for egg sitting for us! We owe you. When the little fuzzies hatch bring over my darling nephews for a visit and some pictures! Thank you again.

Day 20

So we are supposed to have chicken hatching from their little eggs tomorrow!!!! We are so excited it is so hard not to open the incubator and check the eggs every 5 minutes. I have the humidity and tempature just perfect. So now we get to hurry up and wait! I am surprised how attached we have gotten to our little chicks even though they haven't hatched yet. It has been so much fun. I took some picture on day 14 so you guys could see what we see... lol it isn't much I do not have lots of movement like I see in you tube videos. But I do see a mass growing and the air cell getting bigger too. So we are taking those as good signs.
So I hope the Easter bunny was good to all of you! We went to Vernon to visit my Mom and Dad and brother, Shawn. The Easter bunny was very good to the kids. LOTS of chocolate. We even got to decorate eggs with Amma Momma and Uncle Shawn, Papa gave Chase a bath! (with bubbles) then after our awesome egg hunt we were invited to a brunch with my parents landlord's family. So much food! It was fantastic. And they had another Easter egg hunt for the kids. My children have never had so much fun. A huge thank you to Taren!
So I am getting my little brooder started up tonight so when our little fuzzy babies hatch they have a home. I will keep you all posted!

Eggs candled day 14

Day 11

LOL today i am wondering if I can hear any peeps coming from the eggs... I get really close and shh the kids... but nope I hear nothing. We have made it half way! I see the yolks changing shape but I still (humm what happened to my font.... weird) anyways I still don't see any movement or hearts or veins like you see on you tube videos... and you know if you see it on the computer it must be real! lol
So we will be going away for Easter weekend. And we are leaving our eggs with Ashley and Adam to look after. I hope all goes well for them! And I hope we don't have any early hatchers!
That is all for Day 11! Have a great night everyone!

day 10

Today has been a very quite day. I added some sponges to help keep the humidity up, and it is working really well!

Dad's chicken and Brian's new tattoo

Day 7,8, and9

Wow I missed the whole weekend! Sorry everyone. So our weekend has been crazy. I went with Brian on Friday and he got his first tattoo. I am amazed how awesome it turned out. His tattoo got a tattoo! And he surprised me by getting my tattoo on his tattoo. I will post a picture so you guys can see it. Then on Saturday I got to have a real inspiring day. I went with Promise's teacher Christine, to get some chicken eggs for her class. The farm we went too was very cool. I would love to live like that. Her little kids were helping feed the cows and chickens and she was carrying her baby on her back while working on the farm. So cool. She is also hatching all sorts of amazing breeds of chicken I had no idea there were so many different kinds of chickens. She also has some heritage chickens. She donated 3 dozen mixed breeds to Promise's class I really can not wait to see the little fuzzy chicks. The farm also had a huge hatching room and we got too a bunch of eggs hatch and hold the sweet little chicks in our hands. And see a whole box of fuzzy cuteness! <3 <3 <3. Melt my heart. This is also when I saw a teenage chick. There was only one and it was very much a face only a mother could love. So I bought him for my Father in law for his birthday! Oh Happy Birthday Dad!!!! I will post pictures of his new show chicken. It is called a White crested Polish chicken..... I think. hahaha. I hope Dad doesn't eat it? I also had another chance to candle our eggs. And I am pretty optimistic that I see a mass!!! That is a good thing. The yolk is defiantly not a little round circle! It looks more like a big blob! And all the eggs have changed! My fingers are crossed that all our chicks will hatch! I am going to try to get another picture of the eggs for you guys! Anyways I hope everyone had an amazing weekend!

Day 6

Well today has been uneventful! I turned the eggs at their usual times. The humidity is now perfect and so is the temp. I am going to try to find a super bright flashlight to candle them over the weekend and see if we see anything. Will keep you posted!

Day 5

We were so excited to candle our eggs tonight. So we built a box and put a halogen light inside poked a small hole and then gently put the eggs one by one up to the light. We were hoping to see some veins or maybe a small heat. Or just any sign of life. Unfortunately we saw nothing at all. We can see the yolk but no veins or anything. We also didn't see any thing bad either! no blood rings with is what happens if Bactria has gotten inside the eggs. And we didn't see and bad black spots. Now I am worried we may have no eggs that were fertilized...:( but we have not given up hope! We will try to candle them again in a few more days. I think it may have just been way to early. Have a good night!

Day 4 and 5

Good morning! So the eggs are not doing much exciting today! I am going to try and candle them tonight to see if we can see anything inside! We are very excited. From the candling we should also be able to tell if the temperature and humidity is good too. We are looking for a mass and to see where our air bubble is. I am hoping it is not to early to see anything. I will try to get some pictures off this as well! We hope everyone has a great day. It looks like there might be sun out there! :)

Morning of day 3

It is morning of day 3, I now have 2 dishes of water in the incubator to keep the humidity at 40% it must be very dry here. I was up alot last night so the eggs got two turning sessions. Promise's tummy is not well again. *sigh* I guess we are going back to the Dr's today. for all of you that don't know Promise has had some tummy issues in the past. She has been tested for Celiac disease and juvenile diabetes and tyroid disease. We are going to make and appt. today to see if there has been any news. Last night was a very rough night for her. And Raine is having nightmares... lol so it was a very busy night. Raine this morning asks me if the eggs have stared to hatch yet. lol I told him there is alot more days till then but he can help me roll them. He thought this was very exciting! And he did a great job very gentle. Chase says he doesn't want an egg he wants a baby yellow chicken. So he can hug it. So cute! Promise is very interested in what is happening every day. She wonders how a chicken fits into an egg. Shall let you know if anything interesting happens today! Have a good one!

our eggs

Our eggs! Brian says the green one is Honey Garlic...

The Incubator we borrowed.

Day 2

Starting day 2 I already have bad news... we lost an egg. :( And I told you a name a name wrong too. Promise didn't want to call her chick princess Tiana, it is supposed to be Princess Ireney. Ok so I will tell you how we or rather how I lost an egg... I was putting the top down on the incubator and inside is a housing that holds the heater and I guess somehow I got the corner just right and poked a hole in an egg. I was very sad. I haven't told the kids yet.

But on a brighter note, we have the heat perfect and stabilized. I am still having a hard time getting the humidity right. It is just a little low. We shall let you know how the day goes. I also got up for the night shiftlast night, and turned the babies at 1 am.

Day 1

So I have never wrote a blog before, but I thought that hatching eggs with my little ones would be a perfect subject to start with.

So my little monsters names are Promise she is 7, Raine my little man is 5 and the baby of the family is our sweet terror Chase who is 2.

So yesterday we plugged in our incubator that my awesome friend Tracy lent us. I think I may be more excited than the kids. We are still waiting for the temperature to reach 100 to 102 and the humidity to reach 60%. It is getting so close. We are starting with 6 eggs. And of course we have already named the chicks... hehehe So Promise's chick will be Princess Tiana, Raine's will be Spiderman and Chase is calling his Nemo (today) I have decided to call my chick Blossom. And Brian is calling his chicken Honey Garlic So we are hoping for 5 to hatch or at least 3 for the kids.

I have already since starting this blog moved the incubator. Chase was playing with the temperature knob. Let's hope this is not a sign!!! I keep reminding him these are living creatures. And he says yes babies. I think he understands.