HATCHING! Jaymi!

HATCHING - Alan Rickbird

Jaymi Hatches!

We are up to 12 chicks!  Jaymi (J23) hatched at 5:30 PM.  We were rooting for you Jaymi!

Another one!

Here is a video of our latest chick hating out of his shell.  This was around 4:45.  Yeah!!!

4:30 Hatch!

We just hatched another one!  He is a little black one!

Update

Chick update!  We still only have 9 chicks. 

2V - Samuel
3V - Gilbert
13V - Helen
A2 - Huck
J21 - Bonita
J16 - Shirley
J20 - Elphaba
J25 - Pollyanna
14V - Dillinger

We have all the chicks in the brooder box and out of the incubator.  The good news is that we are starting to hear peeping from the incubator again!  We have one egg that has been diligently trying to hatch for what seems like hours (and probably has been hours).  That egg is J23 which (if you've been reading carefully) you will know is Jaymi (named for my assistant).  We are all rooting for her!

	J5	J14	5V	J8	J15	J9
A3	J1	A5	J6	J7	J13	J3
J24	J11	10V	J12	J18	J26	4V
J22	6V	8V	12V	A4	9V	7V
J19	J20	14V	13V	J21	A2	J17
J25	3V	J16	J23	11V	2V	A1

This is a table of the incubator.  The ones that are yellow are the ones that have already hatched.  As you can see, they are all in the lower rows.  We are hoping that the higher rows just need a little more time.  I will keep you posted!

Happy Chicks

HATCHING! - Pollyanna

HATCHING! - Huck

HATCHING! - Elphaba

HATCHING! - Helen

HATCHING! - in the Incubator

Above is a video of the inside of the incubator.  Here is our current update:

We have 9 chicks!

2V / Samuel
3V / Gilbert
13V
A2
J21 / Bonita
J16 / Shirley
J20
J25
14V / Dillinger

Five of our chicks are in their brooder box and 4 are still hanging out in the incubator.  They stay in the incubator until they get their fluff then they get moved to the incubator and it is then that they get their names and have their video taken.  We seem to be at a little bit of a lull.  We have two eggs with holes in them where it looks like we could have some more progress soon, but that is it for now!

HATCHING! - Gilbert

HATCHING! - Samuel

HATCHING! - Dillinger

HATCHING! Bonita and Shirley

We currently have 8 chicks!

2V
3V
A2
J21 / Bonita
J16 / Shirley
J25
14V
J20

I will continue to update you with pics, videos,and news all day!

Surrogate Hen

Day 21 - Peeping!

We hear peeping! 

The babies are still in their shells, the egg turner is out (thanks Shirley!), the humidity is up at 75%, and we are ready!  They should hatch tomorrow but we are excited because we hear peeping!

Go Babies!

Day 19 and 20

So, when I get to work tomorrow, I might be able to hear the babies peeping in their shells!  Can you believe it?  Only one more day!  The babies are supposed to hatch on Tuesday! 

I can't wait to see how many we get!  I will let you know if I hear peeping!

Day 18 - What big Feet you have!

So, I was looking at this book today, Looking at Life Cycles: Chicken by Vitoria Huseby, and I was reminded about the babies' feet. This book is a great quick overview of the chicken lifespan for the very youngest people and covers what happens in the egg, how chickens grow, and discusses briefly how female chickens brood over their nests. I was looking at the fabulous pictures of the interior of the egg and saw one picture of a chick just hatching out and it reminded me of last year. Last year was the first time I had ever seen a chick just coming out of an egg and I remember being SO surprised at the size of the chick's feet. They were enormous. Of course they have to support a big healthy chicken eventually, but to see them on babies is really funny. We are so excited! Today is Friday and we are hoping to see them on Tuesday!