Wednesday, April 23, 2014

April, 2014

New chicks have hatched!


Since we have our own rooster (Saul Goodman, named for the Breaking Bad character), we're able to raise our own chicks.  We generally start chicks every year in order to maintain the productivity of our backyard flock and because, well, they're just plain cute.  

Saul Goodman
(Did you know that his name derives from the saying "It's all good, man"?)

The eggs incubate for 21 days at 99.5 degrees F.

First chick to hatch!
(The smiley face on the unhatched egg was written on there when we candled it & saw an embryo, so we knew it was viable.)


The first chick hatched at around 9 a.m., with the second one following about six hours later (around 3 p.m.)  By the time we were heading to bed that night, 4 more chicks had "pipped" (cracked an opening in the shell) and seemed to be gasping for breath through the tiny holes that they had made.

You're NOT supposed to "help" them hatch, but I started feeling badly for them, imagining that they were trying to break free of their shells but were unable to.

I peeled off a tiny piece of shell, and then saw blood.  I remembered reading something about "If you see blood, STOP!"  So, I did, and then Googled "chicks hatching."

I learned that the 21-day incubation is just a guideline; they can take anywhere from 21-25 days to hatch.  Thank goodness I read that; I left the eggs alone & went to sleep; by the next morning, all 4 of the remaining chicks had hatched!  (One egg was a dud - Don't count your chickens before they hatch...)

We ended up with 6 chicks!


They're already growing so fast that we'll be putting them outside tomorrow.

Stay tuned for updates.