Last week another batch of eggs hatched. This time we incubated Blue Marans & Easter Eggers like we have done in previous hatches. We also hatched a few Rhode Island Reds for the first time. This is our 5th hatch & it’s still exciting. I love watching the chicks peck their way into the world.

HATCHING!

CHICKS

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Last week some of the eggs our broody hen was setting on hatched!

About a week after we noticed that she was sitting on eggs, I candled some of the eggs & realized they weren’t developing. So, I swapped five of her eggs for five eggs from our coops that I thought should hatch. Three weeks later we have new babies. I love the process of hatching eggs in the incubator. But, it is so heartwarming to see a mama & her babies wandering around.

Mama hen is one of our free range chickens, so she wasn’t cooped up when she started sitting on eggs. Although my own motherly instinct wants to coop them up to protect them, I’m going to leave them to wander until a threat convinces me to do otherwise. It is interesting to watch how she’s taking care of them. These chicks almost don’t peep at all. I wonder if they know it’s safer for them to stay quiet.

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We’ve successfully made it through our 4th round of incubating chicken eggs! It continues to be an exciting experience. I get very impatient by day 20. I anxiously wait to see who hatches, then get nervous after some hatch & wonder why others aren’t hatching. I’m then excited when another few hatch. The truth is, though, each batch we’ve had at least one chick pip & start the process of hatching, but never fully complete it. Those chicks still break my heart, but I understand if we’re going to take on the responsibility of hatching chicks we have to take all that goes along with it. It’s my goal to learn from each hatch & get less of those heartbreakers.

EGGS IN THE TURNER & CANDLING

HATCHING!

CHICKS

Twenty-four chicks hatched with this batch, which is the same number as our last hatch. Yay for cute, fluffy chicks that grow up to provide food for our families!

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HATCHING!

CHICKS

The incubating process is exciting & nerve-wracking. There are no guarantees & I’m thrilled this hatch turned out so well.

Anybody else hatching chicks or bringing chicks home this spring?

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January 31st was hatch day! This was our second time incubating eggs & it was just as exciting as the first time. Check out this post to read about our first hatch.

HATCHING!

There is something so amazing about watching a chick hatch. Ok, I think it’s super awesome. My family just thinks it’s mediocre awesome. I can sit & watch chicks hatch all day. The kids are bored of the slow process in about 5 minutes. Either way, my obsession allows me to take many pics of a hatching chick. These are pics from Egg #23, which was the second chick to hatch.

EASTER EGGER CHICKS

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