I went to make Jib eggs for breakfast, and one was broken in the carton, so I tossed it. Jib looks at it and says "poor thing". I said "What?" and again he repeats in his almost 3 year old very concerned tone "Poor thing" *sigh* So I asked "Why is it a poor thing?" and he says, "Chickie in there" *dramatic pause* "Gina take pictures?"
(for those of you not following, we just hatched some chickens, one of them didn't hatch and I took pictures and posted them on my blog. And yes, my child sometimes calls me by my first time and I am totally okay with that ;))
Showing posts with label eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eggs. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Unhatched
If you've been following for a while, you might remember that one of our eggs had a crack in it from shipping, so I coated it with wax to seal it in hopes that it would hatch anyway. Things were going perfectly until around day 16 or 17 when we candled and couldn't see any movement. We decided to keep it in the incubator just in case the embryo was sleeping or something. After the hatching of the other 3 eggs, I recandled, and again saw no movement. I also noticed that the egg just didn't feel right and so decided to pronounce it "unhatched".
Out of curiosity, I used a pin to chip away at the eggshell. I was careful not to puncture the membrane, just in case I was by some chance wrong with the candling. If the baby had been viable for some reason and just not moving, I would have known by looking at the membrane. Alas, this was not the case, so I took a bunch of pictures of her so that she did not die in vain. I figure someone may find these useful scientifically. If not, she is still beautiful in her own sad way.
Please- if you have children, watch the slideshow first and use your own judgement as to whether they can handle the photos or not. We showed Jib, who will be 3 next month. We told him that she just wasn't strong enough to hatch because she stopped growing, and sometimes things like this happen. He was sad about it for a minute, wanted to touch her (which I let him and then made him wash his hands, he just wanted to pet her head). He then wanted to see the other chicks that were still hanging out in the incubator, I think to make sure that they were still in there. All in all, I think it was a good learning experience for him even at this young age; but I know every child is different.
I had to resize the slideshow to get it to show up in it's entirety on here. If you'd like to view the full size version, please leave a comment and I'll email it to you. Thanks!
Out of curiosity, I used a pin to chip away at the eggshell. I was careful not to puncture the membrane, just in case I was by some chance wrong with the candling. If the baby had been viable for some reason and just not moving, I would have known by looking at the membrane. Alas, this was not the case, so I took a bunch of pictures of her so that she did not die in vain. I figure someone may find these useful scientifically. If not, she is still beautiful in her own sad way.
Please- if you have children, watch the slideshow first and use your own judgement as to whether they can handle the photos or not. We showed Jib, who will be 3 next month. We told him that she just wasn't strong enough to hatch because she stopped growing, and sometimes things like this happen. He was sad about it for a minute, wanted to touch her (which I let him and then made him wash his hands, he just wanted to pet her head). He then wanted to see the other chicks that were still hanging out in the incubator, I think to make sure that they were still in there. All in all, I think it was a good learning experience for him even at this young age; but I know every child is different.
I had to resize the slideshow to get it to show up in it's entirety on here. If you'd like to view the full size version, please leave a comment and I'll email it to you. Thanks!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
A baby chick hatches
This is video of our Silkie chicken hatching yesterday 3/27. Sorry about the audio, I know the music doesn't fit with the video but it's better than the original commentary by the Mr. and JibJib.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
We have a blue baby!
Here's baby number one, a blue Silkie. S/he is adorable, and feather footed. I could just snort it right up. Be prepared for many many pictures, some of which are pretty much the same. I just can't stop myself, it's so dern cute!
Three babes!
We have 3 chicks! One blue, one yellow (not sure if it's white or buff yet) and one that could be either black or blue (we're hoping for black so we have a big variety). Awwww! Off to upload pics...
A pip and a ZIP!
Today is hatching day! We had a pip yesterday around 2pm (the star crack that begins the hatch, kind of like the first contraction). Not much going on in the incubator last night besides some moving and peeping eggs. I got up around 2:15am (it's hard to sleep when you're in labor ;)) and we had a total of 2 pips.
As of this morning, our second pipper (the one that pipped during the night) is hatched! It looks to be a blue Silkie (they're all Silkies, but the person I got the eggs from doesn't separate so the colors are a surprise). Pictures to come when I get back from yoga.
As of this morning, our second pipper (the one that pipped during the night) is hatched! It looks to be a blue Silkie (they're all Silkies, but the person I got the eggs from doesn't separate so the colors are a surprise). Pictures to come when I get back from yoga.
Friday, March 27, 2009
We have a pip!
A little star crack on the top of an egg, found by my mother (who of course had to go ruining my fun and blabbing to the Mr. before I could LoL). I can't wait! We should have at least one baby tomorrow, if not tonight.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The 3 day wait begins!
We're officially at day 18, so I removed the egg turner and the eggs are laying on the screened bottom. This gives the eggs 3 days to get into correct pipping position to hatch on day 21 which is Saturday. I also upped the humidity by putting a small bowl of water in there. It's driving me nuts because I now can't open the incubator until they're hatched. We're getting excited!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Candling pictures from day 10
A couple days late in posting these, but I figure late is better than never...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Candling videos (day 10)
Great veining, and you can see the embryo moving around
Watch on the left hand side, you can see the chick's foot. Please excuse the audio.
Great bouncing embryo
Watch on the left hand side, you can see the chick's foot. Please excuse the audio.
Great bouncing embryo
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Egg Update & Chicks
Yay! Chicks should be here today or tomorrow, I can't wait! We've got a call in to the Post Office- they said that they normally just deliver them to the house, but they spread the word around that we want a call so we can pick them up ASAP.
I recandled eggs #1, #2 and #6. #1 was the one that was clear- still clear, and the air sac was still moving around so I broke it open (outside, just in case of stink). First of all, I can tell you that it did not stink. Secondly, the yolk was scrambled when I cracked it open, so it definitely wasn't viable.
Eggs #2 and #6 have definite veining in them, so it looks like 5 out of 5 eggs in the incubator are growing well:)
I recandled eggs #1, #2 and #6. #1 was the one that was clear- still clear, and the air sac was still moving around so I broke it open (outside, just in case of stink). First of all, I can tell you that it did not stink. Secondly, the yolk was scrambled when I cracked it open, so it definitely wasn't viable.
Eggs #2 and #6 have definite veining in them, so it looks like 5 out of 5 eggs in the incubator are growing well:)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Some exciting (and some sad) news!
My mom stopped over today and we candled the eggs. We candled both the first batch (the $3/doz may-or-may-not-be fertile eggs) as well as the fertile hatching eggs from Destiny Farms.
First for the sad news- unfortunately, none of the first batch had anything growing in them. They were set on March 2nd in the afternoon, so they've been in there 8-9 days. All of them were completely clear.
The two blue-green eggs we weren't able to see through enough to diagnose- I'm pretty sure they're also clear, but I stuck them back in the incubator just in case. My mom is bringing over her candling light tomorrow so we can see if we have better luck with that, since it will cup the egg.
BUT.....
We have what looks to be 5 embryos out of 6 eggs growing! 3 definite embryos, 2 dark masses that we'll call "maybes" and 1 clear.
I will go ahead and apologize right now for the craptastic pictures- in order to get a good shot, we have to take them without the flash, in the dark; and of course we have the little one running around touching our legs and making us unstable. Not wanting to keep them out of the incubator for too long, we only have one shot and if it turns out blurry.......well, then blurry is what you get.
Egg #1- I believe is infertile. Actually, it may well have been fertile, but the air pocket is scrambled, since it moves. However, I cannot bring myself to throw it out just yet (still that tiny little chance of hope in the back of my mind).
Egg #2- Definite dark mass at the top of the egg. I can't say for sure that it's an embryo, but it's something. And something is better than nothing.
Egg #3- This one has some great veining- which of course you can't see (see above explanation of craptastic photos). If you look hard, you might be able to decipher it a bit. Pretend to quarter the egg, in the upper left quadrant towards the lower right portion of that quadrant, see the mass? With the veins coming off of it? No?! Well, I tried.
Is this better?
Egg #4- This is my cracked egg- lo and behold, there is a definite embryo growing in there!
Egg #5- If you can't see this embryo, please head to your nearest optometrist.
Egg #6- Dark mass, I *think* I may have seen a vein, but then again maybe I had a dog hair in my eye.
First for the sad news- unfortunately, none of the first batch had anything growing in them. They were set on March 2nd in the afternoon, so they've been in there 8-9 days. All of them were completely clear.
The two blue-green eggs we weren't able to see through enough to diagnose- I'm pretty sure they're also clear, but I stuck them back in the incubator just in case. My mom is bringing over her candling light tomorrow so we can see if we have better luck with that, since it will cup the egg.
BUT.....
We have what looks to be 5 embryos out of 6 eggs growing! 3 definite embryos, 2 dark masses that we'll call "maybes" and 1 clear.
I will go ahead and apologize right now for the craptastic pictures- in order to get a good shot, we have to take them without the flash, in the dark; and of course we have the little one running around touching our legs and making us unstable. Not wanting to keep them out of the incubator for too long, we only have one shot and if it turns out blurry.......well, then blurry is what you get.
Egg #1- I believe is infertile. Actually, it may well have been fertile, but the air pocket is scrambled, since it moves. However, I cannot bring myself to throw it out just yet (still that tiny little chance of hope in the back of my mind).
Egg #2- Definite dark mass at the top of the egg. I can't say for sure that it's an embryo, but it's something. And something is better than nothing.
Egg #3- This one has some great veining- which of course you can't see (see above explanation of craptastic photos). If you look hard, you might be able to decipher it a bit. Pretend to quarter the egg, in the upper left quadrant towards the lower right portion of that quadrant, see the mass? With the veins coming off of it? No?! Well, I tried.
Is this better?
Egg #4- This is my cracked egg- lo and behold, there is a definite embryo growing in there!
Egg #5- If you can't see this embryo, please head to your nearest optometrist.
Egg #6- Dark mass, I *think* I may have seen a vein, but then again maybe I had a dog hair in my eye.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Uhoh:(
I decided to candle the Silkie eggs today, since I forgot to yesterday. Well, one of them has a crack on the bottom of it (the smaller end). It isn't visible just looking at it, but I can definitely see that it's cracked when I candled it. I looked online, and someone said that they had luck with putting wax over the crack to seal it, so that's what we did. Here's to hoping!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Silkie Eggs!
Lookie what showed up today!
Why yes, yes that is a carton containing 6 fertile hatching silkie eggs.
They need to sit at room temp, then into the incubator they'll go- probably tomorrow.
Why yes, yes that is a carton containing 6 fertile hatching silkie eggs.
They need to sit at room temp, then into the incubator they'll go- probably tomorrow.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Comic
Not much happening chicken-wise, so here's a funny for you:
http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/henopause.jpg
Getting a little worried about what we're going to use as a brooder. The Mr. called Sears and they've got a dishwasher box but I'm fearing it won't be big enough. I was really hoping for a refrigerator box, but maybe they'll get one in by the time the chicks outgrow the other.
Nothing going on with the eggs- still hand turning them by manually maneuvering the auto-turner. They'll be sleeping to the right tonight.
http://www.self-sufficient-life.com/henopause.jpg
Getting a little worried about what we're going to use as a brooder. The Mr. called Sears and they've got a dishwasher box but I'm fearing it won't be big enough. I was really hoping for a refrigerator box, but maybe they'll get one in by the time the chicks outgrow the other.
Nothing going on with the eggs- still hand turning them by manually maneuvering the auto-turner. They'll be sleeping to the right tonight.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Egg Update
Not much going on in the incubator LoL. The auto-egg turner is indeed broken- yes, it's hooked up correctly this time. So I am now in charge of turning the eggs 3-5 times during the day. Tomorrow the Mr. and I will work on getting alarms set so that it's more consistent. They're going to go to bed leaning to the left tonight.
Here's something fun to look at, since it's pretty boring around here. For those wondering, I plan on candling again on Day 7, possibly Day 10 if I can hold out that long.
A Chick Is Born
Here's something fun to look at, since it's pretty boring around here. For those wondering, I plan on candling again on Day 7, possibly Day 10 if I can hold out that long.
A Chick Is Born
2 Thumbs Down for Welp Hatchery
Two big hairy man hand thumbs down, two short stubby fingernails bitten woman hand thumbs down, and two toddler thumbs down to Welp Hatchery. If you've been reading, you remember my post that Welp made me change my order.
Well, today my husband gets a call (after leaving them a message wondering when to expect the chicks) stating that they're not shipping until April 1st, as they all sold out while they were busy screwing with our order. On top of that, I got an email stating that they had charged my credit card ABOVE what I had authorized. I didn't realize that the slow broilers were more expensive, gave them the go-ahead to change the order and they neglected to okay the new charges with me.....mmmkay, not cool.
On a good note, I'm getting 6 Silkie fertile eggs shipped from a farm a couple of hours away, so they should be here in a couple days. I'm a little worried since they'll have different hatch dates from the first batch, but the lady assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. They're coming from Destiny Farms, I'll update with my review of them when I get the eggs.
Well, today my husband gets a call (after leaving them a message wondering when to expect the chicks) stating that they're not shipping until April 1st, as they all sold out while they were busy screwing with our order. On top of that, I got an email stating that they had charged my credit card ABOVE what I had authorized. I didn't realize that the slow broilers were more expensive, gave them the go-ahead to change the order and they neglected to okay the new charges with me.....mmmkay, not cool.
On a good note, I'm getting 6 Silkie fertile eggs shipped from a farm a couple of hours away, so they should be here in a couple days. I'm a little worried since they'll have different hatch dates from the first batch, but the lady assured me that it wouldn't be a problem. They're coming from Destiny Farms, I'll update with my review of them when I get the eggs.
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