Dreaming What Ifs...

Incubation Part 2 or Day 7 Development

I am showing this picture as a comparison.  As shown, this is a fresh egg I just gathered yesterday.  It may be fertile, but it is clear without any development.

 

After seven days, we "candled" our chicken eggs to check for development.

In six of the eggs, there was a "blood ring" - which meant the eggs had been fertile, but stopped developing.  (I did not take a picture, but an example can be seen HERE)

Four of the eggs were dark brown and really hard to see through, so we are undecided.  We'll wait a few more days and recheck.

Which left 17 eggs developing!!  (and I was so worried I would have none)

 Here is Top view picture of development:

And here is a side view of the developing egg

 

So, I'm very positive and extremely excited that I have 17 (possibly 22) eggs developing.  I suspect those 4 dark eggs will be "no-go's"  becaue we really didn't see anything.  The brown eggs are much harder for the light to shine through.

I am enjoying the learning process and watching the eggs.  Dave callse me the "mother hen" because I'm constantly checking the incubator temperature.  Our house is old and drafty and the incubator is a cheaper model.  The temp fluctuates quite a bit so I am constantly on top of it having to do slight adjustments on occasion.

Check back in next week when we re-candle the eggs again for a 2nd development phase!

 

I've Crossed Over The Line or Incubation part 1

I fear I'm becoming a Crazy Chicken Lady....

It all started while watching my rooster mate with a hen.  "I wonder what type of chick they would have."

So, I purchased a little incubator and started collecting eggs.

Collected eggs can be stored up to TEN days before incubating, although after seven days the viability drops considerably.  Isn't that amazing?  I stored the eggs in my basement so they would be kept cool (~55°F).

After SEVEN days I had a total of 27 eggs.  I collected more than that in seven days, but only wanted the cleanest and nicest looking eggs.

Carefully, with a pencil, the kids and I numbered each egg and then set them in the pre-heated incubator (99.5°F).

In seven days, we'll check their viability by "candleing" and in 21 days we might have baby chicks.

I don't know if some or any of them will hatch. 

Maybe this entire escapade will be for naught.  Maybe I'll have 27 little chicksn running around.

 

 

But what I do know is for the next 21 days I'll be sitting here at home, watching the incubator and waiting....

Crazy Chicken Lady or not, this is kind of fun!

I'll post more as we get development!

 

Resident Ducks

Every morning when we let the chickens out of their coop for the day, we are greeted by this scene:

A lovely "wild" Mallard pair eagerly waiting for their snack. They showed up on the creek in November and we threw them cracked-corn.  Now it is January and they are part of the morning routine. 

As seen here, they even venture into the chicken coop yard to make we don't forget about them.  They are not afraid but the chickens will chase them away if their food feels threatened.

Sorry it is a blurry picture - but I had my hands full of chicken-scratch and the camera was on the wrong setting.

All the chicken web-sites, chicken books, and experts agree:  Avoid allowing wild game birds into chicken areas to keep diseases and foreign bacteria away from the chickens. 

Well, I've been trying, but those ducks want their morning snack!  So, I shoo them out of the coop yard and we take a little walk back down to the creek, where I throw the Scratch along the bank.

When we moved, I told Dave I wanted ducks in the spring.  We planned on purchasing some Cayuga ducks but now that I have some Mallard friends, I'm content to wait until we are more settled and have a duck home ready.

Besides, I suspect this spring I'll have some more ducks coming to visit for snacks.