We had talked about incubating chicken eggs for a couple of years, but two things stopped us: lack of motivation (isn't that always the case?) and a good working incubator. When we received a request of our Dear Friend at Master's Hand inquiring about whether we would be so kind as to incubate a bunch of our fertilized chicken eggs in time to hopefully have them hatch for this year's Spring Fling, I said yes. My husband wondered if I was out of my mind.
You see, we are not consistent people. I try. I have good intentions, but doing things at the same time, every day just doesn't meld with my DNA. But if I had some expectation from others, and help from the family, I thought for sure I could do it.
So, we loaded up two incubators (lent kindly from the folks at the Burt County Extension Office) with over 75 fertilized eggs. (How do I know that they are fertilized? Our rooster to hen ratio is nonsense. They are busy.. All. The. Time.)
We did three batches of eggs, taking each day's freshly laid ones from last Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and putting them in the Little Giant incubators.
As you can see, we numbered them by the batch. We also put a big X on the opposite side of the numbers, so when we turn them (3 x a day), we know which ones we've turned.
We also invested in a small terrarium hygrometer (to test humidity) to use along with the included thermometer. You can find these at pet shops sold for lizards and turtles, or on Amazon (where we purchased ours).
So far, we have not had any breakage or stinky eggs. My husband added a small dish of water to keep humidity at a healthy level because it is so dry this time of year. (Recommended humidity for all but the last 3 days should be between 50 and 55%.)
We will be updating you on the progress of our babes in shells over the next couple of weeks. If all goes well, we'll have some fluffy little miracles to show at Spring Fling! And while we've discussed what we will do with all those chicks (even if half hatch, it will DOUBLE our flock), I'm sure God will figure that part out. Like baby people, if we bring them willingly into the world, he usually has a plan in place.
You see, we are not consistent people. I try. I have good intentions, but doing things at the same time, every day just doesn't meld with my DNA. But if I had some expectation from others, and help from the family, I thought for sure I could do it.
So, we loaded up two incubators (lent kindly from the folks at the Burt County Extension Office) with over 75 fertilized eggs. (How do I know that they are fertilized? Our rooster to hen ratio is nonsense. They are busy.. All. The. Time.)
We did three batches of eggs, taking each day's freshly laid ones from last Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and putting them in the Little Giant incubators.
As you can see, we numbered them by the batch. We also put a big X on the opposite side of the numbers, so when we turn them (3 x a day), we know which ones we've turned.
We also invested in a small terrarium hygrometer (to test humidity) to use along with the included thermometer. You can find these at pet shops sold for lizards and turtles, or on Amazon (where we purchased ours).
So far, we have not had any breakage or stinky eggs. My husband added a small dish of water to keep humidity at a healthy level because it is so dry this time of year. (Recommended humidity for all but the last 3 days should be between 50 and 55%.)
We will be updating you on the progress of our babes in shells over the next couple of weeks. If all goes well, we'll have some fluffy little miracles to show at Spring Fling! And while we've discussed what we will do with all those chicks (even if half hatch, it will DOUBLE our flock), I'm sure God will figure that part out. Like baby people, if we bring them willingly into the world, he usually has a plan in place.
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