I thought I might be able to update in the comments of the last post, but a lot has happened in the past two and a half hours. One of the chicks has hatched entirely, and while it was an agonizing process to watch, it was awesome. And I mean awesome in the way it is meant to be used, not the way I usually use it, which is to signify something cool. This was awe inspiring.
The other chicks that have poked through are taking their time, which leads me to think that the one that has hatched initially broke through his shell sometime in the night. He isn't the one that I saw at first. That hole on that egg is still fairly small. The hatched one is out and flopping around the incubator. We are calling him a male because Marc wants more than anything to call him Adam. No, it doesn't make sense, but I've been up since 5:30 a.m and am too tired to protest. Plus, it's cute.
Marc is building a pen for the chicks in our kitchen. I don't think I have mentioned how small our house is. Our down stairs is one and a half rooms, a kitchen/living room/dining room and a half bath. So, for the next week, our lives will consist of chicks and kittens and the never-ending chore of keeping the house from smelling like a barn. If it doesn't warm up soon outside, it may be longer. I'm okay with that now, but I am aware that it may get tiresome. Or maybe not. Who knows?
The chick that has hatched is adorable. He's golden, alert and he seems strong. He has bright eyes, and when he hears my voice he turns his head in my direction and cheeps. He has to stay in the incubator until he dries, and it must be lonely in there. Poor little fellow. All that work, and he's left alone in a Styrofoam box surrounded by unhatched siblings. I was impressed with the way he broke his egg shell. He pecked a crack around the egg, like we do when cracking a egg. Then he was able to just pop the top off. Talk about the wonder of creation. It's the most energy efficient way for him, but how did he know the pattern? How did he know not to just peck randomly until the egg fell apart? It's lovely, to be able to see the hand of God in such simple, small things.
Marc is pretty sure he's an athlete, having been able to bust out so soon. If he's a rooster, Marc will probably want to name him Rambo or something. What can I say? We've had roosters named Aragorn, Tevye and now Bruce. Maybe it's time for a Rambo?
Marc just counted. There are 12 more chicks that have broken through their shells and are on their way. Woot!
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Now there are 2 hatched, and many more on the way. So exciting! It seems like the initial breaking through the shell and widening the hole takes a lot of energy, but they seem to get stronger as they go, and so find it easier as the time passes to break out all the way.
ReplyDeleteThey are unspeakably adorable, in a gawky, slimy, big-headed kind of way.
**grins**
Well, the chicks that have hatched have met up with each other, and greeted each other with a bit of pecking and a whole lot of chirping. I'm wondering about the pecking. Maybe Cain & Abel might be better names?
ReplyDeleteA lot of the eggs are beginning to hatch. We're not supposed to open the incubator for long periods of time, to keep the heat and humidity in. The chicks are very vulnerable to the cold. I don't know why we are thinking of them all as male. Probably because the kittens are boys, so most of our "critter talk" lately has been about "brothers", "little misters" and "the farty boys" (yeah, the gas thing never went away...joy.) I don't know when we'll know who is male and who is female. For now, all we know is that they are gorgeous.