Life on a farm always seems to come full circle. One minute we are suffering from the loss of a beloved animal, the next minute we are enjoying the sights and sounds of new life!
We have 4 new sets of eyes looking at us around the farm. 3 sets outside in the barn in the form of new pigs (which I will talk about some other time), the other set looking at us from in our bathroom. Yes, I did say BATHROOM. lol!
About a month ago my daughter received an early birthday present, (Super early given her b-day isn't until December!!) an egg incubator. From a parental standpoint, I have been putting off the idea of spending almost a hundred dollars on a STYROFOAM box. (but, I'm wishing that I came up with this overpriced box idea, that's quite the money making racket they have going!)
Anyway, since that day we have been diligently collecting our show chicken's eggs, dating them, writing the breed on them, and we have been putting them in the incubator.
That incubator is a real fickle thing! We have to constantly monitor the temperature to help it maintain a constant 99.5*. Why can't it just be 99.*? or an even 100*? What's with the .5*? ?? It wouldn't be as tough if it was digital, but it's not. It has a little old fashioned thermometer inside the box and a little stick poking out of the top of the box that you can turn to the left or to the right to increase or decrease the temperature. It would be so much easier if it was digital!
All the eggs have been cooking along just fine. I have been candling them periodically and marking which ones are fertilized and growing nicely. So far, I only had one that was considered a "yolker" (non developer- not fertilized). I have a couple I'm on the fence about. I see a large blood ring around the inside of those eggs. But this blood ring doesn't look like any of the blood rings I have seen on the Internet. So we will just have to wait and see.
Our bathroom has become a "scientific" chicken rearing facility. Complete with incubator, automatic egg turner, and separate brooding box. It gives going potty a whole new meaning! And to think some people just have boring magazines or newspapers for their enjoyment! Heck, we can sit on the throne and watch the miracle of life! It's hard not to feel self conscious though when you have baby chicks looking up at you while your sitting on the crapper, making a deposit. The cool part though, it really helps with toddler potty training! I cannot count how many times I have heard "see chicks??" "potty!!" this morning! Hey! Now there's a market for me... All I have to do is convince every mother that she needs to hatch out eggs next to her toilet. Maybe I could make an infomercial! (checks idea to back of mind for further use... LOL)
I cannot believe how everyone has been involved in this process- Even my animal hating husband spent this past evening outside in the garage building a brooding box. Our brooding box is a 24"x24" plywood box w/ an 18"x 24" plexi glass hinged lid. This box also has a light bulb "poking" through the back to provide heat for the chicks. It's a beautiful contraption! But, it is more fickle than the dang incubator! Talk about a new learning curve! So far our hatch rate isn't that impressive. Technically, you are supposed to leave the eggs in the incubator until they hatch and are dry... Then move them to the brooding box. Sure, in a perfect world that sounds pretty simple right?? Well, if we leave them in the incubator- Yes, they hatch... Then manage to get their floppy little heads stuck in the automatic egg turner. So, we moved some of the eggs that had "pip" holes (the first hole a baby chick pecks into it's shell) into the brooder- that way they can hatch and not get jammed up in the machine. But- Even with a thermometer in the brooder it's hard to figure out where to put the eggs in the box. Next to the light is way to close (fried 2) and too far away from the light they get too cold in their shell and die. On a side note, it kind of makes you appreciate buying day old chicks- way less work involved!
We have 4 new sets of eyes looking at us around the farm. 3 sets outside in the barn in the form of new pigs (which I will talk about some other time), the other set looking at us from in our bathroom. Yes, I did say BATHROOM. lol!
About a month ago my daughter received an early birthday present, (Super early given her b-day isn't until December!!) an egg incubator. From a parental standpoint, I have been putting off the idea of spending almost a hundred dollars on a STYROFOAM box. (but, I'm wishing that I came up with this overpriced box idea, that's quite the money making racket they have going!)
Anyway, since that day we have been diligently collecting our show chicken's eggs, dating them, writing the breed on them, and we have been putting them in the incubator.
That incubator is a real fickle thing! We have to constantly monitor the temperature to help it maintain a constant 99.5*. Why can't it just be 99.*? or an even 100*? What's with the .5*? ?? It wouldn't be as tough if it was digital, but it's not. It has a little old fashioned thermometer inside the box and a little stick poking out of the top of the box that you can turn to the left or to the right to increase or decrease the temperature. It would be so much easier if it was digital!
All the eggs have been cooking along just fine. I have been candling them periodically and marking which ones are fertilized and growing nicely. So far, I only had one that was considered a "yolker" (non developer- not fertilized). I have a couple I'm on the fence about. I see a large blood ring around the inside of those eggs. But this blood ring doesn't look like any of the blood rings I have seen on the Internet. So we will just have to wait and see.
Our bathroom has become a "scientific" chicken rearing facility. Complete with incubator, automatic egg turner, and separate brooding box. It gives going potty a whole new meaning! And to think some people just have boring magazines or newspapers for their enjoyment! Heck, we can sit on the throne and watch the miracle of life! It's hard not to feel self conscious though when you have baby chicks looking up at you while your sitting on the crapper, making a deposit. The cool part though, it really helps with toddler potty training! I cannot count how many times I have heard "see chicks??" "potty!!" this morning! Hey! Now there's a market for me... All I have to do is convince every mother that she needs to hatch out eggs next to her toilet. Maybe I could make an infomercial! (checks idea to back of mind for further use... LOL)
I cannot believe how everyone has been involved in this process- Even my animal hating husband spent this past evening outside in the garage building a brooding box. Our brooding box is a 24"x24" plywood box w/ an 18"x 24" plexi glass hinged lid. This box also has a light bulb "poking" through the back to provide heat for the chicks. It's a beautiful contraption! But, it is more fickle than the dang incubator! Talk about a new learning curve! So far our hatch rate isn't that impressive. Technically, you are supposed to leave the eggs in the incubator until they hatch and are dry... Then move them to the brooding box. Sure, in a perfect world that sounds pretty simple right?? Well, if we leave them in the incubator- Yes, they hatch... Then manage to get their floppy little heads stuck in the automatic egg turner. So, we moved some of the eggs that had "pip" holes (the first hole a baby chick pecks into it's shell) into the brooder- that way they can hatch and not get jammed up in the machine. But- Even with a thermometer in the brooder it's hard to figure out where to put the eggs in the box. Next to the light is way to close (fried 2) and too far away from the light they get too cold in their shell and die. On a side note, it kind of makes you appreciate buying day old chicks- way less work involved!
OK, folks- Gotta run, I'm loosing my thought train because I have to quit writing every few minutes to get the boy out of the bathroom. I think I'm going to make a run this morning for one of those safety devices that go over a door knob so a toddler cannot open the door!
No comments:
Post a Comment