A Big Mothers Day!

Mothers Day was really big this year at my house.

On Sat afternoon the baby Barred Hollands started pipping 

on their eggs.  We waited and waited, but none of them hatched out.

They took lots of naps though......hatching out is hard work.

My mom and I stayed up late Saturday night watching them pip away.

I was so tired I fell asleep on the couch.

Then at 1:45 am my mom woke me up to let me know that the first little guy

had broken through his shell and was looking around.  I could hear him tweeting

up a storm so I jumped up to go see.

The cutest ever!!!

My stayed up all night to make sure all four peeps made it through.

  Of course one waited until Breakfast to hatch out.

 

Chicks just beginning to pip through

Making more progress after a nap

Now really getting down to business 

I am ready to face the world

This really Hard!

I am upside down

Get this shell off of me!

I can stretch --at last

Come on Buddy get up

OK world here I am

Little friends togther

All dry and fluffy

Cute Barred Holland Chicks
DOB-May 12,2013
Happy Mothers Day!

The Count Down!!!

The Count Down Has Begun!!!!

In less than three days our new family members will be here.

The eggs started rocking back and forth several days ago.

It was so weird.  We were standing next to the incubator and 

I noticed it first, then my mom.  My oldest brother, Andrew walked up 

and said "Why are the eggs rocking back and forth?"

Those little guys are ready to make an entrance and move into 

bigger living quarters.

I started out with seven fertile eggs, sent to me by Sue from the Pocket Farmer

My Brinsea incubator holds seven eggs.

Shipping fertile eggs is risky.  So many things can happen to keep the eggs from

hatching out.  At the first candling, I learned that one egg did not start the development stage.

That could be for any number of reasons. Not fertile, damaged in shipping somehow 

or compromised by bacteria.  I removed that egg.  

The six remaining eggs were candled at 10 day. All looked great accept for

 two that were developing but not at the same rate.

I left them in and decided to check on them a little later on.

Day 18 and time to check the "rocking" eggs.

The two eggs in question were indeed in trouble.  One developed a chick but the chick died 

early. I am not sure why.  The other egg, started developing and then stopped.

   The other four are strong and ready to hatch.  

I can not wait to meet them!