I’m doing a small test hatch (8 eggs) before doing my “real” hatch next weekend – we want to hatch around 50 chicks, so we will end up with a few more with my test hatch. My eggs went in 3/22 – they were due to start hatching tomorrow. Yesterday we took the automatic turner out of the incubator, so the eggs can get ready to hatch.
I heard some peeping last night, and noticed a little poked hole in one. This morning there was a little more of a hole, and more peeping. I got home this evening to 2 pipping eggs (Pipping is where the chick is starting to break through).
Hard to see, but the middle egg here has some broken shell on the bottom – this is what one of the eggs looked like when I got home.The chick stretched and stretched, and broke through. Once it seemed really determined to get out I think it took it maybe 5-10 minutes till it popped out.The chick is very tired, and keeps wandering around the incubator and then passing out for a bit, then peeping, then moving around again. He / she will take a while to dry off.Here the egg just above the white one has a hole – this is our other Pipping egg – I have been hearing that chick peep also, and a tiny beak keeps coming out, so I expect this one to hatch in the next few hours or so. On the left you can see the egg that the first chick hatched from.Tiny chick – its eyes have been opening a bit too, but she is still so sleepy. I think I will wait till we have at least 2 hatched before moving them to a brooder box.
So far I think my test hatch is going well. I’ll give it a couple more days. I’m hoping to get at least 6 out of this batch of 8 eggs, in order to feel like I had a good hatch rate. I have not candled them though, so I will just have to wait and see if they all are viable.
I know to a lot of people animals aren’t as important as humans but seeing the pictures of this new little life emerging makes me so happy. What a sweet little thing! 🙂 thank you for sharing that! It all is pretty miraculous to me!
My tiny u.p. farm 
I know to a lot of people animals aren’t as important as humans but seeing the pictures of this new little life emerging makes me so happy. What a sweet little thing! 🙂 thank you for sharing that! It all is pretty miraculous to me!
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