2008 April | Chickens in the Road Page 2

I have chickens! I spent most of my growing up years in a suburb of Washington, D.C. My neighbors in Silver Spring, Maryland didn’t have chickens. Chickens were something you saw in a children’s book or on Green Acres. Real people didn’t have chickens. I write romance novels. Some people think that’s exciting. (It’s not, trust me.) Exciting? Now that’s chickens.

And there’s nothing more exciting than the moment of new life, over and over.

I have chickens!

I had 16 working on the chicken house yesterday. We’re going to need a chicken house soon! Because I have chickens!

As of the time I set this post, we have seven babies with what appears to be four others working to come out. If more will hatch, it will be today, I think, and no later. I’m not feeling very good about my hatch rate. Out of the first dozen, I lost all but Lucky. I brought home 30 more for the second batch. I’m not sure what I did wrong to not get more out of the second batch, but I’m grateful for the ones I got, and maybe there will be more today than I think?

Here’s our little banty (the yellow one) and the seventh baby, which hatched near the same time.

Left, the family photo (Princess wants to name the others after countries around the world) of the first five–Lucky and his royal court. (Is he adorable or what?)

If you’d like to come back, I’ll update this post throughout the day with the latest results. Thank you for sharing the chicken joy with me! (I have chickens!)

Update 9:15 am. My first little banty baby all fluffed up!

Size comparison of the banty baby and a standard chicken hatched around the same time. Bantams are miniature chickens, one-quarter to one-fifth the size of standard chickens when full-grown.

Today is Day 24. I’ve got SEVEN more eggs cracking now! Two more are banties–the little white eggs. One is a green egg–an Araucana (the chickens that make the “Easter” egg blue and green eggs) and the others are large brown and white eggs.

My little flock is about to double, oh my! (My hatch rate is starting to look better.)

Update: 1 pm.

More new babies! The dark one is the Aracauna! More are coming…..

My little flock is up to 10.

Update: 3 pm.

Second little banty, and eleventh chick, to join our flock! (Is it just me or does this little guy look angry?!)

Update: 9:10 pm. Our twelfth baby is here!

See yesterday’s Hatch Day, too!

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More posts you might enjoy:

Lucky reads all of your comments.

He says thank you!

Today is Day 23 for the second batch. Lucky hatched on Day 23, the sole survivor from the ill-fated first batch, and with my incubator at 100-degrees, that’s about right. I think today is the day for the second batch! I’ll be updating throughout the day with our newest arrivals (hopeful, I am!), so come back? We’ve had pecking and peeping since yesterday! Those babies are working!

Update: 7:30 am.

Meet Lucky’s first new friend! Love the dramatic coloring!

As advised, I’m letting sweet little Tatiana remain in the incubator for awhile to talk her siblings out of their shells!

Update: 9:55 am.

Tatiana is fluffing and getting rambunctious inside the incubator!

Update: 10:30 am.

Life, as it happened.

Tatiana hopped over to greet the newcomer.

Isn’t that the sweetest thing?!

Update: Noon.

Lucky, meet Tatiana!

Update: 1:10 pm.

Another baby talked out of its shell!

Update: 4:15 pm.

Bigger than the new chicks, and slightly rowdy, Lucky’s been temporarily separated to his own digs. According to the books (I rely heavily on books–and you all!), chicks need newspaper for the first day or so in order to develop good pecking habits without other litter material interfering, then they should be removed from paper to avoid foot/leg damage. I don’t have any wood shavings, but I hope straw will provide the traction Lucky needs now. I had to find another makeshift light source, too. His new water dish is a tart pan.

And we’ve got the first banty coming!

Bantams are miniature chickens, usually about one-fifth to one-quarter the size of standard chickens. See the picture, above right, comparing a banty egg to a standard-sized egg. I’ve got a banty working on its shell now. What a tiny baby it will be! I can’t wait to see!

Update: 8:50 pm. Our little banty is slow coming out. (I hope it’s okay!) We’ve got a green egg, an Araucana (the ones that make the “Easter” eggs), pecking, too, and another white egg cracking.

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