Posted by Suzanne McMinn on April 26, 2008 @ 5:05 am
Daily Farmhouse Journal
The lonely chick.
But Lucky’s such a good boy. An angel!
He keeps busy. He reads the comics.
He eats his food.
See his regal profile? What a chicken he will be!
Well, maybe we’ll have to do something about that hair…..
The other eggs defy me.
Thinking back to what I’ve read, if you keep the incubator slightly lower than the optimum 102 degrees, chicks do take a day or two longer to hatch, according to the books. For fear of accidentally overheating again, I’ve kept my incubator around 100. Lucky hatched at Day 23. (And so far, from the first batch, he is the only one-truly, the miracle baby.) Today is Day 22 for the second batch.
Soon?
I think I hear some little crackly pecking from inside the eggs……
5:27
am
Lucky is adorable. I hope he’ll have company soon.
Have you ever seen “Chicken Run?” Brilliant clay animation movie. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
BTW, lovely shot off your back porch. But how do you cope with all the bugs? Mosquitoes, deer flies, black flies, etc. Are you intending to screen in your front and back porches? Just curious. One of my co-workers lives out of town in the woods, but they can’t sit out in the evenings during the summer because the bugs are so bad. Her hubby is screening in their back deck, I believe.
-Kim
6:58
am
7:20
am
7:31
am
7:49
am
When we had our farm a friend gave us a baby chick and we named it Tammy after her..months later I found Tammy in front of the house trying to crow..Our Tammy was a rooster..LOL.. Connie
8:22
am
We don’t have plans to screen any of the porches in right now. I guess I’m used to it-the porch at the old farmhouse wasn’t screened in either. Bugs didn’t bother me too much. I used bug candles and that bug Off spray sometimes.
8:34
am
Can we tell yet if Lucky is a boy or a girl? Whatever, I am in love.
8:44
am
Hoping you hatch a whole brood over the weekend. Just be patient!
8:47
am
No, I can’t tell if Lucky is a boy or a girl yet, but I hate to call him/her “it” all the time. So I just picked one for now. Since I picked “him” that probably means he’s a girl, LOL.
8:55
am
Oh, he is so sweet! We have raised chickens from a few days old but never from egg. Lucky is making me lonesome for more chicks! They are so much fun!!
9:06
am
I really look forward to reading your entry every morning. Can’t wait for more chicks to hatch!
9:34
am
There is only one thing as exciting as hatching. That’s finding your first egg from those chicks about five months from now. I’ve had chickens for seven years, and it still gives me a thrill every time. Good luck with the rest of your brood! I don’t remember if you said, does your incubator have a little window? Each time you open it to look you are losing heat. Could that be affecting things?
9:42
am
Now that I’m not turning the eggs anymore, I only open it for a quick picture. It has windows that I can gaze upon obsessively.
10:17
am
I’m holding my breath in anticipation!
10:17
am
Lucky is adorable!
How will you mark him when the others start hatching? I would hate for him to get lost in the crowd!
10:57
am
Lucky is very handsome/pretty. With all the handling, you might want to be careful, he will soon want to be the one chicken that likes to sleep with the dogs, or cats, or you! That’s what happened with Rhodey, she wanted to be a dog when she grew up!
Have fun with all the other hatching going on soon! I can’t wait to see what/who is next!
11:20
am
Lucky is a real cutie! I think I’m in
with a :chicken:. 
Looking forward to seeing the second batch hatch.
11:22
am
If you heard peeping and cracking at 5am…you are probably a bit busy about now. Good Luck! Hope you remember that the peeks and squirming of the first hatchlings, encourages the enclosed to come on out of there.
11:55
am
11:57
am
He’s just to cute!
12:11
pm
Chickens, chickens, chickens.
I’m so excited! I can’t wait to see how batch two turns out!
12:27
pm
Oh Lucky is too cute.
We’ve had chickens in the past (Silkies) and I miss them. We are planning on getting more, just don’t know when yet.
Just an FYI that you probably already know?? You don’t want to keep Lucky on the newspaper because it can be too slick under his feet and cause leg problems. I hope you don’t mind me telling you, I just don’t want anything to happen to Lucky.
12:57
pm
2:31
pm
Oh brothers and sisters coming soon! I hope Lucky is a boy. He earned the right to be in charge of all the other
2:44
pm
Any more chicks hatch yet? I think I’m being impatient.
3:38
pm
No new babies yet, but one is trying!! I’m impatient, too!
3:43
pm
Thanks, Hope! According to my chicken books, newspaper is good for the first couple days then you should switch to some kind of litter to avoid leg problems, as you mentioned. We don’t have any pine shavings or sawdust, so I think we’re going to try straw.
3:48
pm
Hope Lucky has a lot of company soon!
4:14
pm
Oh sure, I go away for ONE night to chaperone the Senior Class trip to Orlando and you get Lucky!
He is just adorable! WOOHOOOO!
4:24
pm
Aww! I LOVE Lucky’s hair (feathers). Looks way punk rock. Sorta reminds me of how Sting’s hair used to be.
I know, I’m weird. xxoo
5:27
pm
We had one that became a pet..when ever my daddy sat down to read the paper on the porch and crossed his legs Chi Chi would jump up on his foot..then if allowed he would get up on my daddy’s shoulder and “sing” to him..He was allowed to run free and the dog and cat knew he was off limits..lived happily ever after till he went to the big chicken playhouse in the sky..
5:50
pm
Do you know what type of chicken Lucky is? I remember you got a variety of eggs to begin with.
5:58
pm
Too cute! I wish I could have chickens. Someone was giving some hens and chicks away yesterday and I SO wanted to take them. Unfortunately, we live at the beach and it would be a very bad idea. So instead, I’m living vicariously through you.
6:05
pm
Oooh, I’ll bet it will be any minute now!
6:08
pm
I don’t know what kind of chicken Lucky is. He came out of a big brown egg, that’s all I know, LOL. My chicken lady told me she could tell when they’re babies what kind of chicken they are, but I’m not that experienced.
7:41
pm
Long time Lurker, here…just logged on to tell you I finally had time to try the Grandmother Bread recipe. What a lovely, great sandwich bread! Thanks so much! I made it with 1/3 of the total as Whole Wheat Flour…wasn’t sure how it would turn out but it did great. Thought I would tell you about it, but after catching up on the last couple days posts I can see you are ahead of me! I hadn’t thought about substituting honey, that may be my project next week! Thanks again!
7:42
pm
Oh, btw…congrats on Lucky! He’s a cutie! You’re officially a farmer now!
11:09
pm
Are there still no more babies yet??? This suspense is killing me
11:12
pm
When we raised chicks, we would keep an eye on the combs. The roosters combs will get larger quicker than a hens. Have you googled sexing chicks? I think Lucky is the cutest chick around. Get ready to fall in love with all the new ones too. Terry
8:02
pm
Ohhhh, that is the CUTEST little chick and I hope Lucky is going to luck out and NOT get eaten!!! I could not raise one and love it like that and then eat it!!!!!! It reminds me of my adorable parakeet that I kiss and kiss on and he talks in complete sentences and even LAUGHS…ohh, our feathered friends. I would have to buy ones already grown and eat those. LOL I love fried chicken!!!!!!!!!!!