Hatching chicks

Once I was required to start working from home due to the Covid-19, I thought to myself, might as well do something fun. Something to pass the time and also that my family and my students could enjoy and follow along. I decided to hatch a few chicks. Since it was so early in the laying season, and the majority of our flock is older, I tested fertility before setting some eggs. When I was using the eggs anyway I checked for the bullseye mark on the yolk. I found that we had about 50% fertility, give or take. Knowing that fertility was a bit low and that we have a rather low end incubator I decided to set 20 eggs hoping for 6 or so.

The eggs I most wanted to hatch were the white Polish eggs to see what Dipsy or Po's chicks would look like! Dipsy and Po are Tolbunt (like calico) Polish chickens and they have great personalities. 

Unfortunately the incubator, a Little Giant still air model malfunctioned! Some of the foam next to the heating element began to melt! We had never even used this incubator. We loaned it once but they only did one hatch  and returned it in good shape.

This was a scary and unexpected situation! I quickly arranged to purchase and bring home a different incubator, choosing to go with a completely different make and model. I was very thankful to happen upon the Nurture Right 360, that was on sale for $119.00. This incubator looked much easier to use. We got the Nurture Right 360 home and transferred the 20 eggs. 

Something caused me to feel strongly that I should add 2 more eggs. Whether it be just from seeing the two empty spaces in the new incubator or worry that with the Little Giant incubator overheating it could further lower our egg fertility/hatchability percent. So I added two more eggs, one white Polish egg and one blue Easter Egger egg.

One more great thing about the new incubator, it could fit right in the brooder cage to keep safe from curious cats! Though they did get in to check it out when I opened to add water. 

Then the real waiting began, 21 days to hatch a chicken egg seems so long even though it's short. We candled the eggs at 10 days and found many had not started to develop at all, they were just eggs. Gave it a little longer but at 14 days it was clear that most of the eggs were clear. There were some eggs, the green and the blue, which I couldn't see into well enough to know so I left those ones. One white egg we could see into and knew there was a chick deeloping!

Just an egg.

Not just an egg!

Finally 20 days had passed and we had just a few eggs left in the incubator. Only one of which we knew to have a chick in it. Late in the night between day 20 and day 21 I awoke to a loud peeping within the house and yes checking with a flashlight in the dark the one white egg had hatched!

This one chick soon perked up and became quite bored and lonely as day 21 began and went on. Humans and cats of the house entertained the lone chick as much as possible but little chick became bored/lonely whenever nobody was paying attention to its plight, all alone and stuck in an incubator. 

Finally late in the afternoon of day 21 another chick started to emerge, this time from a blue egg.

At last Chick 1 has a friend, chick 2!

We waited a few more days with chicks on one side of the brooder and incubator on the other but no more chicks hatched. Later upon examining the remaining eggs...they were just eggs, nothing more. I know we had somewhat low fertility but I have to assume the faulty incubator caused the eggs never to develop. If they were overheated in those couple hours they were in the first incubator they must have been caused to be infertile/unhatchable. Thank goodness I added those two extra eggs, a white egg and a blue egg! Two adorable little chicks came from those last two eggs.