Well, I've noticed a pattern here. Every time Rachael comes to visit I can't blog for days, sometimes weeks. I was on a roll and then, wham no posts for a while. Rae is visiting Granny and Papa for two weeks, ha, not sure why I find that funny, but I do. Of course she Skypes me every day and was utterly thrilled to find out that I have a camera now and can see her. I had to watch her dance, jump, hop, skip, stick her tongue out and make faces. In fact at her request and much to her amusement I joined her. "Okay hop now aunt neice, okay freeze, okay hop, now freeze. Let me see you stick your tongue out" It went on for 30 minutes at least, it felt like longer. "Do you see me twirling? Now what am I doing?" Oh the joys of technology. Of course I had to go to the garage and bring Hopper the one-legged-chicken in for a camera appearance. She was beside herself when Hopper talked to her. Oh to be four again.
The only other thing she wanted from me besides doing crazy stunts before the camera was to explain to her over and over and over how to take care of chickens. She is pretty sure she will be taking some chicks home to live in her bedroom. "Should I just make a glass house or a metal house for them? I think I can just teach them to talk and also to go potty on the toilet, wouldn’t that be a great idea aunt neice?" She didn't like my recommendation for little chicken diapers; I thought they would fit nicely in the "little chicken suitcases" I convinced her were necessary and talked her into making, maybe it will give Granny and Papa a break for 20 minutes. Her face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning when I told her that the eggs in the "inking bator" as she calls it, wiggle when they are turned over. She thought maybe we could just crack one and look at it. She returns home Saturday, the same day the chicks are supposed to start hatching, oh boy. I see a visit from her in my near future. If my posts slack off, you'll know she was here.
On another note, Josh leaves for Tulsa tomorrow. He is going to Winter Retreat at the church we used to attend there. He was told by several of the youth that it was announced at Wednesday youth service that he was coming back and the room erupted in applause and cheers. What a great feeling that must have been he had so many friends there and was greatly missed when we moved. I'm happy we could send him back; it means so much to him.
It’s been cold lately, dipping down below zero last night. It’s so beautiful here, but I am ready for spring. I admit, I'm a wimp, enough of the cold and snow already. Think I'll start my tomato seed soon, maybe tomorrow. I plan to grow them in pots on the upper balcony this year. The deer and rabbits find them too tempting. Some day I'll have a nice fenced in garden, but for now I have to keep them out of reach, kinda like the eggs in the inking bator.
Showing posts with label incubating chicken eggs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label incubating chicken eggs. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Chicken Eggs
We bought Josh an airline ticket to OK for winter retreat. It was only $5 with all the miles that we've accumulated. Not bad for a weekend with is friends in a good Christian setting. He and the youth pastor were so close; it is great that they can spend some time together again. When we moved to CO, he stayed behind for almost a month with the youth pastor and his wife and their family; in fact he would still be there if we didn’t force him to finally move to CO with us.
I got a 20.00 coupon from a seed catalog company, so I've been perusing the catalog, it covers shipping as well, so I can get a couple of things for free or nearly free. I'm looking at getting a Stevia plant or two. It would be great if I could get them to grow and not have to buy sugar as much. I love using Stevia in tea and such. It can be used in baking as well, although I’ve never tried it.
My sister Melissa is coming over tomorrow; she said she’d help do a few more chickens if I wanted. By the way, the eggs in the incubator are developing. I candled 10 and I can see chicks in 9. The 10th had too thick/dark of a shell to be able to see if it is developing, but I have no reason to think it wouldn't be. They kind of look like a spider, with the chick as the small spider body, and the veins as legs. I can see the eye as a small dark pinpoint of blackness. I’m so excited they actually are developing. For one I wasn’t sure what fertility rate I had and second, some of the eggs had gotten pretty chilled in the nest boxes before I brought them in so I wasn’t sure how viable they were. This will be the 3rd batch I’ve hatched out, and the first batch from my own hens. I’ve got 20 eggs total, which I expect to hatch on the 20th, give or take a day. Probably a day or two later since I’ve had trouble keeping the temperature up, it tends to want to hang at a degree or two lower than it should be; probably because we keep the house so chilly.
Rachel is coming tomorrow with Melissa; she will be spending the night. I’m excited for that. She is so much fun to have around. Pretty Boy will be accompanying her. Melissa says she tells everyone “this is my niece’s dog.” Too funny, as I now too get to say this is my niece’s dog. She also decided to change his name to “Gato,” a tribute to her dry sense of humor. She has a truly curious sense of humor for a four year old.
Here are the eggs, I added 2 more (a green & a large brown) for a total of 20. They are written on so I know which way is up, they have to be rotated several times a day or the chick will die.
In the incubator. They are not up to temp as I had just opened it and placed all the eggs inside. It took several hours to get to the correct temperature.
I got a 20.00 coupon from a seed catalog company, so I've been perusing the catalog, it covers shipping as well, so I can get a couple of things for free or nearly free. I'm looking at getting a Stevia plant or two. It would be great if I could get them to grow and not have to buy sugar as much. I love using Stevia in tea and such. It can be used in baking as well, although I’ve never tried it.
My sister Melissa is coming over tomorrow; she said she’d help do a few more chickens if I wanted. By the way, the eggs in the incubator are developing. I candled 10 and I can see chicks in 9. The 10th had too thick/dark of a shell to be able to see if it is developing, but I have no reason to think it wouldn't be. They kind of look like a spider, with the chick as the small spider body, and the veins as legs. I can see the eye as a small dark pinpoint of blackness. I’m so excited they actually are developing. For one I wasn’t sure what fertility rate I had and second, some of the eggs had gotten pretty chilled in the nest boxes before I brought them in so I wasn’t sure how viable they were. This will be the 3rd batch I’ve hatched out, and the first batch from my own hens. I’ve got 20 eggs total, which I expect to hatch on the 20th, give or take a day. Probably a day or two later since I’ve had trouble keeping the temperature up, it tends to want to hang at a degree or two lower than it should be; probably because we keep the house so chilly.
Rachel is coming tomorrow with Melissa; she will be spending the night. I’m excited for that. She is so much fun to have around. Pretty Boy will be accompanying her. Melissa says she tells everyone “this is my niece’s dog.” Too funny, as I now too get to say this is my niece’s dog. She also decided to change his name to “Gato,” a tribute to her dry sense of humor. She has a truly curious sense of humor for a four year old.
Here are the eggs, I added 2 more (a green & a large brown) for a total of 20. They are written on so I know which way is up, they have to be rotated several times a day or the chick will die.
In the incubator. They are not up to temp as I had just opened it and placed all the eggs inside. It took several hours to get to the correct temperature.
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