Hatching Chicks

Incubator and Fertilized Eggs

The other day, I posted some pictures of Sandy’s farm, where I was picking up an Incubator and a lot of Fertilized Eggs. I have set the Incubator up in my kitchen, and I’ve been carefully watching the tempurature, and adjusting it when necessary. The incubator must be set at 101.5 Degrees, measured at the top of the eggs. The instructions suggested allowing the incubator to heat up for a day or two, and allow the tempurature to stabalize. I have met those adjectives, and now I was ready to place the eggs in.

Sandy gave me 69 eggs, three shy of 6 dozen. They are all different colors, from white to brown to green, and It certainly looks like I’ve won the Easter Egg collecting contest for the year.

The Dot Trick

 EDIT: Eggs should NOT be double stacked as shown above ! I’m still learning this stuff = )

Sandy also told me about the “Dot trick”. The eggs need to be rotated at least twice a day, and when rotating them, it’s easy to lose your place, and forget which eggs have been rotated. With the dot in place, it’s much easier to tell which have been rotated. I will be rotating the eggs at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. I’ve developed a simple rule: Dots up at night, Dots down in the morning. Today was my first morning taking care of them. I got up at 6 with the alarm clock, rotated the eggs, and hooped back in bed. No sooner then I could cover my head with the blanket before I hear Coc-a-doodle-doo. I might regret this rooster business….. But I’m started to get used to ignoring his calls.

Incubator Stocked with Eggs

Finally, I was left with what looked like a container ready to be launched to the International Space Station. The eggs should hatch in 21 days. I hope to post pictures of little chicks running around the kitchen…… Guess I should learn how to raise chicks before they hatch !