Monday, April 30, 2012

Monday Night Hatch

Here's Keith, resilient as ever, with three of his girls tonight in the drive, just before we left to eat some dinner at the new Mexican restaurant in Tonganoxie.



Can you see the pip in the egg on the right?  When we got home from the restaurant, four of the eggs had pipped.  We are still one day away, technically, from the 21st day.  The instructions said to fill the water well in the middle, and put a paper towel down.  I did splash a little water in it when I moved the incubator from the bedroom to the sideboard in the kitchen.  I realized the cheeping was going to get to me for a day.  I am hoping all seven chicks hatch between today and tomorrow, and then they'll go out with the others as soon as they are fluffed up.
Chai Chai, at Homestead...from Scratch, has the same incubator, and told me that she pulled the first four of her chicks that hatched because it did not seem like there was enough space in the incubator for all seven, but when Keith and I pulled the egg turner this morning (we thought we had another day), we realized that all seven eggs had chicks in them.  I did not candle part way through.

I'm hoping they can all squeeze in until they are all hatched, and in the future, I'll only put three eggs at a time in there.

And here, folks, is Keith's latest harvest from the vegetable garden:


I told Keith he had picked these radishes just right... he has always loved radishes, and he got these when they were still young and sweet, instead of old and tangy.  He is changing his diet to eat fresher, unsalted food, including lots of veggies and fruits, so was glad he picked these for his daytime snacks tomorrow. In fact, we spoke with the manager of the restaurant tonight, and he told us their "unsalted" tortillas are made daily, as well as the salsa and the queso blanco.  We were glad to hear that, as Keith has given up salted chips. 

6 comments:

  1. If they all hatch out within 6 hours or so I think their should be enough room. Once they start moving around is when it gets a bit tight space wise. Since it looks like you will have all seven hatch you will be able to see for yourself.

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    1. Chai Chai.. I can see three eggs actively hatching, and I think Chick Four is taking a breather. Bits of shell are starting to litter the floor. We can't see the back three eggs clearly and we are afraid to move the incubator at this point. I have some very tiny porcelain D'Uccles out in the tub in the henhouse, and I think these chicks should be the same size, so a three day start on them should not be too bad. Lilly (the Chick Eater) came in, but has gone back outside, so I won't have to worry about her during the night. We ARE expecting a thunderstorm, so I will get up midway through the night and bring her in the bedroom with me where she can't hear the chicks!

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  2. That would be fun to have an incubator! Hope they all do well. We're eating radishes like that right now too. Nothing like fresh from the garden, is there?!

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  3. It will be awesome when those chicks hatch.

    Glad that Keith is up to getting out and about.

    Take care.

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  4. I know how hard it is to give up salt.

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  5. So glad Keith is home and doing well. I've been salt free for years. After the first little bit, you don't miss it at all.

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