Self-taught farmers confidently raising chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. Our focus is on practices that are environmentally harmonious and respectful to our livestock. We appreciate the beauty around us, clean eating, fermenting, and responsibly utilizing the bounty of the land. If you like thinking for yourself, continuous learning, and connecting with the homesteader lifestyle, check us out.
We’re happy to report that 21 of the 24 eggs hatched. The little balls of fluff are happily eating, drinking, and chirping in their brooder. They’re strong, active, and busy doing important chick activities.
There were three eggs that didn’t hatch normally. One was a brown egg that had pipped but got rolled around by the chicks that hatched earlier. One Brown Leghorn egg had pipped but made no progress – no zipping. The third egg was another Brown Leghorn that hadn’t pipped.
As of 6:30 this evening, 21 of the 24 eggs have hatched successfully. The only remaining unhatched ones are the other 2 (pure) Brown Leghorn and a single brown mystery egg. The brown egg has pipped, but there’s nothing to be seen on the white ones.
It’s difficult to convey how amazing it is to watch a chick emerge, wet feathers flattened, exhausted, and in an hour or so, it’s fluffy and bright-eyed. Some of the chicks worked so hard to get out – one, in particular, was a late hatcher that was rolled around by the other hatched chicks. He or she just kept working, bit by bit, and finally was out. Joy! Continue reading “Chicks Galore!”
It’s exactly three weeks since we set 24 of our chicken eggs in the new incubator. Right on schedule, the little ones have begun hatching.
Several have “pipped” – beaks poking out through the shells. You can hear an occasional chirp, too. One brown egg has even started “zipping” – the next step in the process. The chick “zips” the shell (cracks it all the way around) to get out. Continue reading “Pips And Zips – Hatching Has Begun!”
It’s still frosty here, and the chickens refuse to leave the coop. In warmer weather, they would queue up at the pop door, waiting impatiently for it to open…and then they would burst out, pushing each other down the ramp. We spread scratch around outside the coop, and they’d scratch and peck contentedly. The ducks would soon join them, bobbing their heads in greeting. Continue reading “The Chickens And Ducks Aren’t Fans Of Snow”
It’s day 18 and the eggs in the incubator are now in “lockdown”. They’ve been taken off the autoturner and the humidity has been raised in preparation for hatching. It’s critical to keep the humidity high (65%+) until they hatch, so the incubator won’t be opened again until the chicks have hatched. Continue reading “Lockdown – Three Days To Hatch”
It was a cold and blustery morning…as in a biting wind that froze water (and exposed skin) without pity. The bitter wind blew the powdery snow around. We had already planned to move the rabbits indoors for the worst of winter, but the Minnesota-like wind chill sped that timeline up. And as far as the Minnesota reference, we do know of what we speak!
The unexpected depth of the cold merited immediate action. Armed with a really crappy staple gun and the only plastic we had on hand, we set about – before breakfast – closing off part of the rabbit tractors to block the wind. The wind made the job challenging, and it rapidly became painfully cold. We limped along with the substandard staple gun, half frozen, closing off one end of the tractors. That helped a bit, but the water bottles were solidly frozen (the metal “spouts” are really the bottles’ Achilles heel) and even though we brought out heavy porcelain chili bowls and filled them with warm water, the water still froze quickly. We filled up the bins (shelters) in the tractors with straw for warmth, gave them some cabbage and kale for treats, and made a shopping list. It was time to weatherize the tractors.