From Pips to Chicks

Saturday night I heard the first peeping coming from the incubator.  I was excited because I had been waiting for 3 weeks to get to this point.  I finally had some signs of life, but I still had to wait some more.  Sunday morning when I woke up I checked on the incubator again.  No chicks yet, but two of the eggs had pipped meaning that the chicks had made their first crack in the egg.  The hatch had begun.

Hatching can be a very slow process.  The chicks are tiny and weak and it can take a very long time for them to break out of their shells.  The pip is just the first stage and they rest often and for long periods between small bursts of activity.  The eggs wobble around a little in the incubator so I know that progress is being made.

By Sunday night five of the eggs had hatched.  I let them dry overnight in the incubator and moved them into the brooder on Monday morning.  I still had four eggs in the incubator and at least one of them was still peeping so I left the incubator running.  Hopefully whoever is still kicking finds their way out of their shell today while I am at work.  Meanwhile the hatched chicks are adjusting to life in the brooder.  They sleep often and run around clumsily as they learn how to use their body.  In no time they will be running all over the place and growing quickly into chickens.