Ended 2013 Easter Hatch-a-long "Short Story Contest!"

[Sally Sunshine]

copy and paste and I place a huge UPDATE at the top of the new post! Cant wait to read it!

 

[Roxannemc]

HOME SWEET EGG

There is a limit to hatching and keeping chickens ...there really is...I think that limit is when cute baby chicks get so old living inside with you they are laying eggs in your bathroom.IT HAPPENED TO ME'

Now I never meant for this to happen ...i didnt ...i was incubating eggs spring, Summer came.All of a sudden fall was upon us so as any responsible person would do..I cleaned out the bator put it away deep in the closet DONE. and smuggly patted myself on the back


BUt the itchy addicted person that i AM i was in deep withdrawl, 2 weeks went by i was gritting my teeth ... Then a fluke of fate happened someone GAVE me eggs .... that is GAVE as in FREE.!. Saying NO would be SO impolite So out came the not--even-close-to-dusty bator
i reasoned still time to grow them out and outside right?
then an epiphany ...As long as some eggs are coming anyway? ..... why not get a FEW more?

Bamb out of nowhere ....it was Dec and cold.
NOting to do but built a big cage in my bathroom over my "luxury garden tub".(who needs a tub anyway?) then a double decker cage for the second hatchlings which were shooting up fast.
A third cage had to go in the corner of the bath (now bator room ) as an earlier hatch didnt produce any results....Cant end on a sour note can you? bought more eggs of course
.
My reasonable expectation was surely an early spring like last year ... you know global warming ? early spring JUST around the corner ? No worries.
However sweet green spring became more like the frozen tundra .. cold... snow... 20 degrees one whole day of sun in a month .and the days marched along as the chickens hunkered in .
One very early Feb morning ...i woke from a cozy warm dreamless chickenless sleep to crowing......CROWING? WHAT? not outside but IN....( GOOD god what have i done?)


I felt like some nomad in a hut in the Andes Mountains chickens running amuck inside all the rooms
And worse my chicken disaproving children will be siging me up for the funny farm any day now .Sure enough im on the phone with one when ol bigmouth crows...
"Is that CROWING in your house?"
No!! thats just....ah.... just chicken tv !..
(NOT a BYC-er he doesnt have any idea what chicken tv really is.)...

Now each dark late March morning comes in with a daily crowfest next to my bedroom door by not one but 2 cockrels which accompanied soon by a third who is gearing up his squawky voice as we speak .... and blucking..... That isnt BLUCKING? all coming from that bathrooms" luxury garden tub"?
.
So it wasnt a huge suprising when today on this snowy morning in late March I walked in the bath now batoroom looked at the "luxury garden tub" and was greeted with a (wait for it) ...... egg.
Even this egglet will never believe his beginnings :"Mommy where was i born?"



Needless to say NEVER AGAIN will i hatch a chick after August ...no i Promise . REALLY!! PROMISE But i may have to send the bators to my daughters 4 hours away to keep from doing so.......... and all the coolers too.Just as a precaution,
If you ponder it though a chickless eggless winter would be a pretty boring uneventful time and I might miss that crowing after all

 

[chickenpooplady]

A faint peep could be heard as a tiny Rhode Island Red chick struggled to break out of the
brown egg which had been her home for the last 20 days. Just a few weeks ago, the chick had felt content in her warm egg but now she was cramped and uncomfortable. She pushed, wiggled, and chirped but after countless hours she lay completely exhausted inside the egg. Her once protective home had now become her ruthless enemy. With one last shove the egg split and the tired chick rested her aching limbs. Life! How wonderful it is to witness God's perfect design in a tiny, frail chick! He loves all the animals but this one was special to Him so He gently placed a sign on her head to mark her different from them all.

Update:

A faint peep could be heard as a tiny Rhode Island Red chick struggled to break out of the
brown egg which had been her home for the last 20 days. Just a few weeks ago, the chick had felt content in her warm egg but now she was cramped and uncomfortable. She pushed, wiggled, and chirped but after countless hours she lay completely exhausted inside the egg. Her once protective home had now become her ruthless enemy. With one last shove the egg split and the tired chick rested her aching limbs. She had come a long way to get to this point. At just two days of incubation, the tiny embryo's heart had begun to beat! Now, two and a half weeks later, the fully developed chick entered the outside world! Life! How wonderful it is to witness God's perfect design in a tiny, frail chick!

 

[ceocka]

[/IMG]My story started not too long ago. I was diginosed with cancer and had to retire early. Staying at home all day cleaning is not thing. I am a caregiver a mother. I hate being alone. I have lots of land so what gives. I love animals. So I was offered a free rooster one day and couldn't resist. Brought it home and hubby built me my first coop. Well that is when it began. I got some girls. A very tragic incident happened and a hawk killed my silkie girl jenevive. She laid her egg before she was taken from me. So that is when I goty first incubator and the story continues. I am now addicted to hatching my babies.
Hatching my babies keep me going when I am sick. Everyday I watch them and care for them. They love me unconditionally. They count on me every day. They make me smile even when I am the sickest. Hatching day is the best days ever. Always a surprise. Could be a boy or a girl. But who care their sex cuz I love them no matter what. Watching them hatch is such a miracle and keeps me in check of my life. To live on day at a time. They fight to get out of their shells and I fight my cancer. We all have so much in common. But most of all life is precious. Never take it for granted.

 

[Tammy N]

I like Hatching for 2 reasons

Reason one I never know how many will hatch and My Cats know before i do when the chicks Pip

Reason 2 It ticks off my Other half . Until the chicks are born

he says all the time Why are you Hatching more eggs we could eat them

My response : Because i can and the chicks are already in there we just have to help them grow inside to see them better .

His response : are we ever gonna get to eat any of those eggs ?

My response : Not since we got a rooster .... Wonder If he knows my new Bator will Hold over 1000 eggs EVIL grins

 

[Roxannemc]

Well here goes nuthin:

Easter Hatchalong Short Story​

The egg sleeps, lost in dreams and worlds unknown for days. What does it dream about? Does it already envision verdant fields washed with sunshine, and waving lazily in the breeze perfumed with heather? Does it feel the rocking of its shell, and wonder “What is out there?” as it gently swirls within its tiny microcosm? Sometimes, as it sleepily kicks and turns, I think it does. It makes me smile privately to myself, as if I have understood a gentle jest amongst friends.

Day by day, the mystery of what it knows and dreams deepens. Eventually, it is driven to action, even voicing its existence. Is it fear or triumph in that tiny voice? Or is it simply a single defiant note against the background music of the larger orchestra of the world as a whole? “I exist! I am coming”. I hear you, and though the world may not notice, I think your music is beautiful and welcome your coming.

For hours, the egg voices its existence; testing its own strength and the boundaries of its limits. All the while, I hear a small tapping. As if a timid small child is rapping at my porch door, and asking if they can come in for a while. My heart swells, and my answer is clear: “Of course! You are dearly wanted, come child. Let us get to know one another.”

Then the egg ruptures, the smooth bow of its shell disrupted in one tiny violent heave. That is when the beautiful little voice stops for a bit, seizing my heart in worry mixed with anticipation. Will the voice come back? Will I hear its heartbreakingly unique music again? Hope is my only succor, as I wait…. and wait in the dreaded silence.

Suddenly, with a stridency that seems to startle even the owner of the voice, it is back. There is new purpose, new drama that is palpable upon the tiny stage the egg occupies. It makes me lean closer, catching my breath between urging it on. The egg shakes, and more of its surface cracks under the miniature tectonic forces within. Like the sundering of the earth during a major quake, a ragged crack appears, spreads, and separates reluctantly.

It is at this point that I realize I don’t have an egg. The egg ceases to be; becomes other and insignificant. Where it was all consuming and important before, it now transmutes into an item of little importance. Because now a baby can be seen between the cracks. Wet, folded impossibly and still singing; always singing.

This is the time that is the hardest for me. I want so badly to reach out and help this new life. To pry away the egg that it so stridently protests. But I dare not. I shall not. So instead I wait, eyes taken from my own will, and unable to look away. As if understanding my plight, the baby redoubles its efforts, and gives a monumental heave. It is a push that would be epic in larger scale; recorded for posterity.

And then a tiny ball tumbles wildly free, coming to an awkward rest and breathing heavily. Slowly, carefully, as if not believing its new freedom, the baby unfolds its curled limbs. And then starts singing again. I grin and plaster my face to the incubator wall, and whisper endearments to him, heart flying with happiness. Every stumble, every crack of its eyes is a joy to me. And the helpless, bewildered music the baby keeps singing is the most beautiful I’ve ever heard.

As I watch it truly and finally look out into the world for the very first time, the purity of the moment pierces through me almost painfully. Within the dark liquid depths of its eyes is everything. It is hope, a new beginning, my future plans, endless possibilities….. and as always, it is dreams.





-End

Almost a poem

 

[Happy Chooks]

Last day to enter this contest!

 

[POULTRY 104]

" Love to Hatch"

You might ask, " What's so great about hatching eggs." Well, the answer is simple! Hatching your own eggs is like being a mother hen. You pick out the right eggs, warm them properly , and watch them hatch!
Hatching eggs is loving and makes you care. You will live along the ride with your chickens. But what really addicts you to hatching is pride. You will be there for the chicks, and have to care and not only protect them. You will also see and hear them coming out from the eggs. So now you know the love of hatching.

 

[Gardeningmama]

When I was little I would play house with my friends. I was always the mother! No one else, just me! I dreamed of being a mom. At 25 I became a mom for real for the very first time. Then again at 27 & 29. That would be "It" for me. But, as my littlest was preparing to go to kindergarten, my heart ached, and I pleaded with my husband to let me have just one more. So, at 34 I became a mom yet again. My baby is 3 now, and I know that there won't be any more babies. My older children are wonderful, and growing. A part of growing is that they need me less and less each day. I need to be needed.

The first chicks I ever owned were bought from a hatchery. I just wanted chickens, no big plan. Their arrival was as exciting as the birth of a new baby. I sat by the brooder window staring for hours. Content to just watch them sleep, or play, or eat, or poop. Didn't matter. They just made me happy.

One fine day a lady I knew offered me a free styrofoam Little Giant Incubator. I took it of course, it was free! I then scoured Craigslist for some hatching eggs, and Voila! My first hatch had begun. I loved hand turning. Those eggs needed me 3 times a day! I monitored the temperatures and the humidity without fail. Candling and finding living babies inside, YAY!! Waiting, turning, waiting, turning! Days coming and going, and then hatch day arrives. The first pip brings anxiety, excitement, & a long sleepless night. Morning comes and with it the first zip. I watch intently as that first chick unwraps itself from that egg we both know so well. One by one they come tumbling out, silly, drunken little things. I fall in love with each one. I know them personally. I have already known them for 21 days. I know them from birth, who is strong, who is weak, who cries the loudest. They are my babies and they need me.

They grow, they move out of the house, they need me less and less. More like friends than babies anymore. Too much like my children.....

So..................I scour Craigslist for some hatching eggs..................................

I hatch because I am a Mom at heart. I hatch because I need to be needed...

 

[chickenbaby9194]