- Apr 17, 2020
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on may 3rd, i received eleven intact eggs in the mail from ohio. after letting them rest i put them in my cheap shein incubator as a little experiment- hatching chicks for the first time, in the cheapest, most accessible way possible.
it was amazing to watch them pip for the first time! i hung over the incubator like a hawk. three ended up not developing at all due to detached air cells, and one never made it out of the egg, probably passing a few days before the others pipped, as it never did.
the first three to hatch were marshmallow, nova, and koh.
the next three to hatch were scooter, princess daisy, and mecha godzilla.
the single last baby was oyster, seen here with the egg that never ended up hatching.
they were so small and fluffy, i had never handled just-hatched chicks before, and i don’t count the shipped hatchery chicks or local feed store chicks.
after getting them adjusted to their brooder and them finding the water and food quite quickly on their own, i have since been raising these babies for around three weeks now.
when they were small enough and i needed to transport them around or clean their brooder, they all used to fit in this little basket. now they barely fit in my hand.
these are the three yellow chicks- marshmallow, mecha godzilla, and princess daisy.
the three black chicks love to sunbathe. from bottom to top are scooter, nova (white dot on head), and koh (white face).
can’t forget oyster
it’s amazing how much mixed breed genetics can affect the growth of the chicks. from top to bottom is oyster, princess daisy, and nova. while nova has developed like a standard chick, princess daisy still lacks back feathers and tail feathers. on the other hand, oyster has grown very fast, developing longer feathers before the rest as well as growing neck and head feathers before most other chicks. at the time of writing, princess daisy still doesn’t have any back or tail feathers.
the babies are beautiful and it has been an incredibly special experience to be able to hatch and raise these darlings. i’ll be adding to this thread as they grow older, many are already so beautiful.
here they all are at 3 weeks, plus their approximate gender/breed mixes, + their personalities so i can refer back to see if they’ve changed
1. Marshmallow
gender: cockerel
breeds: salmon faverolle x cochin OR black copper maran
personality: loves to cuddle, settles down easily, very sweet
2. Mecha Godzilla
gender: definite cockerel
breeds: cream legbar x cochin
personality: kinda a d-bag. asserts himself over the other chicks frequently, thinks violence is the answer. the most flighty.
3. Princess Daisy
gender: most likely cockerel
breeds: buff orphington(?) x ???
personality: aloof, separates himself from the others during outside time, not very attached
4. Nova
gender: pullet(?)
breeds: some sort of easter egger (hatched out of a green egg) with a barred gene (dot on head and some barred feathers)
personality: smallest, lightest chick. very baby. loves to cuddle, talks all the time, not afraid of interaction
5. Koh
gender: pullet(?)
breeds: totally unknown- one feather on a single leg suggests feathered leg ancestry. she is also the only chick with black eyes as well as completely black skin. hatched out of a brown egg, possible australorp mom?
personality: the favorite. extremely cuddly and attached, unafraid, not flighty, regal and reserved in a sense.
6. Scooter
gender: pullet(?)
breeds: who knows- easter egger of some kind (came out of a green egg) and who knows what else.
personality: can be cuddly, rocks with the bigger kids so can be flighty as well until you hold her. usually very chill.
7. Oyster
gender: pullet(?)
breeds: biggest idk. definitely easter egger on one side because of the olive legs, but the other side is anyone’s guess.
personality: very flighty, loves to complain, wary.
that completes the three-week checkup on these babies, more to come in the following weeks as they grow and mature.
if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and checking out their pictures! these are my firstborns (aside from all of the other babies i’ve had in my life) and came into this world born out of a $30 shein incubator. here’s the link for the same incubator (albeit slightly more expensive) on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/ZEMIRO-CHARG...cphy=9031996&hvtargid=pla-2281435179538&psc=1
hopefully link works. i’ll update these guys’ progress in the next few weeks.
have a great weekend and happy chick raising!
Your pictures are awesome! 
