I spent yesterday afternoon into the early morning sitting in my *biodiesel* car in idle with the temperature at 99F inside.
The power went out in our township during a wind storm at 2 pm, and it got cold in thehouse pretty quickly.
I had two Brinsea Minis full of 14 eggs at Day 8, and 13 chicks of 1-3 days old, plus 4 one-week-olds.
The only thing I could think of to keep them safe & alive was to move into the car.
The egg incubation: My car has heated leather front seats, so I took the eggs
and put them on one seat laid out on the heated leather, which gets to 100.5 F at Temp 3, 97.5 at Temp 2. Thanks to my Spot Check!
I had them at Temp 3 and turned them every 10 minutes, mostly, laid out in two rows at the seams with a wool sweater around them.
The brooding:
My 17 peeps fit into a small duffel bag. I put in towels & paper towels, put them on the other front seat,
and hand-fed them their water bottle every half hour while scattering food & laying new paper towels frequently.
My 6 year old daughter helped me out till my husband got home from work, then he took over bringing me water, food, a camera,
books, a flashlight, and a spray bottle to cool down. I ended up running in the house every hour or so to take a cold shower, it being 100F in the car,
and because it was about 45 F outside, I now have a cold
I stayed in the car & read the entire Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, which I'd been meaning to do... and when I got to the part about incubation which says
" In a power outage, just open the incubators & let the eggs cool, they'll go dormant and will be fine for under 12 hours" (my paraphrase),
I almost lost it.... but I stayed in the car stubbornly, and got called insane by my husband, and "you'll die of carbon monoxide"threats were used to bring me in.
They didn't work.
The automated power company phone message said power would be restored by Sunday--Mom's Day-- at 6 pm.
I stayed awake until 12:30 a.m., turning eggs, checking every seat spot with my Spot Check, & feeling hot & tired, and then through the pouring rain I finally saw my post lamp go on,
and I rushed the eggs inside in my sweater pockets, which I'd candled for life in the car earlier, and the chicks in their suitcase, & put everyone back in their places,
and
today on Mother's Day everyone is alive & well
, and my daughter gave me the coolest Mother's Day's present, which is very appropriate,
The Mama Hen Planter award, in my favorite colors: BRIGHT!
Here are two of the peeps out for a walk on the dashboard.
Peachy Keen the Mille Fleur D'anver --from Boggy-Bottom-Bantams
Fil-A-Gree the Silver Lace Polish
Happy Mother's day to all the Moms & Chicken Moms & Chicken Dads!
The power went out in our township during a wind storm at 2 pm, and it got cold in thehouse pretty quickly.
I had two Brinsea Minis full of 14 eggs at Day 8, and 13 chicks of 1-3 days old, plus 4 one-week-olds.
The only thing I could think of to keep them safe & alive was to move into the car.
The egg incubation: My car has heated leather front seats, so I took the eggs
and put them on one seat laid out on the heated leather, which gets to 100.5 F at Temp 3, 97.5 at Temp 2. Thanks to my Spot Check!
I had them at Temp 3 and turned them every 10 minutes, mostly, laid out in two rows at the seams with a wool sweater around them.
The brooding:
My 17 peeps fit into a small duffel bag. I put in towels & paper towels, put them on the other front seat,
and hand-fed them their water bottle every half hour while scattering food & laying new paper towels frequently.
My 6 year old daughter helped me out till my husband got home from work, then he took over bringing me water, food, a camera,
books, a flashlight, and a spray bottle to cool down. I ended up running in the house every hour or so to take a cold shower, it being 100F in the car,
and because it was about 45 F outside, I now have a cold
I stayed in the car & read the entire Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens, which I'd been meaning to do... and when I got to the part about incubation which says
" In a power outage, just open the incubators & let the eggs cool, they'll go dormant and will be fine for under 12 hours" (my paraphrase),
I almost lost it.... but I stayed in the car stubbornly, and got called insane by my husband, and "you'll die of carbon monoxide"threats were used to bring me in.
They didn't work.
The automated power company phone message said power would be restored by Sunday--Mom's Day-- at 6 pm.
I stayed awake until 12:30 a.m., turning eggs, checking every seat spot with my Spot Check, & feeling hot & tired, and then through the pouring rain I finally saw my post lamp go on,
and I rushed the eggs inside in my sweater pockets, which I'd candled for life in the car earlier, and the chicks in their suitcase, & put everyone back in their places,
and
The Mama Hen Planter award, in my favorite colors: BRIGHT!
Here are two of the peeps out for a walk on the dashboard.
Peachy Keen the Mille Fleur D'anver --from Boggy-Bottom-Bantams
Fil-A-Gree the Silver Lace Polish
Happy Mother's day to all the Moms & Chicken Moms & Chicken Dads!
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