LadyHawkeAvry
Songster
I love these updates!!! Congratulations on your new babies, and thank you so much for the excitement and drama of Incubator Wars!!Well, folks. This has been an exciting adventure in hatching! I don't think we(or least, me personally) have experienced so much drama in incubating and hatching chicken eggs. From broody hens giving up to curious cats toppling incubators to unknown chaos makers causing trouble. This has been one roller coaster event. Now, it has finally come time to bring everything to a close. We are on day 24 of this hatch and it is finally time to call it quits(for now anyway).Incubator Wars!
Season Finale!
In third place we have Contestant #2. With their homemade incubator and hand turning each egg multiple times a day these young men worked hard for this hatch. They had early success during candling and only lost one of the three eggs to the dreaded "ring of death." Unfortunately, an incident with an overly curious cat caused issues for everyone. The feline in question toppled the hatcher, spilling eggs and drying chicks to the floor. The two remaining eggs for Contestant #2 were lost in this CATastrophy. 0/3 eggs hatch for Contestant #2.
In second place is Contestant #3. This contestant pulled a tag-team move when the first hen Speckles gave up the brood and abandoned the nest. Coming to the rescue was a second broody, Amber. After a couple first timer mistakes such as returning to the wrong nest, Amber settled in for the long haul. That is until something spooked out of her brood and she too abandoned the nest. Out of the original 8 eggs only two survived the chaos and were placed in Contestant #2 incubator. From that point only one seemed destined to survive. The chick was in the process of hatching when the incubator was toppled. When the chick's egg hit the floor it miraculously cracked in the very spot the chick had internally pipped. The chick successfully hatched out a couple hours later as happy and healthy as can be. 1/8 for broody hens. Maybe next time gals.
In first place is Contestant #1. Several early losses due to infertility and "ring of death" had us wondering what would become of these eggs. One thing Contestant #1 is not, is a quitter. Of the original 26 eggs 20 made it into the hatcher/incubator for lockdown. Despite all the losses Contestant #1 was the first to see chicks come from her eggs. Once they started it was a parade of hatchers. One chick after another, after another kept right on coming. The variety of colors and sizes are even more varied then the colors of shells the chicks popped out of. Contestant #1 also experience losses during the incubator crash. Of the 20 eggs in lock down only 12 chicks hatched out. 12/26 for Contestant #1.
This has been a fun ride but it is just about over, folks. Hold up! There is some excitement at the incubator. The last egg from our broody bunch is trying to hatch.Talk about a fighter! This little one has been abandon twice, dropped, and the incubator plug nearly pulled. The shell of this chick was badly damaged in the toppling incident and 1/3 of the shell is either smashed in or missing. Can this little one make it? The odd are stacked against it! It is trying hard folks. Oh, no! there is trouble. The membrane has dried out quite a bit and the chick is stuck! Contestant #1 has tweezers and a cotton ball with warm water. She is very carefully coaxing the dry membrane off the chick. Slowly the first wing pops out of the opening. Now the head is out, followed by the second wing... The chick is back in the incubator to finish kicking out of the shell. Those are some strong legs as the shell is nearly kicked off. Oh, no! Part of the membrane has dried out again and is clinging to the chicks side. It can get free! Here comes some more help from contestant #1. A little warm water and the chick is free!
This is one determined chick. For the sake of this little survivor the incubator will remain on for one more day, but as for this Incubator Wars! contest we are done.
It has been fun, folks! All excitement and drama. With a total of 37 eggs set, 14 chicks hatched and added their little lives to this big world. Though were are concluding we here wish each and everyone of you a Good Day and Happy Hatching!
trying some under a broody hen
