A few weeks ago, Mike came home with an incubator from the local feed store. I've always wanted to try out one of these contraptions, but have always had a broody hen to do the hatching nature's way. Well, not this time. One of the Buffies did get broody, but she changed her mind right about the time I was ready to let her go ahead and set on a clutch of eggs. Incubator to the rescue!
I chose 20 eggies of different colors from our mixed flock of chickens. The automatic egg-turner took care of that aspect for me, so all I had to do was keep an eye on the temperature. 99.5 degrees is optimal. Three weeks passed...
Last Sunday, the first little peeps could be heard and a tiny hole appeared on the shell of one egg. We were so excited! The first chick hatched out the next morning, with 10 more following throughout the next several days and nights. It's important to not 'help' the chicks out of their shells; they have to do it themselves or they don't survive. Some of them would have little bits of shell stuck to their feathers until they dried all the way. And of course, they were pretty wobbly for a few hours until they found their legs. We kept them in the incubator for the extra warmth during this time.
Once each one was beginning to fluff out, it was moved to the holding box, a nice warm spot right next to the incubator, that had a hot water bottle to snuggle up with.
Baby chicks don't need any food or water for their first three days. They have their yolk sac to nourish them during this time. One little chick had a prolapsed yolk sac and that one died, but the others thrived and are enjoying their new home in the brood pen. We have that set up in one of the empty stalls of the piggery, so they are in good company.
We all enjoy spending time out in the piggery with the animals, and the piggies seem to really enjoy having us nearby as well. Of course, they do: extra pets and scratches! By the way, Big Girl is getting
really big, and she still has 1-1/2 months before her piglets will be born. Spot is pregnant too, and coming along nicely at just over a month now. Fingers crossed they're both good mamas and have lots of healthy babies.
I'm already itching to start another batch of eggs in the incubator soon. Several friends have inquired about getting chicks to increase their flocks, and I want to increase mine, too. I can sell as many eggs as we can produce these days. We have our regular customers who come to the farm, as well as those who buy them at the big farmer's market in Hilo. People seem to know a good thing when they eat it!
