Friday, August 27, 2010

Surprise!

This morning I came stumbling downstairs about 5 a.m., bleary-eyed and still half-asleep.  As I descended the stairs I heard a soft peeping sound.

I couldn’t imagine where it was coming from because it sounded just like a baby chick, and of course we have no baby chicks in the house.

Or so I thought.  It seems that one of the eggs Younger Daughter and her friend Miss Calamity put in the incubator last week hatched during the night!


Obviously it was WAY too early for an egg to hatch – chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch, and the girls only set up the incubator six days ago – so obviously one of the eggs they gathered had already gone 2/3 of the way through its incubation period when the girls put it in the incubator.



At any rate, after I blinked the surprise from my eyes, I got a box and some hay, then took a gooseneck lamp to give warmth, and put the baby in there.  It was still damp from hatching.


Life is never dull around here!


Lydia was curious about the noise, of course:


10 comments:

  1. How sweet! I love it! Also, the incubator looks like a tiny little spaceship. :)

    http://joyfulbiscuit.blogspot.com/

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  2. Ahhhhh! How sweet! Life on the farm is full of surprises. Is this chick from one of Henrietta's eggs? I hope so, she worked so hard to hatch a brood.

    Younger Daughter and Miss Calamity are to be commended for their mothering skills.

    Anonymous Patriot
    USA

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  3. YAAAAY LIFE!!!

    It can be said that this little chick's emergence holds a special significance, coming as it does during the abominable waste and destruction of millions of dozens of perfectly safe eggs due to fear, filthy farming practices and a population of humans too stupid to "cook thoroughly before eating."

    Yes, most if not all of the eggs being destroyed are unfertile, and would never have produced chicks, but that's not the point. The point is, this is a real chicken that will live a real chicken's life, scratching for bugs in the dirt and eating kitchen scraps and chicken feed. It will serve its purpose, either as a hen laying more eggs or as a rooster,(ideally) fertilizing said eggs. In either case, it could also provide food for the table.

    This chick represents the direct and wholesome antithesis of the filthy and inhumane poultry farming practices that currently produce most of America's eggs and poultry.

    Good job, young ladies. Keep up the good work.

    A. McSp

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  4. Aww, it's adorable. Hopefully it'll have a couple of new friends soon, too!

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  5. now you have an experimental chickie to name!

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  6. This was a wonderful surprise to read about after a rough day at work. Makes me wish I was living the farm life instead of the rat-race. I love how Lydia is checking out the newest addition to the farm, it made me smile.

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  7. YAY!! I hope the others hatch out too. New chicks are just so darling.

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  8. What a great sound to wake up to though!

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  9. Lydia sure looks like peaceful gal. I suppose if she felt threatened that could change in a heartbeat.

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