My Special Ed training is coming in handy :)

So when we ventured to try our own incubation we ran into a few problems.  First, we were blessed by a dear friend giving us her incubator which she had used for years at her in-home daycare.  She is going to use it once more this spring and bring us the chicks that hatch!

When I taught Kindergarten for two years we hatched chicks as a life cycle demonstration.  The first year was successful with 8 out of 18 hatching, with only one that had a bad leg.  Instead of sending her to the farm she went to the mother of my teaching partner to live a great life in the big backyard. 

Fast forward to this year, 2015 hatching.  We set everything up and got 34 eggs from outside.  I read the manual, various blogs and websites for information.  We made sure the temperature was level at right around 101 and set our clutch of eggs.
 

They were marked with X and O so that when turned three times a day we knew that we turned them.  This prevents the embryo from sticking to the egg in any one spot.  After 3 days we candled them to see who was fertile.  We had very good fertile percentages, 22 out of 34 seemed to have babies in them.  We read that 80% of these could hatch. 

As the days stretched toward the 21 day mark we turned, watched the temp, and kept the water an full.  After candling again some were gone due to who knows why, so they were removed.  As we came upon the 18th day, the last day to turn them, we got very excited.  We candled them a last time to see who was left, and many were still growing, ready to hatch soon we hoped. 

As the 21st day passed we got a bit nervous.  We read about temperature problems, and inbreeding issues.  After 21 days and no piping(small crack where the chick starts to get out) we candled again.  We saw a lot of dark eggs so we waited.  At 23 days we started opening them to see what was wrong.  This was a simple on the farm thing to do, but I couldn't handle it after two came out still alive but not ready to hatch.  They were breathing but the yoke was not fully into their abdomen yet.  This is the last stage of development that should happen in those 3 or so days you don't turn them.  We realized that our temperature was off, so we moved the thermometer and started praying for a miracle.  We had tried to save the little ones we found, but it was not possible, they passed after a few hours.  They can not live if they are not fully developed. 

After that night I was very down about the whole thing.  I felt so much like a failure.  Life is so important to us, I felt I had done something very wrong in the incubation process.  Luckily, nature lifted my spirits.  The very next day, as we were planning on cleaning out the incubator and trying again, one started hatching!  Then two!  The first, Rockstar, was very strong and hatched within 8 hours of piping.  The second, Rocket, needed a bit of help after 12 hours since he was getting a bit dry and "stuck".  I was just so inspired that life had prevailed!

Rockstar drying off, and Rocket making he way out :)

After both were out and dry I had hope again!  I could do this!  We cleaned it out and were ready to try again :)

We did notice that Rockstar had some leg issues.  I read that it could be fixed if it was straddle leg, where the legs bow out due to temperature, or the surface it walked on as soon as it got out.  I got some Vet Wrap, or wimp wrap as we used to call it, and made him some booties for his/her curly toes, and leg splints.  We also added that no skid kitchen shelf liner to help it grip the ground.  Wow, how frustrating!  You try getting tiny sandals onto a squirming chick while making sure the wrap is not too tight, or loose!  This did not fix the problem though, and we think he/she has some developmental issue due to inbreeding.  We know he/she is a Barred Rock and could have been from the two Barred Rock chickens we have that were part of the same bunch we got at the store.  This would mean sister and brother chicken had a baby....oops!  We are still taking care of him/her in the dining room.  What a strong spirit it has!  It now eats and drinks on its own, but its feathers are not quite growing in correctly.  We will help it along as much as we can since it has such a resilience for life!  It is a true inspiration.

The first OT/PT for a chick I have ever helped with!

Odd feathers, and some missing.

This is how it stands, on its knees instead of feet.

One leg sticks out some. 

We learned a lot.  For me, I understand that life, for certain, has its own course, and I can only help or control very little of the process.  We continue to make sure this one eats, drinks, and grows, so hopefully it will get big enough to be with the others and not get picked on too much.  I have some idea of what I will do differently in April when we will try again:

1. To have a new place in the dining room for the incubator.  NOT so much in a corner, with more open air to flow in, since it is a still air incubator. 
2. We have a new digital thermometer which also measures humidity.  This is vital in the process.
3. The thermometer will be in a different place in the incubator.
4.  We will limit eggs in the incubator to under 20, more like 12 or 15 at a time.  This should help with the open air concept inside. 
5. My goal is to turn them 5 times instead of 3.  It has to be an odd number so they don't sit on the same side very night when not turned. 

Life is amazing!  We loved watching our kids enjoy the process, and I was so excited to have them see the hatching.  We can only do our best, at the time we are trying.  I have always tried to give my all, and I realize most things in life require very little of my control, and tons of faith instead!  Check back for more on our very own baby chicks, and if you have any advice for this little Rockstar, email us with ideas :)