We were blessed with 4 chickens and 24 eggs. It's been a learning period for us all. The chickens have been easy to care for so far. I love how they go to bed when the sun goes down. They aren't old enough to lay eggs yet, as we can't even tell what gender they are. Tonight is day 9 of incubation, and there were several that I noticed were not progressing. I cracked them open to find that several were not even fertile, which is what I thought. It just seems so strange that this many wouldn't be fertile. This rooster must be getting lazy. Some were fertile with no growth, which could have been because they passed early on. One was fertile but looks to have passed on day 5. On the ones that were fertile, there was no blood ring. So, I'm a bit puzzled with that. There was also no smell and appeared to be no contamination. In the very beginning, one child admits to turning up the heat. They told me they were always cold at the orphanage and wanted to make sure our new babies stayed warm. But, I explained that they need to be at 99.5 degrees. And, any hotter is actually bad for them. On days 3-5 we did have problems with one child opening the incubator. I think the lesson has been learned now. I'm just sad because I think the ones that did show some growth have passed at this point. I'm leaving them in the incubator just in case. I had to explain (again) about consequences to our actions, as one of my daughter has been praying for the chicks and told me that God would not let them die because she prayed. I love her faith, but I personally don't believe He works like that. Someone made a bad choice to open the incubator and leave it open. This action has a consequence, and sadly it affects others, like our baby chicks. Chris and I have embraced natural consequences. It's a great way to change unwanted behaviors and actions, and, the part I like, it teaches consequences without much intervention on my part. But this time, this natural consequence, is so very sad for us all.
On a brighter note, I think I'm becoming a pro at candling! Not really. I am, however, learning a lot about it. I just hope to find some affordable or free fertile eggs again, now that we have passed our learning curve. ((Sigh))
Since having 4 chicks here, I've been learning about composting too. I've got a small bin going, but I am looking forward to building a larger one.
I didn't involve the kids in the candling of the eggs since I knew of the higher risk the chicks may not make it. But, i hope to next time. I am also looking forward to teaching the kids all I am learning about composting. That will be our science lessons for a while.
Off topic, but just another thing we started again since fall is approaching - CHOIR! I have 7 children in choir this year, and 5 of them tried out for either dance or acting parts for the Christmas musical at church. I'm excited for them.