1st Hatch Lockdown

Candled & moved the 9 remaining 1st "test hatch" eggs to the Cooler 'Bator yesterday morning.

They hadn't lost enough moisture yet, even though I've been doing a dry hatch.

Probably due to adding "fresh" eggs to the incubator (& double-stacking), resulting in less surface area of the eggs to be exposed.

I re-candled last night & this morning, and they've lost more, so probably by tonight I'll add some water.

I think they might be a day late, anyways, due to cooler incubator temps when I first set them.

This morning they looked more like what I remember when I've put eggs in lockdown before.

No internal pips yet, so I don't think I'll have any "early birds".

Dreamed about chicks hatching last night, so I'm obviously excited about it.

Still have to get chick starter & set up the brooder in the "storage room".

I was planning on selling all the chicks asap, but since so few made it to lockdown, I'm going to wait until at least the 2nd batch of eggs hatch.

And I may just want to keep a few myself, but we'll see. I already have a few people waiting for chicks, so I do need to fulfill those orders.

*Lockdown (18th day of incubation) is when the eggs stop being turned & you increase the humidity to prepare for hatching. 

On another note, to help me be patient while waiting for these eggs to hopefully hatch, I wrote out 10 things I was thankful for.

I’m Thankful for …

3-3-15

• The abundant life God has given me.
• Being apart of a family that loves the Lord
• His beautiful creation, and how each one is so unique
• The wild birds are so small, yet they are perfectly designed to function and survive, even in this harsh winter. I marvel at their tiny feet, intricate feathers, and their beaks that are individually suited to the foods they eat.
• The Lord providing us with McDoogle, such wonderful addition to our family
• The chickens, rabbits, and ducks
• and marvel at how God has created the egg that under certain conditions grows and changes each day until a chick is formed and ready to hatch.
• His incredible handiwork when I candle an egg that’s incubating & see the tiny veins and the miniature embryo pulsing or “dancing” inside the egg.
• The way He’s created plants to grow, reaching for the light, and various ways they reproduce “after their kind” through fruit. And yet, each one is unique, as the “mother of thousands” does flower, but it reproduces by forming little plantlets on its leaves’ edges. Or the spider plant, that sends out a shoot with new “spider plant babies” which are not a result of any flower or seed.
• The incredible mind He’s given us that is wired for love, power, and constant communication with God.