The Hatch in Review

By Beth - July 29, 2010

As was recently pointed out to me that i left you alone -since my last post- to wonder in silence, what had become of my 44 little lives. Well, here are 30 of them.

Here is what i call "chicken carpet." It's naptime, and they're all huddled up together in a tight mass. They look like a great big chicken fuzz rug....that wiggles a little.

We sold them today. And i'm afraid i was not finished enjoying them yet. So i'm having a little bit of a downer. I'm disappointed that i don't have any reason to keep the incubator plugged in right now, and that there's no reason to get up early to turn eggs, and that there's nothing new to see --- or cheeps to be heard in the living room...

And i'm disappointed about the 14 that didn't make it - and equally eager to start again and do better next time.

On Saturday, after i wash out the incubator liner, i plan to choose 24 eggs, this time, and start again. If i don't have enough suitable eggs on Saturday, then it will wait a day or two longer. But now i have a skill to conquer, and i don't want to wait.

My very dear friend, Pam (i have so many friends named Pam that you might won't know of whom i speak, even if you know her), an artistic type, used to tell me about the downer she felt after the completion of some great creative project. I think that's what i'm feeling now -- the desire to start again, the need to rest, and the loss from having invested so much in something that doesn't need you anymore. It's not really a loss, but it feels like one.

So, i think i'll do yard work tomorrow. And disinfect the incubator. Or something.

Now for more cute chick pics.

I wish i had taken better pictures of these. I had six or seven nearly identical chicks, who were solid black with yellow throats, bellies, and wing tips. When they were standing up in front of you, they looked like little penguins. Very cute!