New Babies

Yesterday, our chicks started hatching. It didn't start out as a good experience. Two hatched and one died. The other one I needed to bring in the house and clean off because Mrs. Broody pooped all over the eggs and the chick. The next time I went out, the one I had washed off was all dry and poofy, but still the only one. Where the other eggs had poop all over them, I didn't hold out much hope for them. I decided to see if our local feed store had chicks. I called this morning and they had just received a shipment. I had plans to go get some, but Josie threw up. Nathan had thrown up this morning, but went to work anyway to try and get some stuff done before he got too bad. He called me at about 10:00 to tell me he had just picked up 4 babies and was coming home (I hadn't told him of my plan to get more babies). He came home and we went to put them outside. We saw an egg with a dime sized hole in it. We could see the baby's beak through the hole.

We were wondering whether to let the baby try to hatch or to stick the babies under the mom when we realized that Mrs. Broody could hear the babies and was clucking to them. We put them in the cage and she immediately took to them. I checked a few times through the day and the baby looked pretty much the same, but I could still see it moving. I was worried it was getting weaker, but knew that if the baby couldn't get out of the shell, it wouldn't be strong enough to survive. Also, I was scared of the broody. So, we left it alone. Late this afternoon, I saw things happening and went to get the kids. We all got to watch the end of the hatch. It was fun to watch. There were 5 other chicks in the cage with the one trying to hatch and it was funny to watch them trying to "help."

Here are some videos of the chickens. The first one is mostly of the mom and the baby hatching. The second one, Owen named "Helping Family" for obvious reasons. Sorry they're so dark. I was inside our chicken coop.

And for those of you who don't want to watch videos, here is a picture taken just after the baby poked it's head out of the egg.Zona did much better today. She played and tried to get over not being the center of attention. But then tonight, when we were going to blow out candles and eat cake, she decided that she would like to wait until tomorrow to have cake. Apparently she's still not all the way better. Hopefully my lopsided cake won't be too dry by the time we get to eat it.

Tonight, I am grateful . . .

1. I am grateful for new life. I am grateful that we were able to watch the last chick hatching today. It was awesome!! It's fun having new babies again and I love seeing how they interact with their "mom."

2. I am grateful that when we get sick, we get better. I am grateful to know that even if Owen and I get sick, we will eventually get better.

3. I am grateful that we are not all sick at the same time. I am grateful that some of us feel well enough to take care of those that are sick.

4. I am grateful that I didn't pass out when I got my blood drawn today. I am grateful that the nurse had a good sense of humor and when I told her (in not the nicest way) to not talk to me about what she was doing, she stopped; and was able to laugh about it.

5. I am grateful to have a husband that will stop and buy me chicks and chick feed when he's coming home from work early because he's sick.

Today I saw God's hand in my life as I watched the baby chick hatch. It's amazing to me that a hen is programmed to do everything it needs to hatch chicks. Reading what it takes to hatch chicks in an incubator, I'm surprised we ever have baby chicks. The mama hen knows when the humidity needs to be high, she knows how to turn the eggs so they don't stick to the shells, she knows when the temps need to be steady and when the eggs get too hot. It really is amazing.