More and some more!

2020 will be remembered for many things but for me, it would be the year that 4 of our hens hatched their eggs, one after another, during the spring and summer season!

I have already told you about the previous two times and a couple of days ago it was the third one. I have emphatically said in the past that I prefer my chicks to be born the natural way, but this time I made a little experiment.

For some reason the first time only 2 eggs were hatched and the second one, just 3. So I figured it would be OK to put a few eggs in an incubator, the same day that the hen sat on her own and when all of them would be hatched, mix them and let the hen raise them all. So no need to keep the little chicks for 6 weeks in an artificial environment and all the effort of the hen would be more worth it!

The plan was almost too successful. I put 12 eggs under the hen and 12 in the incubator and we got 6 and 8 chicks respectively! The first night that the hen was out of the nest, I slipped under her the machine's ones and the next day they were one big family!

With one exception though. At the last picture below, is the last chick that was hatched from the machine and the only one with so different colors. And unfortunately the only one that was rejected by the hen. After a horrifying morning that the pure creature was literally hiding and running for its life, I took it back home. Now it is in a box waiting for the eggs of the 4th hen to be hatched and hopefully to be accepted in that family. Otherwise we'll have to raise it at home and take it to the chicken coop at September.

I still believe that eggs should be hatched by a hen and not a machine but using an incubator gave me the unique opportunity to witness the actual hatching as it was happening. Below there is an 11 sec clip that I took with my mobile just when one of the chicks got out of the egg. If you think that it might be harsh for you don't watch it but I have found that spectacle absolutely mesmerizing!