We had noticed that the Rhode Island Red egg was cracked on Monday afternoon, and fully expected it to hatch that afternoon/evening. Much to our disappointment, there had been no progress by the next morning. Gus began to suspect that the chick had died or was just too weak to hatch. We were all bummed.
So imagine my surprise when we went to check on Midnight and Fluffy after lunch, and noticed that there had suddenly been huge progress! Maya grabbed bar stools for us and I got my camera. And we got to watch this little one hatch!
It took her a while (like almost an hour) to finally get the shell remnants off. And then she was very, very weak. Gus thinks it was because she was trying to break out of the shell for over 24 hours! But she could barely lift her head or move her body for hours after hatching, and she kept falling asleep. I won't lie-- I was a little concerned that something might be wrong. She didn't spring to life like the other two had!
By bedtime, though, she had dried off and was looking more alert. I decided to move her into the box with her sisters. She mostly hung out under the warmer, though I did catch this one when she decided to explore a little bit (on her wobbly little legs!):
By this morning, any fears that I'd had were erased. She was a well-rested, happy little chick. Her name is Ginger, for obvious reasons. And she and her sisters are just the cutest! The kids are in love!
We still have four more eggs in the incubator, though we aren't sure we will get any more chicks at this point. There is a possibility that one more might still hatch, but the clock is ticking and there aren't any signs of cracking on that egg. But even if we only get these three, we will be happy. They are all different types and all completely adorable. Yay!!! :)
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