The beak starts to appear |
The two halves start to tear apart |
The wing starts to poke out |
Pushing and wriggling to get free |
It's only the head left in the shell |
As a result I tend to just keep an eye on them and remove any that have hatched as soon as they are dry. This leaves space for the hatching ones to break free without being used as a giant football by the rest! Once the chicks are all snuggled up in the brooder they will not need to eat for 24 hours as they are nourished by the yolk that they absorb before hatching. So, they can all have a well earned rest while I clean out the incubator ready for the next lot. Phew!
The chick takes a well-earned rest! |
These are the most fantastic series of photos Sue! It must be one of the advantages of hatching in an incubator. You never get to see this under a hen!
ReplyDeleteThat poor little chick does look knackered!
ReplyDeleteIt must be so exhausting for them which is why I do give a little helping hand to some that have taken a long time to hatch.
DeleteIt must be such fun to watch the eggs hatching. I bet the chicks get so tame, growing up in the kitchen!
ReplyDeleteThey normally would be in the utility room as in the pic above but as I have had to move them to a warmer spot they are getting used to the cats staring at them and me constantly chattering to them. The tamer that they get, the easier it is to handle them etc but it doses sometimes make them hard to part with later when I come to sell them.
ReplyDelete