Hatching chicks and ducklings has become one of my new favorite things do over the last two years. Growing up we always had chicks and ducklings throughout the years and I remember loving getting to hold and snuggle the little fluff balls but it was until last year when Fil and I decided to invest in a good incubator and some hatching eggs that the true magic happened for me.
The miracle of life has always been something extremely captivating to me and since I have always had an extreme love of babies it came as no surprise that watching these little ones enter the world was nothing but pure delight, but what hadn’t imagined was how crazy magical and life filling the experience would be. It brings us closer as a family ever time we hang on the anticipation of those first little pips in the shells to the last wet feathered helpless chick moves from the safe haven of the incubator to our warm little brooding pen.
Phil does all the setting up of the incubator. He’s a pro now and has done all the research on what the temperature needs to be to the humidity levels and once eggs are in he keeps track of how many days until lockdown for hatching time and any changes that need to incur along the way. I am not a technical or numbers person and would be lost when it came to this side of the process so I am so thankful that Fil is so good at it. Noah checks the humidity level in the screen for us every few days and Libby loves to check on her baby eggs every few days throughout the process.
When hatch time comes everyone takes turns checking the eggs every hour or so for new pips(this is the first tiny crack in the egg which means baby is beginning its journey out!) and for almost hatching and freshly hatched chicks. Some babies progress from pip to hatch moves rather quickly while others labor for ours on end to make their way into the world, but no matter the length i am always in complete awe at those sweet little babes helplessly staggering about inside the incubator. There are not many things in life that i have gotten to share with my children that are so magical and fulfilling as watching these babies in their first few moments of life and I will continue to look forward to hatching season as one of my favorite my times of the year!
We put together a sweet little video to share with you just a bit of the process that makes us giddy inside, I hope you will love it and that it gives you new life today! We are surrounded by miracles, you just have to open your eyes to see them.
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