So the chicks have been growing, I've been turning the eggs, candeling them, and making sure there is water in the dish for humidity. This week a new job came up.....making sure the light bulb isn't burnt out.
Yep, you guessed it. The light bulb went out and the temperature inside the incubator got down to a frigid 65 degrees. You might not think that is very cold, but for chicks, that's 40 degrees less than they are suppose to be in. The humidity was below 20, which it's suppose to be over 55, so that the egg shell thins so the chicks can poke through.
I candled them as soon I was home and noticed the light hadn't turned on for a while. (It usually is turning on and off every minute or seconds.) I saw no movement, the eggs were cold, and I figured my senior project would end like that. My dad said to not put them back in the inncubator because there was no way of them surviving. Well, my stubborn red-headedness (yes, thats a word! :p) decided to disobey dad, get a new lightbulb, and put the eggs back in the incubator. I had gotten this far, I wasn't stopping like that. This happened on Thursday.
Friday morning came and before I left for school I decided to candle the eggs, and sure enough, to my ultimate surprise, the chicks were..........ALIVE! They were moving, their hearts were beating, and you could even see the beginning of their beaks and feet!!
So today I am here to tell you that the baby chicks are still alive, and kicking (quite literally actually)! And believe it or not, the four day hatching period starts in TWO DAYS!!! And ends on Christmas Eve! I wouldn't be surprised if they hatched towards the end due to the temperature mishap....but only time will tell! I will be updating the blog on a daily basis till my chicks are hatched. SO...be sure to check in!! To tie you over to tomorrow, here is a video I took today while candeling them. This is of the White Leghorn Egg!