Tragedy and Triumph

We lost our chicken coop last night to a fire.  It was after dark when we got home from Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, and a neighbor came over to tell us that the fire department had been there to put a fire out.  I guess the heat lamp that was keeping them warm somehow caught something on fire.  Maybe it got knocked down and lit the straw.  We don't know.  All I know was that my little girl, the lover of all animals and keeper and protector of all her beloved chickens, was devastated.  We could see the charred remains of one of the little guys in the pile of rubble.  There were four in the coop.  We assumed that all of them got trapped and burned.  This is what was left of our little coop. 

So we went to bed, but didn't get much sleep.  We were visited during the night by a heartbroken little girl so much that we gave in and let her sleep between her momma and daddy.   Then right after I pushed the snooze button on the 6am alarm clock, I heard something outside.  I was still half asleep and didn't believe my ears at first.  Then I heard it again....a cock-a-doodle-do!  We all jumped up, got our coats and boots on over our pajamas and found this outside our door:

I have no idea how these guys escaped and survived.  I guess the fire department got here in time to save them.  We were so happy and started looking for other survivers. 

That's when I heard a rustle on the other side of the yard.  We ran over there and found this sweet girl, my kids' favorite little hen, the momma to the rest, Martha.

I've never seen a happier little girl.

Anybody have a chicken coop for sale?

Don't you love happy endings? 

Bittersweet Science Fair

Last week, both kids participated in their first ever Science Fair.  Being homeschoolers, we don't have too many opportunities for events like this.  As soon as I asked them if they wanted to do a project, they both got very excited about it and began planning.  Since we had just built our incubator, Reece wanted to use that for his project and incubate his very own eggs.  Peyton, being the animal lover that she is, loved her Daddy's idea of a project highlighting the animals found around our farm.

Reece diligently  took care of his precious eggs every day, checking the temperature and turning them three times a day.  We set them exactly 21 days before the date of the Science fair, hoping that the science fair participants would get to see a live chick hatch.  The day before the fair, two of the eggs hatched!

Reece was thrilled that he could show his babies to everyone at the Science fair.  We still hoped that more eggs would be hatching for the big day.

The next day, we unplugged the incubator and packed everything up and head for the Science fair.

The chicks were a huge hit!  All the children gathered around the incubator, memorized at the tiny chicks inside.  Reece did a fantastic job speaking to the judges, even though he was quite nervous about this portion of the event.  The judges said he was "very articulate" and had a "clear mastery of project goals and process".

Peyton's project was a huge success also!  She had a blast showing everyone all of her animals.  She did great with the judges also, no surprise there though!  Here is one of her judge's comments:

"Peyton is very articulate and confident in her presentation of her project!  She is also very knowledgeable about the different animal species and their interactions.  A truly smart girl with a fantastic future!"

I was so proud of both of them!

Unfortunately, the great day turned tragic when the little black chick lay down and stopped breathing.  We thought she was sleeping, worn out from all the excitement, but she was not.  I still don't know what happened.  Maybe it was genetic, and it would have happened anyway.  Maybe the car trip and the noisy room stressed her out too much.  We just don't know.  All I knew was that I felt terrible for taking them away from their quiet, warm, dark room in my house.  Reece was devastated and wanted to leave and take the other chick home.  So, instead of staying for the judging and awards, we decided we better get the other little one home.

We then learned that Reece had won 1st place in his division.  It was hard to see the happiness in his eyes through the tears.  Overall, they had a great experience in their first ever Science fair.  They had a blast preparing their projects and are already thinking of ideas for next year.  Although, next time we will probably  forgo any live animal projects.

How to Make a Homemade Egg Incubator

Well, since we definitely had success with our first ever hatch, here is the detailed tutorial for anyone out there who wants to experience a live chicken hatch.  I attribute the low hatch to the freak, out of the blue, snow we had on the first day of spring.  The temperature in the house fluctuated crazily that weekend and it was hard to regulate the temperature in the incubator. 

Here are the supplies you will need:

1 Styrofoam cooler with lid (I got mine at Wal-mart next to the ice bins for $1.88)
1 light socket with cord  (I took apart a brooder heat lamp that I already had.  If you don't already have one, get a brooder heat lamp at a farm supply store that has a removable reflective shield.  They are about $10.  That way you can use it later when they hatch.)
1 dimmer switch for table tamps (about $7 at Lowes)
8 X 11 piece of glass or Plexiglas (go the the Dollar Store and buy a $1 document picture frame and take out the glass)
Thermometer/hygrometer (I used a small digital "weather station" which measured the temperature and humidity, but you can use any thermometer/hygrometer)
Utility Knife
Tape
Wood Glue
Small bowl of water
40 watt light bulb (.97 for 4 at Wal-mart)
small plastic fan (optional-I could not find one so we didn't use one.  If you can find one, it would help the temperature to stay regulated)

I spent a total of $11 because I already had most of this stuff.  Please note that in the above picture I started out with a 15 watt bulb.  However, I couldn't get it hot enough in the incubator, so I had to switch to the 40 watt bulb.  (And please ignore the dirty dishes in the background.  I can only do one thing at a time and right now I'm building an incubator, thank you.)

Okay, let's get started.

Step 1 is to take your heat lamp apart, put socket on top of the cooler lid, and trace the outline so you can cut a hole that it will fit through perfectly.

 After you have it traced, carefully cut it out with your utility or X-acto knife.

If you did it right, your light socket should fit snugly into the hole you've just cut out.  Let the cord run out the top and make sure you can reach the on/off switch from the outside.

The next step is to open your $1 picture frame and take the paper out.  I cut about a 1/2 inch off of each side of the paper and used it to trace my hole.  You hole needs to be smaller than the glass so you have room to glue it on.

Hold the glass up to the hole after you've traced the rectangle to make sure you will have enough room to glue it on.

You could also use duck tape to attach the glass, but duck tape is ugly.  If you don't mind ugly, then feel free!  It'd probably be easier.

When you're happy with the rectangle, start cutting.

Your hole should look like this.  This will give small children plenty of window to observe what's going on in the incubator without having to open it and alter the temperature.

Now, it's time to glue the window on.  Take the glass (or plastic) out of the picture frame and glue it on the outside of the hole.

Now, prop it up so it's level and go for a walk or something.  It takes a while to dry completely.

You may have to wipe the glue that drips on the inside a few times, if you used way too much glue.  (Not that I did that or anything, just sayin')

When it's all dry, you're ready to test it out.  Add the dimmer switch to the light socket and plug it in.  The dimmer switch will be invaluable in helping you regulate the temperature.  Check the temperature several times a day and adjust accordingly.  Put the thermometer and a small bowl of water inside the cooler.  I started with a coffee cup to save space, but ended up with a long narrow plastic butter container because the humidity wasn't high enough.  You also need to punch a few holes in each side of the cooler for ventilation.

Don't put your eggs in yet though!!  You need to run it for a few days so you can get the temperature and humidity where it needs to be and steady.  Make sure the temp is as close to 99.5 degrees as you can.  You want 50% humidity for day 1-18, then 70-80% for the last few days. If your humidity is too low, add another container of water.  The more surface area your water has, the higher the humidity will be.

When you're happy with the temperature and humidity, add your eggs and watch the magic!

They'll need to be turned 3 times a day.  We drew a big X with a pencil on one side of each egg to make sure they all got turned.   Always turn an odd number of times so the eggs aren't facing the same way every night while your sleeping.  Stop turning the eggs on day 18.  The last 3 days, don't touch them and try not to open the incubator unless you need to add water.

If you do everything right, maybe you will end up with one of these!

 Happy Hatching!!

P.S. In case anyone is wondering, grocery store eggs will not work.  You will have to find a source for fertile eggs.  

An Amazing Day

We did it! We successfully created a real live baby chick from an egg. Well, we didn't actually do anything but provide the right atmosphere. Nature did all the work. We started with 11 eggs in the incubator. Even though only 1 hatched, I consider the hatch a success! It was our first time and we learned so much.

Watching, for the first time, a tiny chick peck it's way out of a tiny egg was truly amazing and will be a memory forever etched in our hearts.

Are you ready to meet "Lucky"?

Can you see the tiny crack at the top left of the X?


She is all dry and fluffy now and happy and warm in her brooder. Now if I can only get the kids to leave her in there long enough to stay warm, we'll be okay!



We're starting 12 more today. Hopefully, we can get her some friends!

I'll post the step by step homemade incubator instructions soon!

Happy Spring!

Last week Spring gave us a little sneak peek at what we've been missing all Winter.  It was beautiful and wonderful!  Unfortunately, when we welcomed the first day of Spring 2010 on Saturday, it looked like this outside:

Last week:

Now:

At least we got a little reminder last week of what it feels like to not be freezing all the time.  And I really mean ALL THE TIME, except when I'm standing right next to the wood stove, but I can't really stand next to the wood stove all the time.  I've realized now, living in this old country farm house, how spoiled and out of touch with nature I was in the city.  Sure, it was nice having a house that stayed a constant 70 degrees every day of the year and never having to go outside when it was below freezing.  All in all, I definitely prefer roughing it out here where we have to go outside everyday, even if the wind chill is 20 below, because there are animals out there who depend on us.  I really don't mind heating with wood only.  It promotes togetherness when only one room in the house is warm.  The biggest downside is the freezing cold bathrooms.  When Spring finally feels like Spring, I will definitely enjoy and appreciate every minute of it!

She wasn't impressed with the first day of Spring either.  Poor girl, she was brave enough to try to go outside the coop, but got a surprise when she stepped on the ice/slush/snow!

These were the only ones that braved the elements for a moment this weekend.  They stayed outside a whole 2 minutes trying to figure out where Spring was.

P.S.  We are keeping a close eye on the incubating eggs!  They are supposed to start hatching soon.  I hope I have some good news for my next post.

Hopeful

We have attempted to build a homemade egg incubator.  I have no idea if it is going to work or not, but I am hopeful.  Actually, after the week I've had,  I'm going to cry if these eggs don't hatch.  Our Rooster, Fred has definitely been doing his job, so I hope we didn't mess it all up.  We are supposed to have baby chicks in 12 days.  I'll keep you posted on the progress and if I'm successful, I'll post a step by step picture tutorial on how we built it.  If I'm not, then we will try again and again and again until we have baby chicks.  Please wish us luck!

We've also got a little bit of Spring growing in the house.

I've been horribly unsuccessful at gardening in the past, but I'm going to get it right this year!  I just know it.