The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • Audio Recordings
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
The Grovestead
The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • Audio Recordings
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
  •  Blog
  •  Events
    • Farm Camp
    • Workshops
    • Internships
  •  Publications
    • Durable Trades
    • The Grovestead Newsletter
  •  Farm Stand
  •  About Us
Uncategorized

Baby chicks hatching! (video)

  • February 28, 2015
  • 8 comments
  • 806 views
  • Rory

Two baby chicks hatched in our homemade incubator

It’s been an exciting few days here at the Grovestead! Our flock has grown with the healthy hatches of two new baby chicks. If you haven’t been following along, be sure to read part 1 (egg incubator) and part 2 (candling eggs) to catch up.

After building a homemade egg incubator, we set four eggs laid by our own chickens. A week later we were able to see growth inside two of the eggs, meaning they were fertile. So we kept these in the incubator for another two weeks and watched them very closely! The eggs had to be turned three times a day, the temperature had to be just right, I had to increase the humidity the last three days using wet sponges…  I’m pretty sure I stressed out more over these chickens hatching than I did either of our children being born. Don’t tell Becca I said that.

But the day FINALLY came. After being 24 hours overdue, I noticed slight movement in one of the eggs. I set up a camera on a tripod to catch all the action. This animation comprises several hours leading up to the first hatch:

Egg started to move just before hatching

The last frame was about 5:30AM. And let me tell you I was totally disheartened that my birds weren’t hatching. I came back at 7:00AM and saw this:

First egg broke open, chick begins to emerge

New baby chicks first few steps

The first baby chick emerges and takes his first few steps.

The reason baby chicks can go days without food or water is because they literally suck the egg’s yoke into their abdomen in the final hours before hatching. This is why its so important not to disrupt the process or intervene. Everything that happens in the final hours is essential to the chick’s ability to survive outside the shell.

It took an entire 24 hours before the second chick began to hatch (again inspiring much anxiety). Its sibling stayed close by the whole time:

Chick stays close to other egg

The first piercing of the outer shell is known as a “pip”. It occurs on the same end of the egg as the air sac that forms during incubation. Once the shell is pipped, the chicken can start breathing air and working its way out of the egg.

Second egg pips (chick breaks open outer shell)

The baby chick doesn’t just peck a hole and try to crawl out. It pierces in a complete circle (known as “zipping”) so the whole end of the egg falls off. Then the chick simply pushes the shell off and rolls out. The whole process took about 30 minutes.

Sibling watches the hatching closely

Loyal from birth, the sibling stayed close by and watched, even assisting during the hatch as you’ll see in the video.

0
0
0
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Avatar photo
Rory

Rory Groves moved his family from the city to the country several years ago to begin the journey towards a more durable way of life. Rory and his wife Becca now reside in southern Minnesota where they farm, raise livestock, host workshops, and homeschool their six children. He is the author of Durable Trades: Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time.

Tags
  • Chickens
  • diy
  • eggs
  • hatching

Durable Trades is Now Available!

Our book about historical, family-centered professions is now on sale!

DETAILS & PURCHASE


Receive our Print Newsletter!

We publish a free quarterly newsletter to encourage Christian families and cover articles about farming, family, and faith.

DETAILS & SIGN-UP

You May Also Like
View Post
  • Farming

A Very Photogenic Winter

  • February 27, 2023
  • Becca
View Post
  • Family

Working Together

  • February 20, 2023
  • Becca
View Post
  • Farming

How Much to Grow?

  • January 14, 2023
  • Rory
View Post
  • Family

A Table for Generations

  • December 26, 2022
  • Becca
View Post
  • Family

Good News for Mothers

  • December 24, 2022
  • Becca
View Post
  • Faith
  • Family

A brave, young girl and her faith in Jesus

  • December 13, 2022
  • Becca
View Post
  • Family

Christmas Tea

  • December 8, 2022
  • Becca
View Post
  • Family

Sledding Season

  • November 18, 2022
  • Becca
8 comments
  1. Marlene Groves says:
    February 28, 2015 at 9:25 am

    AWESOME! Thanks for your patience during this process!
    Great education for your little ones!

    Reply
  2. hootenannie says:
    February 28, 2015 at 10:04 am

    This is incredible, like a miracle. I love how the other one helped him crack his way out! Thanks for sharing with the rest of us city folk. 🙂

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo Rory says:
      February 28, 2015 at 11:25 am

      Totally agree! “Miracle” is what I kept thinking watching this life develop and hatch all on its own.

      Reply
  3. Jessica Bredberg says:
    February 28, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    Love watching your chick hatch! So amazing! Glad you got two eggs to hatch, I hope you keep posting more pics and videos of them!

    Reply
  4. Rachel says:
    March 3, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    this is so wonderful to watch, just like siblings the one is already pulling the others hair 😉 Can’t wait to show this to the kids!

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Baby chicks growing fast | The Grovestead
  6. Lisa says:
    March 7, 2015 at 7:55 pm

    Josie and I just sat on the edge of our seats waiting for the little chickie to come out! Congratulations! They are so cute.

    Reply
  7. Mary says:
    December 5, 2015 at 11:27 am

    Thanks for putting this tutorial together! It was very informative and I am less anxious about trying this for the first time myself.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts
  • A Very Photogenic Winter
    • February 27, 2023
    • 98 views
  • Working Together
    • February 20, 2023
    • 188 views
  • How Much to Grow?
    • January 14, 2023
    • 616 views
Popular Posts
  • Where’s the Beef? It’s time to build our own supply chains.
    • April 25, 2020
    • 23.5K views
  • Managed Intensive Rotational Grazing for Sheep
    • December 27, 2016
    • 14K views
  • Boiling maple sap over home-built evaporator
    How to Build an Evaporator (from stuff laying around)
    • April 12, 2014
    • 11.4K views
Mailing List

Be notified of events and goings on at the Grovestead!

Contact
The Grovestead
  •  Blog
  •  Events
  •  Publications
  •  Gather & Grow
  •  About Us
Copyright © 2022 by The Grovestead. All Rights Reserved.

Input your search keywords and press Enter.