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Baby chicks hatching! (video)

  • February 28, 2015
  • 8 comments
  • 1.1K 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.

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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

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Family-Centered Economies That Have Stood the Test of Time

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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

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