The one Pip

There was never another Pip. We are so grateful to have had the one. We would have been so sad if not one had hatched. As it is, we are just heart broken over the many eggs that never hatched. Six of them almost made it but we think our humidity was too low for them to escape their eggs. There were pretty well formed chicks inside but they had huge air pockets. So, we have just the one. She made her hole in the morning and was out around lunch time.

She's so tiny that the boy had to build her a special ramp to get to her water.


We spent $72 on the eggs and $22 on the Marek's vaccine. Little Pip is one expensive chick. She had better be a SHE. We aren't allowed roosters even if they are for a 4-H project. Fingers crossed.

Eggs in the Hand

With 2 Ameraucanas and 2 CaliWhites laying and our brown layers coming into their first molts, we are suddenly overrun with white and green eggs. It's so strange to peer into the fridge and see green and white. Especially the white. White seems so "grocery store". I can't wait until my little Orpingtons start laying and we have a better looking assortment. I know, color is not important. It makes me happy, though, to see such a wonderful mish mash of colors. Even Dottie's speckled eggs seem to come less frequently now. Hopefully soon GiGi will begin laying her mahogany colored eggs. Oooh, I can't wait!

We also have a pile of eggs in the incubator. We candled them on Wednesday, exactly a week after we began the incubation process. Some seemed to be void of life and were disposed of. It was hard to just throw them away. I wasn't sure if they could be fed to any of the animals after being kept warm for a week. We marked about 12 with a question mark because we just couldn't quite tell if there was anyone inside. But, we did see some with a definite somebody inside. We even saw a little movement. That was super exciting. The incubator has some pretty wide temperature swings now and then and we're real nervous that our little peeps won't make it. We're taking deep breaths and thinking sweet thoughts. 2 more weeks and we should see some new friends.

Musical chairs with chickens

Well, this week our dear sweet Rosie the Rhode Island Red has begun to molt. This is our very first molt at City Mouse Farm and it's kind of sad and exciting all at the same time. Exciting because it represents a forward motion. Our first chickens are all grown and experiencing their right of passage as the "elders" in the coop. Sad because Rosie looks rather pathetic, kinda gangly and balding. In big egg production, Rosie would be bound for the stock pot as she will lay fewer eggs after her molt.
At the same time, Meyer and Pepper, the 2 month old blue Cochins have begun to spend their nights in the coop with the big girls. Jonathan had to add a third perch so there wouldn't be any fighting over space.
And as we move the teenie boppers out, we prepare the incubator for eggs arriving from Tennessee and Texas. The boy has joined 4-H and we're going to try our luck at hatching a few varieties of bantam chickens.

Chickens are truly so fun and easy. I highly suggest that every garden keep a few. Our chickens enjoyed a winter squash as big as my thigh and some fresh grass clippings today. They sang praises to the chef as they ate.