Babies, babies, babies!!

Well, not as many babies as I was hoping for...
This spring my chickens got creative in the places they would hide their eggs around our property. Once I found these nests (and couldn't save the eggs to eat because I didn't know how old they were) I figured I'd put them in my incubator and see what happens.

Now, first, I have one if these Hovabators with the wafer thermostat.

This thing drives me crazy. The thermostat is not very accurate, the temperature will fluctuate if the room temperature (or barometric pressure) fluctuates. Very frustrating. One day I will switch to a digital thermostat. If you're going to get an incubator make sure it is not a wafer thermostat! 

Moving on.

Three weeks later a couple eggs started to pip! yay! 

see the little crack on the middle egg!?

At the same time, my ducks were sitting on nests of their own. The day my incubator started hatching the first duck started hatching little ducklings! Ok, one duckling. Strange really, I've had ducks hatch over a dozen.  I'm hoping she'll continue sitting on the remaining eggs and hatch more.

One chick hatched in the incubator fine, one didn't survive to finish hatching, and one hatched with spraddle legs. (one leg wants to go straight back, the other doesn't seem to know where to go) I wrapped the legs with a bandaid like the Poultryhelp.com site recommends. I am holding him occasionally to tuck his legs underneath where they should be, hoping his leg muscles will train to turn the right way. He doesn't mind cuddling with me for a little while, and will even tuck his head into my sweater.

 *sigh* see, I told you I hate that incubator.

Here is the one duckling and chick that I have under a heat lamp and doing quite well. Two ducks are still sitting on their nests,, I hope they have better luck than me.

*update 8/27/13 The same duck who hatched the little one above succeeded in hatching twelve little ones! She was determined all summer to sit on those eggs!