It’s an EGG-cellent day at Millside Farm…

Today is the day, folks! The first day we’ve put eggs into the new incubator.  Let the countdown begin…

So, I’m not at all confident that they will all hatch.  Some of the eggs laid out in the nest boxes in the cold barn longer than they probably should have, but we are simply too excited to give this a try to wait any longer.  So today, eleven eggs went into the brooder to begin the 21-day countdown to pipping (hatch).

A brief overview of how this should work…  The incubator is to be placed in a room with temperatures between 70-80 degrees F, on a level surface, with no direct sunlight; therefore, we chose the dining room.  Although the house may not be reaching the 70-80 degree F mark right now, we’re definitely above 60.  That should work, right?

After allowing our eggs to warm to room temperature, Mike and Cameron marked the eggs with a number on one side, indicating the day the eggs were collected, and an “x” on the other side.  This will allow us to turn the eggs 2 to 3 times a day consistently.  We have also included a notebook by the incubator to record turnings.  This will continue until 3 days before eggs are due to hatch.

The temperature of the incubator is set to 100 degree F, and humidity will be kept between 45-55% for the first 18 days.  After that, we will bring it up to 55% for the last 3 days.

This batch of eggs include all Speckled Sussex chickens, a heritage breed of chickens on the Livestock Conservancy’s “Recovering” list.  I originally chose Speckled Sussex for our farm for their reputation of being a very calm, gentle breed.  I read many reviews from mother’s of small children stating that their Speckled Sussex rooster was a kind and gentle soul, and we have certainly found ours to be the same.  In addition, they are a great dual purpose breed, have a decent lay rate, and are all around pleasant to look at…how could we go wrong?

Stuey looking over his hens.  He’s very protective of them, while still being gentle with us.

Stay tuned for incubator updates!

Due date…St. Patty’s Day…