The Chicken or The Egg?

Unlike when I was a kid, this time around we'll be getting the eggs first. While the Easter Bunny has been running around hiding colored eggs, I've been out buying an incubator to nuke some. In the spirit of education we've decided instead of ordering chicks or buying them at the feed store to turn this into a science project and hatch our own. I can remember my dad hatched a batch and it was so exciting waiting for them to poke their way out of the egg. The 21 day wait for them to incubate was excruciatingly long, given that you have to turn them three times a day. But I was probably only about 10 years old and 21 days seemed like a lifetime.

I saw a post offering the "Forest Gump Special" on a chicken forum. Most of the eggs will be Barred Rocks but some "you just don't know what you'll get". How fun is that?! We'll be getting 20 fertilized eggs in the mail sometime this week. Here's the information I have about the parents from the "adoption file".

Hawkeye, a Barred Rock, is my main flock rooster and is two years old, a sweet, calm guy. He will be the sire of all the chicks.

These are our Barred Rock girls. Lexie and Ivy are two years old and Amanda and Becca are a year old.

Lexie

Ivy

Amanda

Becca

Ginger, Buff Orpington

Sunny, Buff Orpington

Charlotte, Blue Ameraucana

Kate, sired by a standard size Cochin/Silkie cross roo over a Barred Rock hen

As my husband pointed out, I'll bet my Dad is up there smiling right about now. Sure wish I could call him and ask for chicken hatching advice though.