For the last month, we have (thanks to the wonderful teaching and help of a sweet lady we know) been watching the cycles of a chick!
Yep, I said chick. Three, to be exact… because, well…if you have kids, you know they can’t “share” an egg.
We have listened to those eggs “turning” in the incubator for weeks.
We’ve added water almost daily.
We’ve watched.
We’ve waited.
We’ve “candled” the eggs to see their changing progress inside (very cool)!
We’ve heard the chirps from within.
We’ve seen the movements from within.
And finally, after 3 long weeks (and what felt like an eternity to my three-year-old), we’ve watched them hatch!
Each different.
Each on their own time.
Each in their own way.
And, we couldn’t help but laugh when we realized that somehow through these last few weeks, those chicks “inherited” traits from their “kid parents” that they would be born with…hilarious!
Katie’s chick is a Silkie (she named it Kinkajou…don’t ask…but I think it came from some character in a book series she’s been reading)…Kinkajou was the first to hatch. Well, it wasn’t the first to start hatching, but once it heard that another was taking first place, it put it’s beak to work and rushed it’s way into this world. DRAMA. In the middle of the night. DRAMA. And, unfortunately, it was born with something called spraddle leg, which basically means it couldn’t walk…it always stayed in the “splits” position. DRAMA. So, it had to be hand-fed. DRAMA. And returned to our sweet “chicken lady” to help make it leg braces to correct it’s problem, so it could have a normal life later on. Did I mention, DRAMA?!
Remember when I mentioned that Katie’s chick wasn’t the first to “start” hatching? Well, Addison’s egg, the “cochin” chick, was actually the first to start chirping, moving, and trying to hatch. It worked hard for an hour or so prior to Kinkajou’s hatching, and then it decided to sleep for a whole day! But, when it did finally decide to completely hatch, it came out strong and LOUD. It chirps (if you call it that, since it sounds more like a loud, almost obnoxious, squawk) ALL. THE. TIME. It’s cute and fuzzy, but don’t let it’s cuteness fool you…it thinks it’s the BOSS! It will peck at anything that it feels is in it’s way of food. It’ll pick on both of the other chicks, for no reason at all. It’ll cry like something is wrong, just to get attention. And, although it’s name is nothing like it’s personality, Addison calls it “Hei Hei”.
And, finally, after waiting past it’s due date, Austin’s “cream legbar chick” arrived. It made us all worry that it wasn’t going to hatch at all. Seriously, I thought we were going to have one majorly disappointed child when he found out his egg was a dud. But, we listened closely to the egg past it’s due date, and there, just as content as could be, his chick chirped and wiggled inside. It took two days after the due date, but Austin’s chick finally hatched. And, when it was finally ready to get out, it did it in record time! This chick was named “Aspen” from within the egg. I have no idea why. Austin just thought it was a cool name, I suppose. But, after it was born and dried so we could fully see it’s feathers, it looked just like a chipmunk because of it’s coloring and stripe down the back. So, we renamed him “Alvin” very quickly. He’s smart, and strong…he stays behind the scenes…just watching the drama around him…but he always finds the perfect time to pester his sibling or steal some food. He has been slow from the get-go…marching to the beat of his own drum.
Now, if you know my kids, which many of you do, I’m pretty sure, if you read my above post, you’ll think I’m totally describing my three kids, too…not their newly hatched chicks!
You can’t tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor…
