We Have Baby Turkeys!

See what greeted me this morning when I got up.










There are three hatched and some more have pipped but no action as of yet. I will be very thrilled if we only get these three. I have 15 more eggs slated to hatch on the 29th and seven goose eggs for a few days after that...that will be plenty. Plus, we have the 15 turkey eggs coming that we ordered. Also, I am going to fill up the incubator with all the other eggs that I have been gathering since I put these in. I have eggs from the Bronze hen to put in too. We have two Bronze hens but only one is laying. She started laying much later than the Palms did. I wonder if that is normal.

Here's my little guy!

I got to take some pictures while the third one was hatching. There was a hole but it was not all the way around yet. You can see where he was working his way around on the hole. The other babies were tripping all over it so I took them out and put them in the brooder so this one could have some peace and quiet.

See it's little beak poking out? After about an hour it finally pushed it's way out and started squawking.

It looks like a dinosaur!

It is so cool how they just popped off the tops of the shell. I numbered the eggs as I put them in so I could see if the ones I held longer would hatch. Also, I wanted to see if both hens were fertile. I was not sure if the one was laying down for the tom. For instance, I have two number two's, four's and eight's and maybe only one number six because one of the hens did not lay that day. If only one of any one number hatches thatn for sure she was not bred.

Here they are in the temperary brooder until we get the big one set up in the chicken house.

I can't believe how the month has flown by. I was looking at old posts and when I saw the one with the snow it seemed so surreal. The day I took that picture I thought spring would never get here and all of a sudden......BAM!... it snuck up on me. We have been so busy with spring maintence that I need to be still and enjoy. It seems that my mind has been racing. There are so many things I would like to get accomplished in these next few weeks.

We need to build a chicken tractor, get the brooder ready, finish the barn floor, build our plucker, get fish for the pond, order my turkeys (today!), finish trimming my dog, get ready for bonfire party on Saturday, get the garden going and on and on. We planted 100 hybrid willows and six blueberry bushes this last weekend. I couldn't walk for a day, my legs were killing me! Just ten more cherry bushes and we are done planting trees for now.

Phewwwww, now I can relax, I am not a failure at egg hatching! An update soon on how the final hatch turned out.

Happy, happy days,

Beth