THE CHICKS ARE HATCHED!!!!

On Tuesday night around 10:30PM, one of our little chicks hatched - Mr. Maybe. Surprisingly, it only took two hours from start to finish. Around 3AM, Chicken Little made his appearance. Around 6:30AM, Freckles came out of his shell. Gigantor had a hole in his shell, but he wasn't coming out. On Thursday we woke up and the other chicks had pecked at Gigantor's shell, and he had dried out inside of it. We took him upstairs, into a steamy warm bathroom, and gave him a little help. So, for two hours we added moisture to the dry parts. While we working on Gigantor, we had the shower running. My mom said "Time to turn the shower off," and when I looked over, it was

FLOODING!!!
After we turned the shower off and began mopping up with towels, my mom had Emmalena run downstairs to see if the water was coming through the ceiling. As Emmalena ran out of the room my mom said "Don't let Dad know!"

As Emmalena was looking at the puddle on the ground, Dad walked in and said "What is that?"
Emmalena replied "Ummm, the dog peed?" As she was saying this a drip from the ceiling fell on her had and she said "From the ceiling?"
Dad wanted to know what was going on....

Meanwhile back in the bathroom, Gigantor made his way out of his shell, we thought. It had been a really rough hatching for him and we didn't think he was going to make it.

We put him back in the incubator to rest and dry, and hoped for the best. We left for a few hours to go paddle boarding. When we came back we found out Gigantor was stuck to the bottom half of his shell. Back to the steamy bathroom we went, but this time we didn't flood it. We helped loosen up the shell, and once it was off we put him back in the incubator. He immediately started flopping around and we began to think he might make it after all.

The next morning, Gigantor's back and head didn't look dry. We realized his feathers were crusty. This happens sometimes when chicks get "shrink wrapped" in the egg. We rinsed him off with some warm water and brushed him with a soft tooth brush. By that night, he was fluffy and cute and ready to go in the brooder with the rest of the chicks.

PS - Gigantor is a Buff Orpington and the other chicks are Barnevelders. 

 

Farmer Bella

We have been talking for a long time about hatching chicks. We started talking about when we got back from Thailand in January. Then around April, we got everything in order and ordered our incubator.

Once the incubator arrived, it was time to order the eggs.

Today the eggs finally came!

Are you wondering what those letters are for? So were we when the eggs arrived! The eggs came with a piece of paper that tells you the breed of eggs you might have received. We got 24 eggs, half when to our friends, and the other half is for us. We have five different breeds in our clutch. Bet you don't know what a clutch is!

Beach photos

 So we went to the beach. I took these Pictures and I thought I had to show them to you!

Can you spot the difference?











Thailand 2013!!!

We went to Thailand December 26 to January 10th. We had such a good time.  We visited Bangkok, Chang Mai, Takli, and Uttaya.  I had so much fun seeing the elephants.  Here is a picture of Emmalena, my dad, and I riding the biggest, baddest elephant in all of Thailand.  Look how big his tusks are! 













We also went to the floating market and went on a jungle cruise.  A REAL jungle cruies, not like the one at Disnyeland. We were in a real river, with real animals, and real lightening bugs. It was pitch dark. Our driver kept stopping our boat and we kept thinking it was broken down. It was neat, but scary.


At the elephant camp, we saw an elephant show. The elephants painted, played the harmonica while they were hula-hooping, threw darts, played basketball, massaged a guy's back and played soccer.

We stayed in a tree house near Bangkok. We saw a baby and mom Komodo dragon.

We went to the night bazaar in Chang Mai. We saw Thai dancers and had our feet cleaned by fish!

 

This plant, that looks like a giant fan, is probably 12 feet tall. This is at my great aunt and uncle's house.

We also got to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok on New Year's Eve. It was sooo crowded.  I thought I was going to scream or pass out.  People were all over me. 

 

We drove around on mopeds, it was fun.

These cute dogs were wild!



We had a great time, but by the end of the trip, I just wanted some American food - a hamburger! And, I still haven't gotten it!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy birthday, Mom! I love you.

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everybody!! I got the best present. I got a Bean Bag!! It is so big! Here is a picture.