Almost a month ago I selected a dozen fresh chicken eggs to place in the incubator Paul gave me at Christmas. A few days ago three baby chicks hatched. One didn’t survive, leaving Gilfy and Miri – cute little Buff Orpington/Barred Rock chicks.

Although I left the incubator on until today, there was no more activity. I dug deep and found the nerve to crack open the remaining eggs to see if they were fertile. A few were not, but more than half contained chicks that did not make it. Who knew that hatching baby chicks was so difficult? Shadow made hatching her babies look so very easy.

Here’s a short clip of Gilfy hatching after 24 hours of fighting her way out of the shell. This whole process has been quite the experience for the entire family!