...And Early Chick Comes into the World!

Early in the afternoon I excitedly tipped toed outside to check on the progress EE 1 egg was making. When I felt underneath Lemon, I knew something was different, I couldn't find the egg! So I lifted Lemon up slightly and saw a little round fluffy butt huddled underneath chirping. I gently scooped the precious chick up from the nest and put him on eye level and made a regular chicken cluck, then hid him under my shirt and brought him inside. 

I quickly prepared a brooder and placed the chickie inside with a fleece blanket for snuggling (I'll be taking care of the chick for now, when the other eggs hatch I may leave two or one with Lemon if she doesn't attack them). It took me a while to name the little gut. My cousin really wanted the name Earl but to me the name didn't exactly fit. We created a large list of names, but in the end I settled with the name Early. The name made sense because chickie was the first born out of the eggs and he did come out earlier than I had expected, so Early he was!

Just look at those adorable fuzzy cheeks!! I've always wanted an Easter Egger with muffs!

Tired after a while night zipping outta that shell!

I managed to dig out the remains of the hatching from Lemon's nest. You can from the recceeded veins that Early had a healthy hatch, where all the blood has already been absorbed before coming out of the shell. Also notice that yellowish spongy stuff in the back, that's where the waste that the chick produces while inside the egg is stored and left behind when they pop out of their shells.

We all assume that Early isa "he" because of the large comb he bears from birth. I hope he's not a rooster because if he is, then I will probably sadly have to re-home him. 

Here in this picture down below, you can see that Early does have a pretty big comb at such a young age. So far, I believe there is still hope that he is just a pullet born with a big comb. I will wait and see.

It was pretty easy for me to teach him how to drink, but for him to start eating, I had to cluck and tap the chick feed repeatedly until Early understood my message.

In the meanwhile, the rest of the eggs under Lemon and in the incubator have around 3 more days until lock down. I hope the seramas hatch this time!

Pip!

Quite a few things have happened. . .

I went back to Common Ground and got 6 new eggs. I put 3 under Lemon and 3 in my incubator, the one blue egg in my incubator was not fertile and two brown eggs underneath Lemon were discarded as well, leaving 2 eggs with Lemon (including an older EE egg which I call "EE 1" and the new Easter Egger egg, "Blue Egg 2") and two brown eggs in my bator.

The last 2 blue eggs together (Lemon's taking a break outside).

EE 1 is older than the rest of the Common Ground eggs by a week and today is day 21 for "it". And the egg has started pipping though the shell and is chirping!

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Yesterday when I candled/checked on the egg and put it to my ear, I could hear tapping. Surprised, I tapped back, and the chick inside replied by tapping. After candling I also found out that it had already pipped internally! The chick had started getting to work and in a few hours later the chick started chirping inside the egg. 

This morning around 7:30 a.m., I saw the external pip for the first time.

Day 20- chick has already internally pipped and is chirping and pecking its way out of the egg 

Day 21 (around 7:30 a.m.)- The chick has pipped externally!