Candled chicken egg - 6 days

I'm so excited to have found that 3 of the 5 Silkie eggs are fertile and developing well at 6 days. They are all from buff parents so ... *fingers crossed*.

Hatching eggs have arrived!

Woohoo! My hatching eggs arrived from the mainland on Thursday and I picked them up at the post office yesterday. I was so excited to find 2 extra eggs in there! So, that means I have 3 buff and 2 white silkie hatching eggs! The eggs are acclimatizing to my home and ... WERE ... getting ready to be set under my hens. But then ... Tulip and Daisy decided not to sit anymore! No matter the bribing, they just aren't broody anymore. Usually, if there are a couple eggs left in the nest, they will brood in an instant (!). Silkies are great mommas that way. But alas, these two hard boiled eggs and 3 eggs laid by Daisy that were left in the nest to entice the girls to brood resulted in no such luck. 

So, what else is there? A special (and somewhat frantic) trip to town to pick up an incubator from Del's. I'm not going to even mention the cost because I think it's a little ridiculous that I spent so much on 5 hatching eggs. If you're inclined to figure cost ... I got the Little Giant 9200 Still Air Incubator ... 

PLUS, the 6300 automatic egg turner ...

Plus, the 7200 forced air fan kit ...

I've installed the fan and egg turner per instruction and added the water (which I boiled and cooled just in case since I use catchment water). And now it's a waiting game. I am trying to equalize the temperature at 99.5 degrees and suspect it will take me at least 24 hrs. I'll probably set the eggs tomorrow when I get home from church. Wish me luck!

Chicken treats

Tulip

I have yet to set up a composter at my new house so been sharing my compost with my chickies (and bunnies) and since I couldn't remember all the things I should and shouldn't give them, I'm putting the list here. I've indicated the ones that my peeps absolutely *LOVE*. If you have more suggestions, could you please leave them in the comments section? I'll add them to the list. THANKS!

Great treats: mealworms*, cracked corn*, fruits (watermelon*, tomatoes, papayas*, apples, pears, etc.), corn on the cob, greens and vegetables (cut grass, lettuce, kale*, cabbage, green beans, carrot and beet tops*, celery, spinach, etc.), cooked items (oatmeal, eggs, pasta, breads, etc.), fish (fresh parts or cooked), milk products (yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, etc.).

Don't give these: citrus, avocado skins and pit, raisins (the seeds are toxic; some might argue they're okay but I don't just to be on the safe side), raw green potato peels, salty and oily things.

Kale chips

A couple friends told me about kale chips and my first reaction was, "WHAT?!" I seriously thought they were kidding me. "Yeah, they're crispy like potato chips!" Could there really be another way to eat one of my favorite garden vegetables?

So I tried it and they were exactly right!

Here's how I made mine:
For about a handful of kale, remove the midrib, sprinkle with olive oil and mix to evenly distribute the oil, and bake until crispy at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes. I sprinkled lightly with salt afterwards.

They are really super crispy and delish! I ate them up so fast I didn't even bother to take a pic. Will add one next time. I think I'm going to raid the garden now! :D