52 Week Creativity Challenge, Week 25- Head

"Chicken Heads"
Taken on a Fujifilm FinePix HS 35EXR
Edited in Google Chrome
by S. Clark

At the beginning of May, our friends who own a flock of chickens, gave my husband 6 eggs.  He was informed that they were fertilized and would hatch if we incubated them. He went home a promptly build an incubator.

Waiting for the chickens to hatch was excruciating because other than shining a flashlight on them, we had no way to know if they were developing normally or developing at all. We had to have the temperature and humidity just so and because we had this wonky homemade contraption it was heard to maintain the correct environment.  Every time the temperature got too high or the humidity crashed we felt for sure we killed all the chickens.

One egg wasn't fertilized and one egg "quit" after just a couple days, which left 4 eggs.  On May 26, three days earlier than expected, Freckles hatched in 30 minutes.  This is well under the several hour timeline Google informed us it would take. We named this chick Freckles after my Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Freckles who had chickens when I was growing up. (Their name wasn't really Freckles, but I named them that because my Grandma looked freckled to my 3 year old self.) On May 27, Lucky agonizingly pecked her way out of the shell.  She took well over the timeline given by Google. We named her Lucky because it seems pretty lucky that she got out at all!  Two eggs didn't hatch at all but we felt a 50% hatch rate was pretty good given that we are completely ignorant chicken farmers.

Freckles immediately after hatching.

Freckles after he fluffed up a bit.

Lucky immediately after hatching.  

Freckles at a few days old

Lucky photo bombing Freckles

Lucky at a few days old.

 Chickens grow super fast and pretty soon we had to put them in a large tub in the garage.  We initially kept them in the closet under the stairs because the temperature was more consistent than the rest of the house and we could keep the cats away.  The cats were much too interested!

Lucky & Freckles around 3 weeks old. 

Exploring the chicken run.  

My daughter loves the chickens!

Freckles and Lucky around 1 month old.

The photo at the top was taken when they were around 1 1/2 months old.  They look pretty much the same except for Freckles has more of a coxcomb developing now. Yep, despite our deepest desire to end up with two hens, we have a rooster and a hen.  He is practicing his crow in an adolescent chicken voice.  Have I mentioned we are not morning people and we have neighbors? Stay tuned for future reports on Freckles' developing crow!