So Much Hatching Going On

The past two weeks have been filled with the tiny peeps of our newest arrivals. While we still need to work on perfecting our incubator process, we did hatch two black orpington chickens, and three ducks.

This was our first egg to hatch. One thing that I learned through the process was that chickens hatch differently from ducks. The chickens made a small hole, called a pip, and then slowly enlarged it until they could push themselves out.

The babies were so tired when they finally emerged. It was really sweet to see how they would cuddle up with the remaining eggs, periodically calling out to the others as they had the energy.

The babies should stay in the incubator until they dry out quite a bit and get to their adorable, fluffy state. 

When the ducks hatched, they would create an area of cracking, which would be followed by the egg wiggling. I am quite sure that the wiggling was from them turning in the egg, because the cracks would appear later on another side. When the cracks formed at least mostly around the egg, they would start pushing their way out. I did manage to get a video of out of them hatching. 

We have a Hova-Bator  incubator. It worked well for the price, but we did need to make a few tweeks. Adding the optional egg turner was a great suggestion from my sister-in-law. The eggs need to be turned a minimum of three times daily, and having it automatically done was not only easier, but made it so we were not dropping the temperature frequently by opening the incubator up. 

During the incubation period, we discovered that having a hygrometer was quite important. The chickens had a much harder time hatching then the ducks did, and I believe it is because the humidity was a bit dry for the them. By the time the ducklings were hatching, we had a digital one that we really like. The digital hygrometer/thermometer combo also showed us that the thermometer that came with the incubator showed about 8 degrees lower. Ideally, keeping the incubator at 99 to 100 degrees is what we were aiming for, so 8 degrees of difference was causing the babies to not develop like they should have been.

We kept a simple spray bottle next to the incubator so a few spritzes could quickly be sprayed in to raise the humidity as needed. We averaged out at 50% most of the time, but sometimes it did get up around 80% for a little while. 

Waiting for Peeps

About a month ago, our family had a very sad surprise. A neighbor's dog made its way into our backyard and killed four of our six hens while I was picking up Princess from school. We had let the chickens free-roam while we were finishing up their run, just making sure that they were shut in for the night so that coyotes or skunks could not get them. Since they stayed close to the house, we had thought they were safe during the day.

Especially after making the effort to bring them on our move with us, loosing our girls was pretty tough. I was particularly heartbroken over Pearl, who was our sweet Delaware who had lost both her feet to frostbite when she was young. At least two of the girls, Sweetie and Starlight, made their way to safety.

After we got over our shock of losing our girls, we started planning how to build up our flock again. Brady's sister sent us a really wonderful present in the form of a big box with lots of fertilized eggs. She raises some heritage and interesting breeds up in Idaho, so if you are around that neck of the woods, you can check out what neat birds she has here. She sent us some bantam cochins, black orpingtons, and some ducks. The eggs have been nestled in our incubator and we are counting down the days until they start hatching. While the ducks will take a bit longer, the chickens should be any day now. We can't wait to meet our new babies!

Brady bought an egg candler so that we could check on the chick's development as we waited. Candling eggs is incredibly neat. It reminds me of watching ultrasounds of our kids. There is not a super clear view of the chick, but the blood vessels feeding it from the yolk are there, as well the dark area that is the chick's body. I really like just seeing the small movements and knowing that there is life contained within the egg shell. Yesterday, I even saw a tiny silhouette of a foot that briefly stretched out.

We did try to capture some pictures of the candled eggs.  The eggs had been in the incubator for 16 days at this point.  Mainly you can see the blood vessels, but you can make out the darker "blob" of developing chick,.

Here is a video that Brady took to try and catch some of the movement.

This is the egg candler we are using. I would highly recommend it. 

Snow Day in Texas

Winter Storm Quantum has came our way early this morning, waking me and Brady with the sounds of sleet and freezing rain hitting the windows. Brady had a scheduled telework day today, and the kids' schools are all canceled for a snow day. In case you are wondering, let me show you what a snow day in North Texas looks like.

 

Coming from Northern Utah, having a snow day with this much snow is a funny notion. However, all the locals have told us that with these types of storms, the roads are incredibly slippery with ice and it is very dangerous to drive. That is just fine with me, as I have no desire to go out into the cold.  The little kids were excited to go outside and see the snow, but each lasted only about 10 minutes. I was only outside long enough to snap a few pictures. The lovely fire my hubby has kept going and a cup of tea sound much more inviting.

Sheba the Wonder Dog

Part of our move to Texas included me telling the kids that the likelihood that they could get a dog would increase greatly. Princess began telling everyone who would listen about how she was going to get a dog. I sighed inwardly and wondered what kind of deal I had set up for myself.

We had only been here a few weeks when I saw two dogs listed on a local garage sale group that needed homes. They were two boys, and they person who had taken them in off the streets believed they were about 8 months old. They were both very skinny and my heart went out to them. Unfortunately, after they had been in our home for a few weeks, we had to face the fact that it was not meant to be. We don't think they had ever truly had a home, and they did not seem to want to be with us or inside the house. Once they figured out that between the two of them, they could push their way out whenever anyone opened a door, all they wanted to do was be free in the open countryside and bother the neighbors cows, or terrorize our cat, Cricket, while inside. The poor kitty went from having free roaming of the house to being stuck in the master bedroom all the time.

The kids really wanted a dog that would love them back, and it was hard for them to feel shunned by the pups, especially on top of getting used to a new area. We also felt that keeping them was unfair to our existing pets, since the dogs wanted to chase and try to bite Cricket, our bunnies, and our chickens. It took me a few weeks of working with rescues and shelters, but I found a cute young couple that were very excited to take them. I am happy that we were at least able to help them put on a few pounds each and get de-wormed.

Our nights got quieter for sure without all the howling, but I will admit that the house did feel a little empty, and I missed taking the dogs for walks around the property. I began researching breeds that would work well for us, and how much money we needed to save up to purchase one, since the breeds I was interested in were quite pricey.

When we attended the local winter festival, the city animal shelter had some of their adoptable animals there. Brady and the kids were instantly drawn to Sheba. I stood back, biting my lip and unsure if I was willing to try bringing a dog into the house again, but I caved. I am glad that I did.

Sheba is a believed to be a bit over a year old, and is of a mixed breed. The shelter said she was a Carolina dog. She physically resembles the akita breed as well with her short snout and curled tail. Both are not known for doing well around chickens, but she is so eager to please her humans that she sits quietly around the coop. She absolutely LOVES belly rubs.

She went through two families before making it to us, so she does have some anxiety about being left. This is understandable, and we are working to help her know that we will always come back when we leave the house and to make her more comfortable in her crate.

Our morning routine involves me getting her out of her crate and her making a frantic search of the house trying to find all of her people.

Cricket is handling having another red colored pet around quite nicely. We are still trying to figure out exactly how, but she has managed to establish some dominance over Sheba, who is easily four or five times her size. Apparently, her hissing is very scary. I think it will actually be quite good for her to have another pet around the house since she is strictly an indoor cat now and could maybe use the company. As for how she feels about it though, I think her face pretty much sums it up....

Winter Festival!

This past week was cold. Sheet of ice on the windshield kind of cold. The type of cold that leaves me scowling at the temperature and muttering stuff about how it is not supposed to be this cold in Texas. I am obviously wrong in this belief, but that will most likely not stop my angry mutterings at the cold.

The weather forecast showed beautiful weather in the high 70s for the weekend. We were planning on attending the city winter festival, but it was really hard to believe that it would not be insufferably cold. Even Saturday morning was rather crisp, but as noon approached the sky turned blue and we all packed into the car with only light jackets needed. After we had been there a little while, it was warm enough that they kids were able to eat snow cones without freezing. Not exactly keeping with a winter theme, but I was certainly not complaining.

The festival was held on main street, with a large section shut down to traffic for the festivities. There were vendor booths, games, and rides, along with live music. We had quite a bit of fun strolling through, although the rides were a bit more exciting for the kids.

We didn't think that snow tubing was going to be an activity we would get to enjoy here, so the snow slide was awesome. It was a really large slide that was periodically refreshed with snow.

The favorite activity for all the kids was probably the bungee jump.

We spent some of the day visiting with the local shelter staff and volunteers at an adoption event. We did end up bringing someone home with us, but I will save telling you about that for another post.

Two State Socks

Last night, I snipped off the ends of woven in yarn on these socks, finishing them up. The yarn is not that great, I am not head over heels about the color, but these socks have a dear place in my heart anyway. They are not exactly the same, this pair of socks. There are differences in the toe decreases, because by the time I got to the second sock, I had forgotten just how I had done the first. But that is not the difference that I think about when I look down. 

The first sock was knitted in Utah, in the house where we had been living for almost ten years. The second was knitted in Texas, in the new home that we are still getting adjusted to. My husband got a good opportunity to take a job promotion down here in the Lone Star State, and we decided to take a leap. 

Moving was a crazy blur of time. From the time we were sure we were moving, to when me and the kids left Utah, there was only about a month and a half of time. Brady had to be in Texas for the new job, while I handled packing up what stuff I thought we could take and getting the house on the market. I am so grateful for both of our families who helped so much with accomplishing everything. There was painting, packing, getting rid of stuff, and re-carpeting going on, and to top it all of, I caught a case of pneumonia to go along with it. I had hoped to make goodbye visits to more people, but sometimes only so much can be done. 

So here we are now, in Texas, in a beautiful and slightly larger home. One of the most exciting aspects is that we have a 9 acre property. Brady has been building our chickens a wonderful new coop and they seem very happy. Hopefully, they will be sharing their yard with other animals soon, as this land gives us the potential to have some sheep or alpaca. :) 

Some days, I deeply miss my old home and the familiarity of living in a place that I knew so well. Other days, I ache for my kids as I watch them struggle with the hardships of new schools and new friends. Most of the time though, I am excited for our future and envisioning what new adventures will come our way.

Ravelry Project Link

SLC Comic Con 2014

As you may or may not have heard, the Salt Lake City Comic Convention was held earlier this month. This was the second year this particular convention has been held, and it has became a very large convention in a very short time. We missed out on the excitement last year, so it was a big goal for us to make it down this time around. Shortly before prices went up, I went online and purchased Saturday tickets for our crew.

We really don't live that far from Salt Lake City, so driving down for the day was an option. Brady made an executive decision that we should turn the fun into a mini vacation. This was one of those times that my husband was right; it was great. After a fair amount of researching hotels, we ended up staying at the Doubletree by Hilton that was about 3/4 a mile from the convention center. We stayed in a suite setup, complete with a mini fridge and coffee maker. Finding food that is safe for our food restrictions can be a complete pain in the behind. So having the ability to eat meals we brought with us, and can serve in the room, was awesome and saved us from dragging our tired children around the big city even more. Plus....our view was not half bad either.

Since we arrived the evening before we planned on attending the event, the older kids and I took the opportunity to walk to the convention center and get our wrist bands. I would highly recommend this. We arrived as things were shutting down, so there was no line to pick up the wristbands, and it saved us a lot of time the next morning. It was also nice to get to see some of the costumed attendees meandering around the grounds.

Saturday morning, we all got dressed and ready to go. My wonderful hubby even ran to Walgreens to pick up some cosmetics for me since I left mine home and I knew pictures would be taken. I am pretty sure that was a little awkward for him.

Princess dressed as Elsa, Squirt as Spiderman, and Spike as......Spike. As for the oldest child, she dressed as Terezi Pyrope from Homestuck.....

If you don't know who that is, don't feel bad, it is a bit obscure....and not appropriate for
young-uns. However, she did put a lot of effort into her cosplay, including make her horns, the design on her T-shirt, her glasses,  the arm stockings, and the stuffed toy (called a scalemate), so it was nice to see some people recognize what she was and give her a holler. She has written some information on how she made some of these, and other fandom crafts on her blog.

Of course, one of the biggest draws of a Comic Con is the fellow attendees in cosplay. These were just a few of my favorites (although I wish I would have taken pictures of so much more.)

Hiccup and Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon 2

Me and Princess with Totoro

We spotted Merida in line. She was super sweet and Princess was thrilled.

We had a great time at SLC Comic Con. We saw cool things, bought cool things, and talked to cool people, including many authors and artists, which I did not expect. There are definitely things that could be improved upon, such as the extremely long wait to get in that the people on opening day had to deal with, but for the most part it was great.  The biggest problem is that so many people want to attend, and I just don't know where they could possibly hold the event that would allow for better traffic management. For perspective, this year 120,000 people attended SLC Comic Con. That is just so many nerdy people to manage in a single building, ya know. Even with the ridiculous crowds, we would still like to go again. Here's hoping next time is even better.

For more pictures and information about our experience at Comic Con, you can check out my husband's blog here.