Collect them all! Each one seems a little different…

We thought we’d try again this year for a rooster. This time we ordered a half-dozen Icelandic hatching eggs from Whippoorwill Farm in Wisconsin. (They came packed in Icelandic sheep wool, so I can’t wait to start washing and playing with the wool!) The eggs have been incubating for a little over three weeks and, so far, four have hatched.

We are also trying a new gadget to provide heat for the chicks – a warming plate, which we got from Premier 1 Supplies. It’s hard to get the perfect setup going with a heating lamp and I’m always nervous about a fire getting started. The warming plate seems a lot safer and I feel like the chicks will get more sleep at night. It works splendidly and they are super warm and comfy under there as if they were under their mother hen’s “skirt”. It seems more natural than a heat lamp!

Anyways, can’t wait to see what coloring they end up with once they are fully feathered out. BeepBeep, the lone Icelandic chicken that managed to hatch from last year’s hatching eggs, won’t even know what to think as she is still fairly certain she is a duck! Well, maybe these chicks will think they are ducks, too, as they are destined to take up residence in the same coop and hen house!