Candling Update

I candled the eggs again last night. This time I had read up and knew what I was looking for. I could see much better this time, even on the darker shells. I think that there was only one dark thick shell that I could not decipher anything about. 

I got a big surprise.... eighteen eggs have growing chicks inside! I was pretty impressed. For my first hatching that is a great rate. There is a chance that I some could be "quitters". That means they stop growing and die. I hope that they all make it! I have at least one of every variety still going! I am so excited.

It really is amazing to get a view into an egg. To see a tiny being moving around and knowing that it had grown so much in just a few days time is a miracle. God made some truly unfathomable things and I am blessed to witness these little ones. You can see a space of air on one end of the egg, the chick, amniotic sac, and yolk in the middle, and a bit of fluid on the other end. So cool! The baby chick absorbs the yolk before hatching. This gives it the nutrients that it needs to break out of its shell and to survive for the next two days. Amazing! Today my chicks can hear, have eyelids and are growing feathers!

I can check them one more time before they hatch. Maybe this weekend. Then the countdown begins! I actually dreamed about eggs last night and candling them. It is amazing to sit there and witness life in the making. I guess they are getting to me.

Stay tuned! More is happening every day!