This is the start of the next 3 weeks!
Sounds a silly thing to say, but thats how long it takes to incubate a chicken.
I put 26 eggs in the incubator yesterday, so I'm hoping we have some sort of success. we have followed the guidelines meticulously so only time will tell. So tonight, if I go by the chart, the brains & eyes will be forming of our new family!
We had to separate the Dominique roosters, one of them was literally shitting in the nest thus the hen didn't want to lay her egg there. Not a nice rooster, so we have put the Dom. girls in with the nice guy and all seems more placid there. we will collect their eggs after this hatch

So, the problem I have at the moment is a deteriorating right hand. the osteo in my joints is making bending my fingers a struggle, but I refuse to let it rule! I keep forcing them to bend and after a while they get more flexible, but just as easily they stiffen up. It's hateful that I can no longer grip things, when I used to have such a strong grip. I continue to make bread and do my crafts as a means of exercise to keep my hands supple. My left hand isn't as useless as my right, but then it doesn't work as much! So expect more hand knits as gifts - see them as treasures, who knows how much longer I'll ba able to do them!
This weekend we started saving our Americauna eggs. We will save them until next weekend then they will be put into the incubator to hatch - blogs will be more prolific during that time!
When I collect the eggs, they have to be washed & cleaned so there is no bacteria on them. Bacateria would be catastophic in the warm incubator. The they get stored in a styrofoam egg carton & every 6-8 hours get tilted so that the white & yolk don't stick to the shell. It's all so crazy, but quite exciting; this is new life we are dealing with!