Chicks Begin Hatching

This morning, it being day 21 of incubation, I arrived at work to find that one Cream Legbar chick had already fully hatched.

Chicken eggs normally take 21 days to hatch, so the chick's arrival didn't come as a total surprise - not least because I could hear it chirping away in its shell yesterday evening.

After a few hours drying in the incubator I am reasonably confident that the first hatchling, shown in the image above, is a male. Male Cream Legbar chicks have a large sandy coloured patch on their head and are generally lighter in colour than females. Female Cream Legbar chicks have much darker head colouration, which extends right the way down their backs.

Early this afternoon the second and third Cream Legbar chicks arrived, both of which appear female. I can see pipping on the outside of two of the remaining three Cream Legbar eggs, so fingers crossed those will hatch shortly. I'm really not sure about the sixth (and final) Cream Legbar egg, because I can't view the whole shell through the incubator window.

As for the Welsummer eggs, one of them has pipped and has a small hole in the shell. I cannot see any pipping on the five other Welsummer eggs, but again I can't see the whole shells due to their position in the incubator. I am hopeful that a few more will start hatching overnight.

I think I'll give the remaining eggs until late tomorrow afternoon, before I risk moving the hatched chicks into the brooder. Opening the incubator before all of the eggs have hatched is not ideal, as it causes the sudden loss of warmth and humidity. At this crucial stage of hatching, I really don't want to risk harming any viable chicks that haven't yet hatched.

I'm looking forward to seeing what tomorrow brings. Hopefully a few Welsummers!