Our rich, chocolate eggs have arrived!

Incubation Day 0 or Day 4

The eggs arrived on our doorstep on June 27th. We gingerly unpacked 12 (3 more than the 9 we were expecting!) rich brown eggs, individually packaged in bubble wrap and appropriately shipped in an egg carton.

"I labelled my eggs from 1 to 12 in pencil."

- Torin

Now that the eggs had arrived, it was time to set up the incubator. It might have been more wise to read the operating manual before embarking on this adventure. I was surprised to learn that high maintenance care went into hatching chicks from eggs. In addition to maintaining a warm (between 98-101 degrees) and humid environment, we would be required to rotate the eggs at least 3 times a day to prevent the embryos from adhering to the egg shells. After Torin labelled each egg, he marked one side with an X and the opposite side with an O so that we could keep track of the rotations.

Torin placed the eggs in the incubator.     

To add to my confusion, the eggs were allegedly laid around June 24th. So, should we expect the eggs to hatch in 21 days from the day that they were laid or from the day that they were placed in the incubator? 

I guess we will find out in about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks!

Thank you eBay for making fertilized chicken egg ordering easy

The eggs were shipped via USPS on June 24th.

The Urban Chicken Project - Introduction

Yes, you can say we've jumped on the locavore band wagon. After researching our village ordinances, our trendy modern ideas about sustainability and local food have gotten the best of us. According to Article 5-4-11 of the Village of Oak Park Code http://www.sterlingcodifiers.com/codebook/index.php?book_id=459, we are permitted to incorporate up to 2 fowl into our household.
We careful performed our risk/benefits analysis and fresh eggs, pest control and natural fertilizer won out over the added responsibility, early morning crowing (avoided by only housing hens) and the miniscul chance of catching avian flu.
Our goal is to raise 2 hens in the defunct dog run adjacent to our house.
This wasteland was recently expanded to a 12x12 ft area after the addition of a 6 ft cedar fence. Post roto-tilling and excavation, it is also now home to our budding vegetable garden, compost and vermicompost bin. Clearly these confines are the perfect setting to unlease our inner farmer. So, with a defined goal and the stage to achieve it, we have set out on our Urban Chicken Project.

I started researching online the required housing and care for chickens and how to obtain them. In lovely Oak Park, IL winter days can be well below zero, we decided we would need to construct a heated chicken coop. Plans are still in the works. I'd also like include a green roof design (for insulations and astethics) and plently of ventilation

As for chicken care - well, we figured, "how hard can that be? A little food, fresh water, a range for foraging and protection for predators, right?" We are winging this one.

So, now we've plowed ahead to the part where we get the chickens. To my suprise, most chick suppliers, like McMurray Hatchery http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/ will only ship minimum orders. What are we going to do with 25 chicks? I did find one hatchery that shipped by minimum purchase of $20. So I loaded my virtual shopping cart with an array of 7 exotic sounding fowl. Fortunately, before proceeding to checkout, I decided I needed to revisit the chick coop thing.

Later that day, over lunch, I explained my grand scheme to Marcia Schauttaur, who immediately peeped up, "I have a egg incubator. Would you like to borrow it?"

Only in Oak Park.

I picked up the incubator a week later and set out to buy fertilized eggs. This could not have been any easier. By simply going to eBay I had my choice of breeds. Let the brooding begin! Torin helped select the breed based on chick "cuteness". I would cast the deciding vote based on "hardiness". We loved the bantam Sultans for their feathered head pieces and fluffy feet. When Torin saw a picture of a baby Cuckoo Maran, it was love at first sight. The chicks have dark, v-shaped feathers from their forehead to their back. They also come from chocolate colored eggs.
We had our breed and let the bidding for 9 eggs begin. Marcia had advised that we purchase more eggs than we needed because the hatching rate can be unpredictable (as low as 50%).

On June 21, 2009, we were the winning bid for 9 + French cuckoo maran eggs for hatching clean eggs for $7.50 + shipping ($12.00) from Seller silliewim.