Comments on: Hatching Is Hard Work

By: Patricia

Patricia — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:33:00 +0000

Kate, thank you for writing about how the chick hatches. You write beautifully; it was easy to imagine every little movement inside the egg. It is truly a miracle.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:52:14 +0000

Kate, thanks for the update and the education. It is really amazing how they hatch.

By: Shari Anderson

Shari Anderson — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:44:25 +0000

if they are all boys lets name them. Larry, Moe and Curly. If one is a girl she can still be miss curley. they are so cute sitting there waiting for thie turn to eat. I love watching them

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:47:01 +0000

Kate, once again, such amazing information. Thanks so very much.

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:45:17 +0000

Status of the last egg:
Though we saw what looked like a pip it may well have been a white spot deposited on the outside of the shell when one of the chicks pooped. The white spot did not grow in a way that indicated a live bird was pecking on the inside. The eggs that did hatch developed a pip that grew into an obvious hole which grew into a zip-line around the circumference.

I think that egg was not viable — maybe not even fertilized.

Having one unhatched egg is typical for Dorothy. At banding time WCO Beth Fife collects the unhatched egg and holds it up to the light (called candling) to see if there’s a chick inside. Many times there isn’t.

In my view, I’d rather have an unhatched egg than have a chick die after hatching as happened last year.

By: Donna

Donna — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:03:35 +0000

Thanks for the information, Kate. If the egg lasts until banding, will it be analyzed for fertility?

By: Jennie

Jennie — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:40:02 +0000

So sad about the fourth egg. It truly is a miracle that they emerge, small and damp and weak, but ready to take on the world. Thanks, Kate, for your wonderful description of what they go through.