Homesteading Miracles!

Please read my post from yesterday first, Homesteading Challenges.

Tuesday I cracked an egg.  Thursday an egg went missing and we moved Lady Moonbeam and her two eggs to the new nursery.  Friday morning I checked on Lady Moonbeam.  I didn't want to turn the light on because it seemed to make her too hot.  But I also didn't want to leave her in the dark all day.  I had a fireplace screen I had been using to keep the chickens out of my vegetables.  I decided to open one door of the nursery and place the screen in front so she could have a little light and ventilation.  She continued to rest on her two eggs.  I became busy in the house when I heard the most horrible screeching and panic from the chicken coop.  The dogs had gone out to explore and my italian greyhound had manage to get behind the screen into the nursery!  He was stuck, with Lady Moonbeam screeching!  I pulled the dog out and got them both back inside and closed up the nursery.  I didn't even want to check what happened, I just wanted to leave her alone.  After an hour or so I was ready to find out what had happened.  I opened the nursery and saw half of an egg and was sure it was all over and my dog had killed them.  But I could hear little chirps.  I lifted Lady Moonbeam and from under her wing emerged a little grey fluff ball!  Her baby chick had been born from its egg!  I was so surprised and amazed.  I left her alone with her baby chick and her remaining damaged egg.

Mama explores her new chick

I couldn't resist and had to pick up the miracle, so soft...I'm in LOVE!

Later in the day I checked on her and the damaged egg was chirping and moving inside of the egg.  The chick had begun to crack open the egg, to pip, and a little hole had been made in the shell.  Later that day I found the second chick wet and almost unable to move chirping away.

The second chick recently emerged, still set with the fluids she had been living inside for 21 days.

A few hours later she had dried off and fluffed up into a delicate little puff of yellow!  What a miracle, the egg I had cracked had survived.  I was very surprised by the different colors.

They had a red father and a white mother and yet the chicks were there own independent yellow and grey!  Today I watched as Lady Moonbeam would peck at the food and drop the little pieces at the feet of her chicks and guide with her beak their beaks down to the food.  I didn't expect to raise chicks, its a blessed miracle that has found me and I am so grateful.  I pray at least one of them is a little girl so I can keep her all the days of her life!