The Red Fluffy Earmuffs
It must be THAT time of the year again.
We excitedly reach into the black bin liners under the dining room table to reveal the two incubators - still looking pristine from their cleaning of last summer. The cellascope candler is dusted off and the plugs re-arranged in their orderly row on the back of the table.
Lap trays for another 4 months.
The incubators are switched on, filled with water and carefully monitored before the first of the recently collected eggs are put inside.
The calendar is in place; the book of 'What Goes In' and 'What Comes Out' (Bible) propped by the chair; pencil; marker and torch at the ready --- and we wait.
We wait for 20 days and lo and behold as the excitement reaches fever pitch the first Sebright chick pops out. Of course we shouldn't be surprised after all this time - but the first chick is very special and the miracle of it's birth has once again delighted us.
Off we go to the DIY shop for a Mark IV construction. The chick brooder started off quite undemanding of space a couple of years ago - being the bottom clothes drawer from our bedroom. The dog adopted this cairn-sized space as her bed and the drawer was never really up to much after a season's hatching. Kizzie reared the babies in her bedroom. She is impervious to heat and noise and it worked very well for all of us (especially Dad and I).
The heat lamp swung unceremoniously from the lampshade and gradually a fine layer of dust settled on every Beanie Baby and ornament in the room. But of course the chicks thrived. They were visited by a steady flow of schoolchildren. They were built castles and given toy trains to ride around on.
We never lost a single one.
Chick brooder Mark II had an extension. It doubled the size of the drawer and caused more dust and housed more chicks which made more noise. The surround was quite low and the chicks amused themselves by hopping in and out and playing with the Beanies when they felt like it.
The carpet suffered; newspaper went down; I seriously began to have concerns for Kizzie's ability to breathe in the dust and the heat. I'm sure she would have been quite at home in the Iraqi desert.
Mark III was meant to cut down on dust. It was a perspex cover with an enclosed heat lamp - a sort of space age broody hen. It did cut down on the dust a bit - but still the sides were low and the chicks hopped in and out. Kizzie had a new bed this winter. It is a silver triple bunk. There is of course new bedding, new curtains and a new Eeyore rug to complement the new furniture. It is all very smart.
So Dad and I have Mark IV in our bedroom this year. It is twice the size of Mark II - ah! but with higher walls to prevent escapees. The only trouble is, us women are light sleepers with babies in the room.
- Hence the red fluffy earmuffs.
Can't say they work - but they do keep my head warm and snug.
And the chicks are fine --- only another 2 months!
(From The Sebright Club Newsletter, Spring 2003)
We excitedly reach into the black bin liners under the dining room table to reveal the two incubators - still looking pristine from their cleaning of last summer. The cellascope candler is dusted off and the plugs re-arranged in their orderly row on the back of the table.
Lap trays for another 4 months.
The incubators are switched on, filled with water and carefully monitored before the first of the recently collected eggs are put inside.
The calendar is in place; the book of 'What Goes In' and 'What Comes Out' (Bible) propped by the chair; pencil; marker and torch at the ready --- and we wait.
We wait for 20 days and lo and behold as the excitement reaches fever pitch the first Sebright chick pops out. Of course we shouldn't be surprised after all this time - but the first chick is very special and the miracle of it's birth has once again delighted us.
Off we go to the DIY shop for a Mark IV construction. The chick brooder started off quite undemanding of space a couple of years ago - being the bottom clothes drawer from our bedroom. The dog adopted this cairn-sized space as her bed and the drawer was never really up to much after a season's hatching. Kizzie reared the babies in her bedroom. She is impervious to heat and noise and it worked very well for all of us (especially Dad and I).
The heat lamp swung unceremoniously from the lampshade and gradually a fine layer of dust settled on every Beanie Baby and ornament in the room. But of course the chicks thrived. They were visited by a steady flow of schoolchildren. They were built castles and given toy trains to ride around on.
We never lost a single one.
Chick brooder Mark II had an extension. It doubled the size of the drawer and caused more dust and housed more chicks which made more noise. The surround was quite low and the chicks amused themselves by hopping in and out and playing with the Beanies when they felt like it.
The carpet suffered; newspaper went down; I seriously began to have concerns for Kizzie's ability to breathe in the dust and the heat. I'm sure she would have been quite at home in the Iraqi desert.
Mark III was meant to cut down on dust. It was a perspex cover with an enclosed heat lamp - a sort of space age broody hen. It did cut down on the dust a bit - but still the sides were low and the chicks hopped in and out. Kizzie had a new bed this winter. It is a silver triple bunk. There is of course new bedding, new curtains and a new Eeyore rug to complement the new furniture. It is all very smart.
So Dad and I have Mark IV in our bedroom this year. It is twice the size of Mark II - ah! but with higher walls to prevent escapees. The only trouble is, us women are light sleepers with babies in the room.
- Hence the red fluffy earmuffs.
Can't say they work - but they do keep my head warm and snug.
And the chicks are fine --- only another 2 months!
(From The Sebright Club Newsletter, Spring 2003)