Today is Day 18 on our first clutch of the year, and so out of turners and into an egg carton they went.  We are using an egg carton for hatching for the first time, last year we had a few unnecessary losses due to eggs rolling around & chicks drowning.  I am hoping this egg carton method, discussed heavily at BYC, will be a better alternative for us. I think part of the issue is that we use egg turners which keep the eggs upright during the entire incubation period, and then previously on Day 18 we would lay them down for hatching.  I always felt it was wrong to change the orientation on them at the end like that but it is what the instructions say to do.  It’ll be a couple of more days before we learn how well this will work, I’m 99% sure that all eggs are alive at the time of setting into containers for hatching.

The weather is playing tricks on us this last couple of weeks, a typical Smoky Mountain end to Winter.  The tulips are growing and the grass is poking up in clumps here and there, but alas the lows tonight in the mid 20’s states that old man winter is hanging on a little too tight.  But I trust the tulips & the grass, they know better than Punxatawny Phil OR Jim Cantore where the climate is concerned and the Tulips say SRING IS COMING FAST!  YAY.