They've arrived !

Back on May 21st a lady brought me 11 pheasant eggs. She said that she'd been monitoring the nest for some time but one day the female just left and didn't come back. I immediately put them in my incubator but didn't know if they were fertile or how long they'd been left to the elements.

In order for eggs to hatch the temperature must be at 99.5 degrees. Naturally when the female gets up to either adjust the eggs or change partners the temperature goes down but not for more than a minute or less.

Well, seven of them hatched yesterday and so far they are going just fine. I already have a baby mallard in my brooder so I borrowed this one from Greg Blessing at The Barn. They have lots of room, water and food and a non-slip surface so they won't fall. I already have a home for them when they get big enough for release. In the meantime, they're just about the cutest things on the planet.