Monday, April 05, 2010

Nothing....

.....diddly squat. No fluffy Easter chick-fest here......

The little incubator that hummed and buzzed beside me on my desk is now silent, empty and dissembled.
I'm sad to report that there were no chicks. Not a one. Yesterday, on day 22 having given up hope of a hatch, I cracked each one open and found that all were apparently unfertilised. I wonder what we thought we'd seen on day 9 when we candled them? Evidence of a vivid imagination perhaps.

Still, ever the optimist I take the view that as one door closes another will open. There will be other eggs to hatch. The cockerel's future is uncertain though.....will he end up as chicken soup or will warmer weather (and please, please, please can we have some warmer weather asap) perform a miracle with his fertility?

In the meantime I'm off to appease the household Gods. The ironing mountain calls.

9 comments:

Mrs Jones said...

Oh what a crushing disappointment! Let's hope the next lot works. Perhaps waving the axe in front of the cockerel might get him to buck his ideas up.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Oh no! How sad. If you want another go some time maybe I could contribute some eggs? In fact if only my hen would go broody (not going down incubator route as too lazy to turn eggs and don't have decent egg turning one) we could swap and introduce new blood perhaps?

Annie said...

Oh how sad. I was ever the hopeful too. Oh well better luck next time.
A x

rachel said...

Oh no! Somehow this feels worse than when the sweetpea seedlings don't appear! Better luck next time.

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

After all your care and hopes, I'm sorry that the Easter bunny didn't bring you real "peeps!"

Pondside said...

Was the rooster a big fake - regular Cock of the Walk, all show and no go? Time to read him the riot act - tell him that if he's going to bother the girls that it had better show some concrete result (well, I guess I really mean fluffy result) or he'll be hanging out with potatoes and carrots in gravy.

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

I keep on getting email invitations promising to improve our life in previously unthought of ways .... instead of deleting them , shall I forward them to your cockerel ?

Maggie Christie said...

How dispiriting to have to clear out that incubator full of hope. Still, as you say, there's time for more (and possibly too many) in the future. As I kindly explained to our previous (and now late) cockerel, there is a reason the sensible French invented coq au vin.

snailbeachshepherdess said...

So sorry - sounds like he will be for the pot! Hope our borrowed tup did better - we shall know next week! Might need a bigger pot though! I've got an ironing mountain to attack as well!!!