New life on the Wanch

I returned home from the UK earlier this month to find this little white box in the corner of my bedroom.

S decided to try hatching some of our many fertilized eggs, so she borrowed a small incubator from Sis. J at Church. She loaded it up with 24 assorted colored eggs and plugged it into an electric wall socket. The boys had the assignment to rotate eggs every day at 8:00 A.M. and again at 8:00 P.M. for three weeks, and presto, like magic, baby chicks start chipping out of their egg shells and start chirping for food and freedom!

The first two. They come out of shell with a little dampness on their feathers, so you leave in the box for a day to completely dry-out before moving them...

...to the "pool" in the basement. They live on a bed of clean pinewood chips and lots of warm lighting and no drafts blowing.

There are now 10 little cuties chirping away and growing. More to come. The question is - how many will turn out to be chickens vs. roosters? The color of these chicks should be interesting since some will be cross-bred - the father of all the chicks is a Rhode Island Red, and the Mommas are either Rhode Island Reds, Black Austrolops, or Plymouth Barred Rocks. I have a hunch that Santa will be bringing S her very own incubator this Christmas. What do you think?