Chick Watch '09'- WWTID*

(*What Would The Internet Do?)

Still nothing. The kids are being very patient. The grown ups, however are antsy!
We checked the calendar and double checked our counting to confirm that yesterday was indeed our chick's estimated delivery date. While it is not uncommon for it to take a bit longer than 21 days for chicks to hatch, we figured it wouldn't hurt to do ask the Internet for bright ideas on how to coax little chickens out of their eggs...
After a little research, we raised the humidity level in the incubator by adding more water to the water channels in the bottom and by putting a couple of damp sponges in the corners. We removed the eggs that were clearly chick-less to prevent them from going bad and possibly exploding (ewwwww!) And, we let the kids help us out with one suggestion. Several blogs and extension service web sites recommended 'peeping' at the eggs to tell the chickens that it's time to come out already. Seriously. Well, as you can imagine, the children were more than happy to follow this advice, 'peeping' collectively throughout the day in hopes of inspiring the chicks to hatch.
We grown ups also checked how long we should leave the eggs in before accepting that they weren't viable. According to most sources, 26-28 days is the maximum, but realistically, the chances of a successful hatch starting after day 23 are slim. Day 23 would be tomorrow, so let's keep our fingers crossed!
As we've been telling the kids all along, the only ones who get to decide if and when the chicks are going to come out are the chicks. We're still hoping strongly for a successful hatch, but however things turn out, we will still learn an important lesson.

(Of course, there's nothing preventing us from trying again...)