Is the suspense killing you?

Or is it just me?

When I finally staggered off to bed last night (watching chicks hatch is tiring work, what with all the cheering and body English and all...), we were the proud owners of 3 new chicks.
After hours of lurking by the incubator with camera in hand, trying to get a pic of Number 2 hatching, Number 3 jumped line and hatched while I was on a bathroom run. *sigh*The two newbies bumbled around the incubator, scattering eggs and eggshells hither and yon, while drying out and learning to walk. (At first, just keeping the head in a full upright and locked position is a real challenge. And balance is a big problem when you're trying to operate CrazyLegs that are going in opposite directions. It's a real bitch for them, but awfully fun to watch.)
They bumbled over in the general direction of Number 2, who was still not out of the shell.

They gave her a little pep talk...

which worked wonders! She popped the bottom of the shell off, and was born upside-down. (Which is where the two bumblers had left her egg when they were done with the pep talk. As if Number 2 wasn't having enough problems...)


She unfolded a wing -
and finally stretched a little, and suddenly she wasn't so egg-shaped anymore!

That was about the point I gave up and went to bed. I figured Number 4 (who was now pip-down somewhere in the crowd so I couldn't find her anyway) would be out by morning.

Awoke to find 3 chicks alternating between careening across the mesh and napping, and Number 4 still in the shell.
And there she still is. We're going to name her Pokey, if she ever gets out of there...

(And yay! There were a couple more pips this morning, too! At this stage in the hatch, they might not make it, but we'll keep hoping.)