As we gear up for our Chicks & Bunny Sessions, there’s always interest about our feathery and furry stars. I understand why everyone is interested—these guys are great (and adorable to boot)! Plus, chicks and bunnies in Manhattan? Not exactly the norm.

But before we even get these guys to the studio, each year since we started this event, my family and I have tried numerous times to hatch the chicks ourselves. And I have to say it’s official—I am the worst chicken hatcher ever! For the last three years, I have attempted to hatch eggs in Asher’s classroom. I bought a big incubator, I poured over articles about it online, and yet, nada. I have not hatched a single egg three-years running.

Asher’s 10-year-old cousin who lives near the coop is an incubator genius. He placed 12 eggs in one year and 21 days later, out popped 10 baby chicks. We placed a bunch of those same eggs, I even bought some eggs on ebay, and nothing. No regular chicks. No specialty chicks that will lay pink and blue hued eggs. Nothing but spoiled eggs that we can’t even eat.

Luckily, we source our chicks from Tractor Supply right near my mom’s house and they always have an abundance of these little guys. Until we started backyard chicken farming, I didn’t even think there was a place like Tractor Supply (the Walmart of all things farming) and I am always so grateful there is such a thing as our Chicks & Bunny Sessions would be otherwise chick-less. And like clock-work, each year Asher’s class visits the studio to see the little chicks that did not hatch in their classroom. It’s crazy and so much fun.

This year we are trying again. Another mom is helping me – so maybe her thumb is more ‘yellow’ (I am not sure what the equivalent of a green thumb is for chicken hatching). This batch of chicks will (hopefully) hatch the third week of our chick and bunny shoots.

Wish me luck!