There's something uniquely unhinged about incubating eggs and not knowing whether you're about to meet a Salmon Faverolle or a zombie. That's exactly the situation Reddit user DensuKishaa finds themselves in tonight, and honestly, we respect the chaos. The post is simple, a photo of an egg, a title that reads "It's Time!!" and a caption that lays out the two possible outcomes: a fluffy, bearded Salmon Faverolle chick, or a zombie. No middle ground. No plan for a third option. Just the pure, glorious gamble of backyard chicken keeping.
We love it. But we also feel the dread. Anyone who's ever waited through twenty-one days of turning eggs and candling them and holding their breath knows that hatch night is equal parts magic and terror. You've done everything right, temperature, humidity, hope, and still, the universe might hand you a zombie. That's not a joke. It's the honest vulnerability of the hobby. One moment you're imagining a docile faverolle that will let you hold it like a feathered teddy bear; the next, you're preparing for something that might peck through the shell with an empty gaze and a hunger for brains. Or worse, a strong dislike of being picked up.
What we'd tell a reader who asked us about this is exactly what we'd tell ourselves: don't stress over the outcome before it happens. The anticipation is part of the experience. Whether the chick emerges as a majestic Salmon Faverolle or a creature that redefines the term "fowl play," the moment itself is what matters. You'll have the community right there with you, watching the incubator, refreshing the thread, sharing the anxiety and the joy. That's the weird, wonderful bond of this subreddit, we all understand that sometimes the egg holds a best friend, and sometimes it holds a nightmare. Both are valid.
So here's our concrete advice: set up your brooder, have your chick starter feed ready, and keep a small flashlight handy for late-night peeks. If it's a Salmon Faverolle, you'll get a sweet, fluffy companion with feathered feet. If it's a zombie, well, you'll get the best Halloween story in the chicken community this year. Either way, you win. Now go watch that egg.