Diary & Notes ~ Air Cell Detatched SHIPPED Eggs - Page 80

 that stinks about the no hatch, but glad you have some success after that!

Ok in the one ref guide I read this.... 

 

concerned in any way about the chick or external pipping is delayed then I intervene. Using a sterilised tiny sharp drill bit I carefully enter the air cell at the centre and very top of the egg. I check using the candler that the chick is not directly below the proposed point of entry. By twisting the drill bit by hand the egg shell is gradually eroded away and a hole approx. 2-3mm diameter is made. This safety hole provides access to fresh air and needs to be no larger or premature drying of the membrane will occur. I have called this artificial external pipping. This safety hole has saved the lives of many healthy chicks over the years. I can recall instances of baby parrots successfully external pipping then going into rotation within the egg until their body occluded the external pip area and then died! Very annoying and upsetting to be so close to a successful hatching!

 

It is now that the chick enters its latent phase and it appears as though there is little progress. This phase can last from 6-72 hours depending on species or breed incubated. Gradually the chick becomes more vocal as the lungs finally mature. Apart from the constant clicking noise from breathing the chick will occasional whistle or peep. It is vital to point out that the clicking or tapping noise is NOT the chick tapping against the shell trying to release itself. Many owners nerves are shredded at this stage and they misinterpret the noise and prematurely intervene with disastrous consequences! To reassure the reader I advise putting your chin on your chest and try forcibly breathing in and out. In this position you can mimic the clicking noise which is actually caused by the chicks head being bent and made in the pharynx as it breathes.

While the chick rests during this quiet phase it is preparing for its final hatching sequence. By changing pressure in the thorax and abdominal contractions the yolk sac is drawn inside the abdominal cavity. Meanwhile the lungs have finally matured and the job of the chorio-allantoic membrane becomes redundant. The blood vessels start to gradually close down and recede into the chicks navel. If the owner prematurely assists before this stage they will usually cause haemorrhage from the still active blood vessels and find the yolk sac unabsorbed.
 

The final phase of incubation is finally reached once the yolk sac and blood in the vessels have been absorbed into the chicks abdomen. The egg and its structure has completed its purpose and the chick must now release itself from the shell. If viewed from the blunt end of the egg the chick suddenly starts chipping around the shell in an anti-clockwise direction. This is called rotation or unzipping and it is a relatively quick phase. I have seen chicks rotate around the entire shell in less than ten minutes but usually it is completed in 1-2 hours. By the actions of chipping at the shell and pushing of the feet the chick works around the circumference of the egg until it has gone almost 80% around. At that point the egg weakens and with a pushing action the cap of the shell hinges open allowing the chick to scramble free from the egg.http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/491013/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed

 

UNDERSTANDING what I just learned from this and the process, I will leave it and if no external pip is showing, candle it later this afternoon to and if  I can hear it or see it move, I will make an tiny artificial external pip as suggested.... GOOD PLAN?????????
 

Edited by Sally Sunshine - 10/3/12 at 7:18am

LOVE THIS!!!    makes sense!

 

In my opinion, people make hatching assistance far more complicated than it needs to be. Think of it this way - What's the rush to get a chick out the shell??? All it means is you have another mouth to feed. Relax!

The developing embryo has lived in this shell for well over 3 weeks. It has survived off of the contents of the egg for that entire time. The only thing it has absorbed from the outside is Oxygen. As long as the chick is getting Oxygen, there is nothing urgent. Too many people feel the nseeed to rush in and pull a chick out of a place that has served it well for 3-4 weeks.

At hatching, the chick only needs to make the transition from using the blood vessels in the shell membrane to gather Oxygen, to using its lungs instead. Once the lungs are developed, the yolk is absorbed and the blood vessels will recede. Let that happen. There is plenty of yolk to take care of the chick’s nutritional needs for 24-48 hours after a normal hatch. There should be no rush to get a chick out of the shell if it can breathe. As long as it has access to air through the pip, it can sit there all day, even after the blood vessels recede. It's not going to starve. It has plenty of yolk. It's not going to dehydrate, unless you get impatient and begin removing shell before it's time to do so causing bleeding or too much exposure to outside air.

For malpositioned chicks or chicks that pip below the air cell, there is nothing urgent if the chick is vocalizing. If you can hear the chick peeping, it simply means that it is able to get air into its lungs which is good. If the chick has pipped below the air cell and is vocalizing, it is getting air from outside through the pip mark - also good. There is no need to rush in to help the chick if you hear it peeping. If you put a pinhead sized hole in the shell over the air cell, it will relieve the pressure which will allow the chick more room to expand its lungs. That is the only thing I do until the blood vessels recede. With a good high-power candler, you will be able to see if any blood vessels remain. When they are gone, and the chick is still sitting there, only then is it advisable to begin removing shell from around the tip of the beak (pip mark) and slowly expose the head and check for unabsorbed yolk and free the chick from the shell if all is ready.http://www.avianresources.com/Nursery_Mgt.htm

 I will, thinking about bringin the bator up to the kitch table, as I have two young kiddos today

 I had to make another! And that reminds me to see if I can find choc scovy eggs!!!!

 

LOL I took a nappy with the kiddos! I am letting it go until all the kids go home, what time? whooooo knows!! plus we are having a shed delivered this after when hubby gets home.... Then I will candle again, I put a pin hole in the top and I heard it chirp around 1ish here so I assume he is ok for now.