Day 22 i made a hole. What now

[Hopefulchickmama]

Hello. Its my first time hatching.
I have 3 mixed breed chicken eggs that have made it this far. (All eggs were different colours) the surviving ones are two normal shop bought egg colour and a white one.
They are in an incubater I bought on amazon. And I have an extra thermometer and humidity checker inside of it that I added.
It's day 22. The eggs are showing no signs of doing anything.
I woke up this morning to my extra thermometer in there saying 35.5. But the actual incubater again 37.5. I personally think it had fallen low. As my room was also a bit cooler. Will keep my window shut now. Lesson learned.
So after a few hours the temperature was back up to normal.
So I water tested the eggs. Two were moving. One wasn't. I candled the one that didn't move. And it had a very small amount of movement, it also has lots of veins. It's the white one (so I just can't see if there's still lots of veins in the others due to colour.)

I was reading a lot online and read how making a hole can help them absorb up the veins and everything.
I then made a tiny hole in all 3 of them. Right in the middle of the air cell. (In the shell not membrane)
I looked in and saw they all have the same white membrane, a tiny bit sagging. Looked normal compared to other photos online.
I put them back in the incubater to get used to the holes for an hour.
I then read to dab the membrane with a cotton bud and water. So I did that very gently. And with a very tiny bit of water.
a spot on all the eggs membrane then became transparent when it was wet.
I put the eggs straight back in to stay warm.
And I can see in the holes with the incubater closed.
The two eggs that are moving a lot absorbed that water very fast and the white membrane became white again within a minute. The slow moving egg took a few minutes to turn white again (maybe it had a bigger dab of water?) Or maybe its less alive?
I can see tiny movement in all 3 eggs through the holes with the incubater shut.

So basically, what now? I really hate to touch them, but I don't want them to die.
My heart swells with joy when I see them moving.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hello. Its my first time hatching.
I have 3 mixed breed chicken eggs that have made it this far. (All eggs were different colours) the surviving ones are two normal shop bought egg colour and a white one.
They are in an incubater I bought on amazon. And I have an extra thermometer and humidity checker inside of it that I added.
It's day 22. The eggs are showing no signs of doing anything.
I woke up this morning to my extra thermometer in there saying 35.5. But the actual incubater again 37.5. I personally think it had fallen low. As my room was also a bit cooler. Will keep my window shut now. Lesson learned.
So after a few hours the temperature was back up to normal.
So I water tested the eggs. Two were moving. One wasn't. I candled the one that didn't move. And it had a very small amount of movement, it also has lots of veins. It's the white one (so I just can't see if there's still lots of veins in the others due to colour.)

I was reading a lot online and read how making a hole can help them absorb up the veins and everything.
I then made a tiny hole in all 3 of them. Right in the middle of the air cell. (In the shell not membrane)
I looked in and saw they all have the same white membrane, a tiny bit sagging. Looked normal compared to other photos online.
I put them back in the incubater to get used to the holes for an hour.
I then read to dab the membrane with a cotton bud and water. So I did that very gently. And with a very tiny bit of water.
a spot on all the eggs membrane then became transparent when it was wet.
I put the eggs straight back in to stay warm.
And I can see in the holes with the incubater closed.
The two eggs that are moving a lot absorbed that water very fast and the white membrane became white again within a minute. The slow moving egg took a few minutes to turn white again (maybe it had a bigger dab of water?) Or maybe its less alive?
I can see tiny movement in all 3 eggs through the holes with the incubater shut.

So basically, what now? I really hate to touch them, but I don't want them to die.
My heart swells with joy when I see them moving.

Firstly, water testing is not reccomended. The results can be unclear, and it can be dangerous (especially if there's any tint crack or hole in the egg that you might have missed). Candling is far far safer and generally more helpful.

Secondly, making a hole in the egg does not help veins to absorb, what it will do is risk the chick becoming shrink wrapped, the membrane may dry out and the chick may not be able to get through it.
A hole should only be made when a hatch needs assisting, for example if there is an internal pip and no external pip 24 hours later. And this is just an air hole, no bigger than a pin size. The holes you have made look more like the step after that which is far too much for a chick which hasn't internally pipped yet.

Water will not moisten the membrane for long enough, you'll need to use either coconut oil or vaseline, just a small amount spread across the membrane.

It's very common for chicks to hatch a day or two late, it's too soon to intervene right now. Its best to wait, as difficult as it is
It sounds like your incubator has been running a little low (very common for them to lie about the temp). This isn't a huge issue if its just a degree or two off, but it does mean they will be behind and likely hatch late.

So for now, keep an eye on those membranes and keep them from drying out
Good luck!

 

[Hopefulchickmama]

Firstly, water testing is not reccomended. The results can be unclear, and it can be dangerous (especially if there's any tint crack or hole in the egg that you might have missed). Candling is far far safer and generally more helpful.

Secondly, making a hole in the egg does not help veins to absorb, what it will do is risk the chick becoming shrink wrapped, the membrane may dry out and the chick may not be able to get through it.
A hole should only be made when a hatch needs assisting, for example if there is an internal pip and no external pip 24 hours later. And this is just an air hole, no bigger than a pin size. The holes you have made look more like the step after that which is far too much for a chick which hasn't internally pipped yet.

Water will not moisten the membrane for long enough, you'll need to use either coconut oil or vaseline, just a small amount spread across the membrane.

It's very common for chicks to hatch a day or two late, it's too soon to intervene right now. Its best to wait, as difficult as it is
It sounds like your incubator has been running a little low (very common for them to lie about the temp). This isn't a huge issue if its just a degree or two off, but it does mean they will be behind and likely hatch late.

So for now, keep an eye on those membranes and keep them from drying out
Good luck!

Thank you.
Update: now I'm watching this incubator like a hawk I've noticed the temperature dropping again! Even while the room is perfectly warm. So I've put a blanket over the incubator.
Would you say I need to put oil on those membranes now? Would leaving them alone now, risk causing shrink wrap?

 

[BelovedBirds]

Thank you.
Update: now I'm watching this incubator like a hawk I've noticed the temperature dropping again! Even while the room is perfectly warm. So I've put a blanket over the incubator.
Would you say I need to put oil on those membranes now? Would leaving them alone now, risk causing shrink wrap?

I would put it on the membranes now, you really don't want them drying out and becoming too tough for the chicks to break through

 

[Hopefulchickmama]

Oiled. Extra virgin coconut oil. Do these thick veins mean it's not near ready?

 

[BelovedBirds]

Oiled. Extra virgin coconut oil. Do these thick veins mean it's not near ready?

Those veins don't look super thick, my guess is theyre receding, but yes definitely not ready yet, could be a day to go

 

[Hopefulchickmama]

I took this little guy out of the incubater to add some more coconut oil. And noticed his feet are on this side. Is he the wrong way around?

 

[BelovedBirds]

I took this little guy out of the incubater to add some more coconut oil. And noticed his feet are on this side. Is he the wrong way around?

It's hard to tell for sure, but either way he will likely be fine. Malpositioned chicks often times hatch okay, just keep an eye out. That is an awfully big yolk left, thats my main concern. Theres still quite a while to go yet. Be careful not to chip away anymore shell, that's just going to dry the membrane out faster
How are they today?