Day 23 and no signs of internal pipping

[Astrohens]

Hi there!
I am a first time hatcher and I have four fertile silver-laced wyandotte eggs that haven't hatched on day 21. I am using two broody hens to hatch them and have been trying not to touch the eggs as much as possible to increase the chance of them hatching.
i’ve heard that it’s normal, for them to hatch a bit later, but I’m starting to get worried. We candled one egg this morning (which is day 23) and saw that the chick was full grown, but we couldn’t see an internal pip. We also can’t hear chick noises. This might be because we used a plain torch to candle so we didnt get the best results, although we candled in a pitch black room.
i also have been playing chick noises which got the broodies to cluck and communicate with the eggs which I heard encourages them to hatch.
any other tips or anything I should know??

 

[Goose_the_cat]

Hi there!
I am a first time hatcher and I have four fertile silver-laced wyandotte eggs that haven't hatched on day 21. I am using two broody hens to hatch them and have been trying not to touch the eggs as much as possible to increase the chance of them hatching.
i’ve heard that it’s normal, for them to hatch a bit later, but I’m starting to get worried. We candled one egg this morning (which is day 23) and saw that the chick was full grown, but we couldn’t see an internal pip. We also can’t hear chick noises. This might be because we used a plain torch to candle so we didnt get the best results, although we candled in a pitch black room.
i also have been playing chick noises which got the broodies to cluck and communicate with the eggs which I heard encourages them to hatch.
any other tips or anything I should know??

Hi Astrohens,

Although I don’t know much about hatching chicks I do know that the latest you should expect chicks is around day 25 but you might do some research on assisted hatching if you think the chicks are too weak

 

[Oob Child]

I recommend making a safety hole at this point, don't have any other recommendations as I hatch quail, not chickens. Hope your eggs hatch!

 

[Yardmom]

Safety holes are for an internally pipped chick that has been in that position long enough to use up it's oxygen. I'm sorry to hear that you have not hatched any chicks. A cell phone flashlight works well for candling. If a chick is alive you should see movement and veins before it internally pips.
In the future you may want to keep broodies separate. I have had broodies successfully hatch together, but more often than not they shake the eggs too much and the chicks don't hatch.

 

[Oob Child]

Safety holes are for an internally pipped chick that has been in that position long enough to use up it's oxygen.

Sorry I forgot about that.

When you candle the egg, is it all black or can you see something? Usually when they are fully developed they will still have some space in the egg where you can see them breathing.

You may have gotten unlucky and all of them have done that thing where they quit right before hatching, even though they are fully developed.

I hope this isn't the case and you get some chicks!

 

[Astrohens]

Safety holes are for an internally pipped chick that has been in that position long enough to use up it's oxygen. I'm sorry to hear that you have not hatched any chicks. A cell phone flashlight works well for candling. If a chick is alive you should see movement and veins before it internally pips.
In the future you may want to keep broodies separate. I have had broodies successfully hatch together, but more often than not they shake the eggs too much and the chicks don't hatch.

Thanks for your comment! the broody thing could be a possibility since I have seen them constantly steal eachothers eggs, and in the process they roll. I’ll candle again today.

 

[Astrohens]

Sorry I forgot about that.

When you candle the egg, is it all black or can you see something? Usually when they are fully developed they will still have some space in the egg where you can see them breathing.

You may have gotten unlucky and all of them have done that thing where they quit right before hatching, even though they are fully developed.

I hope this isn't the case and you get some chicks!

thanks for your comment! Yes, when I candled the egg it is all black but it was hard to see if they were moving or not, I’ll try candle again this morning

 

[TwoCrows]

Are you sure you got the dates right? It not always easy with broodies to know exactly when they start the entire process. It's possible they aren't due to hatch yet?

 

[Astrohens]

Sorry I forgot about that.

When you candle the egg, is it all black or can you see something? Usually when they are fully developed they will still have some space in the egg where you can see them breathing.

You may have gotten unlucky and all of them have done that thing where they quit right before hatching, even though they are fully developed.

I hope this isn't the case and you get some chicks!

ALR SOMETHING HAPPENED!
I candled the two eggs that seemed the heaviest and one had a large air chamber but one (the red circled one) was all black! Does that mean that it’s already internal pipped and got all the air? Do I need to make a safety hole?

 

[Astrohens]

Are you sure you got the dates right? It not always easy with broodies to know exactly when they start the entire process. It's possible they aren't due to hatch yet?

I marked the day on the calendar but it might be a possibility