Help, Incubator did not turn and I have side air cells!

[5fowl]

I had set my second batch of eggs and for some reason my incubator did not reset properly so I had eggs setting and not being turned for the first 3-4 days. I had started to question the position on day 3 and manually turned a couple of times late that day then did research on how to reset and got it up and running on day 4. It has been automatically turning now and I candled on day 8. Looks like I have chicks developing but they are all off to one side and the air cells on those eggs are not at the top but off to opposite side of the developing chick. Do the chicks have a chance at hatching out themselves? Is there anything I can do? They should start to PIP on April 22. I have a Nurture Right 360 so the eggs are on their side and rolled to be turned, but I have a styrofoam bator that I can switch them to if anyone thinks that would improve the air cells position after Day 8 of incubation.

 

[007Sean]

If you do move them to the other bator, the air cells may shift to the correct position?
Its early in the incubation, so it may be beneficial to try it...certainly wouldn't hurt trying.

 

[5fowl]

Thanks - I have it warming up now!

 

[MichelleBelle]

Do your chicks have a chance at hatching? I'm not a poultry expert, but based on my zero turn hatching experiments, I'd say yes- your eggs still have a chance at hatching. After learning about a poultry scientist (Dr. Grier, posted about in a previous thread concerning zero turn hatches) who incubates his eggs without turning at all, I decided to run a few experiments to see whether I could replicate his results. The first no-turn experiment I ran was surprisingly successful. I had just a few quitters, and my hatch rate was over 80%. I'm currently on my second no turn hatch, and have 6 chicks that have pipped and one that is unzipping. The chicks from the first experiment hatched a day or 2 earlier than, but are just as healthy as their auto-turned counterparts. I understand this approach is not for everyone, especially those who've spent a lot on hatching eggs. If my experiment fails, I lose nothing more than some eggs and the electricity $. But, I just wanted to give you hope that all may not be lost, after all. Best of luck for a successful hatch!

 

[5fowl]

Thanks! That is very encouraging! Can I ask what your air cells look like on your no turn eggs? And where on the egg are they PIPing? Are they set on their side? Or upright just not turned?

 

[MichelleBelle]

The eggs are set on their sides, after having been placed pointy side down in an egg carton for up to 5 days prior to incubation. I candled only once during incubation, on Day 14. The vast majority of my eggs had air cells at the fat end of the egg, but at an angle facing upward if that makes sense. I did have a couple of eggs that formed an air cell in the center of the egg, but all the chicks have been pipping in "normal" locations thus far.
One chick has already hatched normally from this batch, and is hopping around seemingly just fine. Fingers crossed the rest hatch uneventfully

 

[MichelleBelle]

All but one of my no turn eggs hatched out overnight. I had to help one malpositioned chick get out of its shell because it couldn't get enough leverage to emerge. Once it was out, it went about normal chick business and seems just fine. The chicks that pipped on the skinny side and in the middle managed to get out of their shells. I lost one chick for unknown reason. It had fully developed and there were no obvious developmental issues. It just externally pipped, partially unzipped, then died. There were 5 chicks that seemed to have hatched before all the yolk was absorbed. The umbilical area wasn't completely closed. After resting overnight, that issue seems to have resolved in most of the chicks, and the last one still has obvious unabsorbed tissue around the umbilical area.

Compared to my auto-turn group of chicks, there was a higher percentage of chicks with yolks/intestines that weren't fully absorbed. However, I hatched a much larger number of chicks (68 vs 40) in the no-turn group because I utilized all of the floor space in the incubator.

Hopefully, my results will encourage you that your chicks may still hatch despite going a spell without being turned. Due to the higher percentage of chicks hatching without fully absorbing the yolks in my experiments, I plan to utilize my auto turner in subsequent hatches.

 

[Fairview01]

Do your chicks have a chance at hatching? I'm not a poultry expert, but based on my zero turn hatching experiments, I'd say yes- your eggs still have a chance at hatching. After learning about a poultry scientist (Dr. Grier, posted about in a previous thread concerning zero turn hatches) who incubates his eggs without turning at all, I decided to run a few experiments to see whether I could replicate his results. The first no-turn experiment I ran was surprisingly successful. I had just a few quitters, and my hatch rate was over 80%. I'm currently on my second no turn hatch, and have 6 chicks that have pipped and one that is unzipping. The chicks from the first experiment hatched a day or 2 earlier than, but are just as healthy as their auto-turned counterparts. I understand this approach is not for everyone, especially those who've spent a lot on hatching eggs. If my experiment fails, I lose nothing more than some eggs and the electricity $. But, I just wanted to give you hope that all may not be lost, after all. Best of luck for a successful hatch!

A link please. Sounds interesting. Not adverse to trying it. Just want to read the entire paper.