Intervention: Helping Your Chicks Hatch

[WalnutHill]

I think at this point all you can do is keep the inner membrane moist and wait until the blood vessels recede.

I've used canola oil and Vaseline to keep the inner membrane from drying out, applying very tenderly on the exposed surface. As the chick moves around in the shell struggling to get out, the blood vessels will slowly recede. Don't peel back past the air cell or you can cause a hemorrhage very easily. Let time help the chick prepare for life outside the shell. It's hard to wait, but forcing it out before it's ready is just as likely to result in death as the chick being stuck in the shell.

 

[KeepOnClucking]

I have never had very good results helping my chicks hatch. Sometimes it is better to just let nature take its course.

 

[DebbieParker]

I lost her so I learned the hard way this time. So sad. Thank God all the others hatched safely. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Amykins]

I lost her so I learned the hard way this time. So sad. Thank God all the others hatched safely. Thanks for the advice!

I'm so, so sorry for your loss, Deb. I also learned this heartbreaking lesson last year, as well. Had a tiny call duck get all the way to pip only to have it die in the shell because I didn't intervene in time. Hatching sure is addictive but it can also raise your blood pressure like nobody's business!

 

[DebbieParker]

I'm so, so sorry for your loss, Deb. I also learned this heartbreaking lesson last year, as well. Had a tiny call duck get all the way to pip only to have it die in the shell because I didn't intervene in time. Hatching sure is addictive but it can also raise your blood pressure like nobody's business!

I totally agree. This chick didn't pip, that's wheremi must have gone wrong. Three chicks were born on Wednesday, two that night, and one the next day. I guess I should have waiting one or two days longer before getting worried about this chick. Next time I will wait for a pip before thinking of intervening .

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

I have never had very good results helping my chicks hatch. Sometimes it is better to just let nature take its course.

There is nothing natural about incubating eggs. Period. That is the entire point of this thread. Man-made incubator, man-made temperatures, man-made humidity, typically man controlled egg rolling...etc. The only nature involved is the chick growing in the shell and the pre-conditions of the breeding adults.

Paying attention to the order and timing in which chicks pip, noting chick peeping/movement, and noting humidity and the condition of the membranes will give a person an 'educated' guess at when to intervene. Of course the choice is always there to simply do nothing, but the sanctity of life is so very important to many members on BYC, that is is essential to create an informative article of advice IF the members want or need help.

If these chicks we are talking about on this thread, were being hatched naturally, under a hen, then there would be no need to help when humans do it 'unnaturally'.

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

I totally agree. This chick didn't pip, that's wheremi must have gone wrong. Three chicks were born on Wednesday, two that night, and one the next day. I guess I should have waiting one or two days longer before getting worried about this chick. Next time I will wait for a pip before thinking of intervening .

Hi Debbie,
First, I am sorry for your loss. It really hurts when we lose a chick and sometimes we tend to feel responsible. Here is a little bit of wisdom that I use myself when incubating:
Mark EACH egg with the date you enter it into the incubator, and the TIME you enter it into the incubator.

I put a date on each air cell end of the egg the day I collect them. When I am ready to incubate, all eggs going in get marked on their SIDES with the incubation date and the exact time. Sometimes I will add an egg or two within a day or two (at most) of starting a hatch. With the date marked in pencil that I am incubating it and the time, it is a HUGE help in knowing WHEN I should expect a pip.

For example, If I put the majority of my setting in the incubator at 9am on July 5th, and then add a freshly laid egg later that evening at 6pm,I will know to expect, as a general rule, that the 6pm egg should pip about 9 hours later than the pip of the 6am egg.

I just hope that this advice helps someone. Knowing the time incubation started can often help you in determining if a slower chick needs a little help.

 

[RooRidgeFarm]

I totally agree. This chick didn't pip, that's wheremi must have gone wrong. Three chicks were born on Wednesday, two that night, and one the next day. I guess I should have waiting one or two days longer before getting worried about this chick. Next time I will wait for a pip before thinking of intervening .

PS, The key to the pip is this...If you notice a chick taking longer than the others to externally pip, do a quick candle of the egg. If the chick is in the air cell, you have just a few hours before you would need to create your own external pip if they don't. If the chick is definitely peeping in the shell, but has not externally pipped, keep an eye on that one. That chick will possibly need an external pip in a few hours.

Here's the general science of it: Once a chick pips internally into the air cell it is breathing and using oxygen. There is X amount in the air cell and if they cannot pip within several hours, they run out of oxygen. Yes, the shell is porous and there is air in the air cell, but they are using it up quickly while peeping and attempting to move and pip externally (the whole carbon dioxide thing). I can't remember the exact amount of time they have from internal to external pip. The way I do it is to keep track of the time I hear peeping and/or candle the egg and see the chick in the air cell. When either of those things happens, then I know I HAVE to keep my eye on it to possibly pip it myself within several hours.

Hatching can be tricky, and pipping an egg yourself can be difficult and tough to know when to do it and when to stand back and wait. Also, more than likely if you have to externally pip an egg yourself, there will tend to be more bleeding. Take your time once you get a small hole in the shell and if you have to, make a small hole in the external papery membrane in the air cell for air. Typically, once you get them some air, and take your time working on the rest of the shell and membrane, it gives the veins time to dry up more.

I know I am giving alot of information, but I really hope that this will possibly help in future hatches for someone.

 

[Amykins]

Thank you Roo, your info has indeed been very helpful. Last year I had a different issue, only one 'ling made it to pip, it got turned the wrong way and drowned. I was utterly devastated. In cases like that I've heard of human intervention being possible, but extremely difficult since it's near impossible to know if the baby's in trouble.

 

[DebbieParker]

Thank,you so much! I will be saving this,info for,the,future. I have so much to learn. I thought that papery membrane was the membrane around the chick to keep moist. I'm so thankful all my chicks are safe and cute and I only lost one. I hope,with all I learn that next time I hope not to loose any chicks.

PS, The key to the pip is this...If you notice a chick taking longer than the others to externally pip, do a quick candle of the egg. If the chick is in the air cell, you have just a few hours before you would need to create your own external pip if they don't. If the chick is definitely peeping in the shell, but has not externally pipped, keep an eye on that one. That chick will possibly need an external pip in a few hours.

Here's the general science of it: Once a chick pips internally into the air cell it is breathing and using oxygen. There is X amount in the air cell and if they cannot pip within several hours, they run out of oxygen. Yes, the shell is porous and there is air in the air cell, but they are using it up quickly while peeping and attempting to move and pip externally (the whole carbon dioxide thing). I can't remember the exact amount of time they have from internal to external pip. The way I do it is to keep track of the time I hear peeping and/or candle the egg and see the chick in the air cell. When either of those things happens, then I know I HAVE to keep my eye on it to possibly pip it myself within several hours.

Hatching can be tricky, and pipping an egg yourself can be difficult and tough to know when to do it and when to stand back and wait. Also, more than likely if you have to externally pip an egg yourself, there will tend to be more bleeding. Take your time once you get a small hole in the shell and if you have to, make a small hole in the external papery membrane in the air cell for air. Typically, once you get them some air, and take your time working on the rest of the shell and membrane, it gives the veins time to dry up more.

I know I am giving alot of information, but I really hope that this will possibly help in future hatches for someone.