oh no!!!

[Nvazquez]

Still nothing Food!! Do you think I should help?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Based on what you've said so far and the time that's elapsed, I think it's reasonable to try to get a better look at what's going on inside. Follow Sally Sunshine's instructions and go slow. I'd just chip tiny bits of the shell off around the hole, very carefully. Don't go right to peeling the chick out, as tempting as it may be - the yolk sac may not be fully absorbed, and/or blood vessels may not have dried up yet. If it looks like the chick can push out on its own, stop and let it try. Maybe a little encouragement will be enough for the chick to break out.

 

[Nvazquez]

I lost my little chick!

 

[cluckylady812]

I'm so sorry!!!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

My condolences on your loss. I know how it feels to do your best to try to help the little one and not have the outcome you hoped for. It's hard to accept but sometimes, for many reasons, they just don't make it. It's the bittersweet part of hatching eggs.

 

[Nvazquez]

Thanks for your support and help Food!

Do I need to set my shipped eggs a certain way for incubation? I saw on here somewhere to not turn them 4 days and a lot of different things! Am I doing it wrong? I do let them settle 24hrs then put them in bator to turn 1-18days!

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

You're very welcome! As you've discovered, there are many ways to successfully hatch eggs, but shipped eggs are challenging for incubation simply by virtue of all of the unknown things that may occur during shipping that adversely impact hatching: temperature and pressure changes, shaking, x-raying, etc. You also don't know how fresh the eggs are or how fertile. I've had 0% hatch from shipped eggs, which isn't that unusual, and less than 50% from others. It can be very disappointing.

On the other hand, some people report great hatches on their shipped eggs. Sally Sunshine describes specific measures to take to try to maximize your hatch rate on shipped eggs here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ally-sunshine-bantychooks/53820#post_16540512.

In addition to letting the eggs settle for 12-24 hours (you're already doing this...I let mine settle for 24, too), it's important to check the air cells because they can became detached or move around. When to begin turning will depend on the air cell (see post). You can start turning earlier with a normal air cell; other positions will need turning after a longer settling period. I think a key piece is what happens at lockdown - the eggs with funky air cells should be hatched upright but the lowest end should be tilted up slightly to prevent drowning. Stopping turning at lockdown like you're doing is spot on.

You're on the right track with researching and asking questions...and the collective knowledge of the BYC community is a great resource.

Hang in there!