Warning for all Hatchers!!!

[Renada_]

At the end of yesterday, Day 21, I candled all of my eggs. I found two out of 13 that I could see movement in and were definitely still alive. Well, something in me told me to leave the other eggs in there. And I am glad I did, this morning my mom called me into the kitchen yelling, “you have a peeper!” She still hasn’t grasped that it’s pipper yet.. anyway, the one that pipped was one that I marked with a D, for dead, I was positive it was dead. Well, guess not. Two minutes after the first one, another pipped, this one was also marked with a D. What I’m getting at is, sometimes, even if it appears dead, it isn’t always. The two I was positive were still alive have not pipped yet, but it is still early. One of the eggs that I know is alive has pipped internally already, so it is a matter of time! Just wanted to give a warning to everyone that hatches eggs on here

 

[Renada_]

At the end of yesterday, Day 21, I candled all of my eggs. I found two out of 13 that I could see movement in and were definitely still alive. Well, something in me told me to leave the other eggs in there. And I am glad I did, this morning my mom called me into the kitchen yelling, “you have a peeper!” She still hasn’t grasped that it’s pipper yet.. anyway, the one that pipped was one that I marked with a D, for dead, I was positive it was dead. Well, guess not. Two minutes after the first one, another pipped, this one was also marked with a D. What I’m getting at is, sometimes, even if it appears dead, it isn’t always. The two I was positive were still alive have not pipped yet, but it is still early. One of the eggs that I know is alive has pipped internally already, so it is a matter of time! Just wanted to give a warning to everyone that hatches eggs on here

Have 4 pips and one is almost out!! Can’t believe this, fully expected them all to be dead!

 

[mcdze]

its hard to tell sometimes and ive hatched a few, especially with dark shelled eggs .. my rule of thumb is candle mid-term, day 10 or so, and get rid of just the obviously clear eggs .. yeah but ive had them look like theres just a big piece of floating trash in there and they hatched lol ..

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Have 4 pips and one is almost out!! Can’t believe this, fully expected them all to be dead!

Patience!

 

[Renada_]

Patience!

Yep!! Got one brown chick out now and one silver. Just waiting on the last three, and potentially any other late ones.

 

[Savagegoldie]

Hatching is totally a test of patience. I had 4 hatch on day 21. 4 more on day 22. 3 pips on day 23. One of the pips out on day 24, another just broke free as I'm typing. And the 3rd has a larger hole but not zipped yet

 

[Renada_]

Hatching is totally a test of patience. I had 4 hatch on day 21. 4 more on day 22. 3 pips on day 23. One of the pips out on day 24, another just broke free as I'm typing. And the 3rd has a larger hole but not zipped yet

It really is!! I’m only 18 and I swear these birds are gonna give me a grey hairs I’ve got 4 hatched now and one more pipped!

 

[Renada_]

Here’s the four so far.. still waiting on one more plus any potential stragglers

 

[Savagegoldie]

It really is!! I’m only 18 and I swear these birds are gonna give me a grey hairs I’ve got 4 hatched now and one more pipped!

Here’s the four so far.. still waiting on one more plus any potential stragglers

I'm on day 25 and still have hatching happening. No new pips since yesterday though.

 

[ClementineDarling]

At the end of yesterday, Day 21, I candled all of my eggs. I found two out of 13 that I could see movement in and were definitely still alive. Well, something in me told me to leave the other eggs in there. And I am glad I did, this morning my mom called me into the kitchen yelling, “you have a peeper!” She still hasn’t grasped that it’s pipper yet.. anyway, the one that pipped was one that I marked with a D, for dead, I was positive it was dead. Well, guess not. Two minutes after the first one, another pipped, this one was also marked with a D. What I’m getting at is, sometimes, even if it appears dead, it isn’t always. The two I was positive were still alive have not pipped yet, but it is still early. One of the eggs that I know is alive has pipped internally already, so it is a matter of time! Just wanted to give a warning to everyone that hatches eggs on here

Yes, some eggs need a bit longer, and hatch sooner, we've had quite a few day 20 eggs before, and we just had a friend have one hatch on day 19! It wasn't a bantam breed or silkie either. We've hatched quite a few batches of chicks before, and my husband calls them peeps as well, instead of pips. Lol
However, have you read many guides on hatching chicken eggs? What type of incubator are you using? They usually come with a little booklet. I am trying to not be mean, but I am a but confused and concerned. A general rule when it comes to hatching eggs, is that there is a three day "lock down period" prior to hatch day. Day 17 or 18, as a standard for 21 day average chicken eggs, is recommended as the last day to do any candling and to stop turning them. This replicates the mama hen sitting tight in anticipation of her babies hatching. At this point the chicks will be getting into hatching position within their eggs and absorbing the rest of their yolk sac. This not only gives them the immense amount of energy require to hatch, but sustains them for the first 48 hours or so. That way they don't need to eat and drink for that time immediately after hatch. They can just focus on staying warm and resting up. Also, the humidity needs to be kept higher for those last days of incubation. Opening the incubator can mess with that because of the sudden air pressure change and moisture loss. So you don't want to do that unless there is some sort of emergency. Especially if an egg is already pipped! If you open the incubator then, you can essentially shrink-wrap the chick within it's membrane, which most often will result in death for them. After hatching you usually leave them in the incubator for at least a 12- 24 hour period as well, so that they can dry out fully. As newly hatched chicks can chill very very easily. You are obviously still having healthy chicks hatch, they are generally hardy little things. I just wanted to put this out there to make sure that you aren't inadvertently making hatching more difficult for your little chooks! If you need more information, you are already in the correct place. Backyardchickens, has a bottomless well or knowlege on it. Wishing you the best!