25 hours after pip and no movement

[Rebacopter32]

I have a Coturnix egg on day 19. It piped yesterday, but has had no movement whatsoever. Should I be worried? Don't they hatch 12-14 hours after piping? The incubator is at 99.5 with 60% humidity. I'm worried about its lack of oxygen. Should I make a small hole in the piped area tomorrow if it still hasn't hatched, or leave it be? Thanks!

 

[Quailsong]

I have a Coturnix egg on day 19. It piped yesterday, but has had no movement whatsoever. Should I be worried? Don't they hatch 12-14 hours after piping? The incubator is at 99.5 with 60% humidity. I'm worried about its lack of oxygen. Should I make a small hole in the piped area tomorrow if it still hasn't hatched, or leave it be? Thanks!

Hopefully you've had some good news by now. If it made a small hole it should have more than enough oxygen. Keep in mind that eggs are pretty porous as well.

Sometimes chicks just don't hatch. You may decide to try & help it hatch or let nature take its course - typically a bird that can't hatch on their own don't make great stock (and may pass on the un-hatchability to future generations). Some people get lucky, others have to deal with culling a sickly chick (which is far harder emotionally, imo).

If it's not pipping & moving, it may have passed. After all the others have hatched, if you want, you can try to hatch around the pip & see what happened. But go carefully, with a very sharp eye.

If you see/feel movement in there then it may still be attempting to hatch. If not, then you can do a simple necropsy to see what happened. Maybe its neck twisted wrong, or it drowned in fluids, or shrink-wrapped, or has some other issue it wasn't ready for.

This is not all in vain, however. By looking in & around the pip earlier (if it made one), diagnosing the cause, and keeping track of your temp/humidity, you're more likely to know what's going wrong with a future troubled egg. Or especially, how to prevent/reduce such situations from happening again.

Best of luck, Reba.

 

[Rebacopter32]

Thank you very much for the information.
Unfortunately, they didn't make it. I was a little disturbed at what I found...
Basically, when I opened the eggs, the chicks were dead, fully developed, but their bodies weren't in the air sack. It appeared as if the membrane had dried out and they weren't able to pierce through to get to the air sack. The pip was actually a rupture of the egg under pressure, as the pip was no where near the head.This is odd, since I though I had high humidity with the water channels filled and a wet sponge added, but it seems I do not. They kind of... exploded under the pressure of them growing and not being able to get to the rest of the egg, appearing as yellow objects sticking out. I cannot tell if this is just the yolk and they stopped developing, or if they burst under pressure. I guess my question now is, how do you properly measure the humidity of the incubator, and how do I stop this from happening again?

 

[Quailsong]

If they are too big in the egg, then it was likely too humid early on. They grow too fast that way, can't bend around right & die in the egg. It also seems like it might have dried near the end, shrink-wrapping them. Pictures would help (me), though I'm sure someone could give more detail based off your description.

Edit: Also, didn't want to sound too un-emotional here. I'm sad that you had to go through that. Hatching your own eggs can be the most thrilling & nerve-wracking experience. I hope your next hatch turns out tons better.

 

[Rebacopter32]

I was sad at first, but I'm all good now I'm gonna try again, this time with a hygrometer.
They're gone now so I can't take a picture, but I'll try to describe it a little better:
2 eggs were opened.

The first one had his back to the air sack and the membrane tightly surrounding him, rendering him unable to get out. The pip was in the middle of the egg. He was curled up tightly in a little ball, his head in the middle of the ball, no where near the shell or the air sack. When I uncurled him he had a yellow ball coming out of his lower half.

The second egg was literally HALF empty. It didn't have a pip. The chick was much smaller than the first one, curled up in a ball near the pointy end of the egg. The membrane was dried over him. He had a lot of blood loss when I removed the membrane, and he had TWO yellow shaped balls in the same spot as the first chick.

I think they were both shrink-wrapped, but I'm not sure. My friend thinks it might have to do with the fact that I use a chicken egg turner with tissue in it to keep the quail eggs from falling through, but I don't think it is, because the fatter half is uncovered and exposed to the air in the incubator. I kept way less water in it before the lockdown, maybe that's why.

 

[Quailsong]

Yes, a hydrometer is just as important as heat for the incubator.

The smaller one 'quit' earlier in, and something may have happened at that time. Too much heat, not enough, a spike in humidity, anything.

The bigger one def sounds like it got too big too fast (which happens when there's a lot of moisture to start, I believe) and didn't have enough room to pip properly.

If I could recommend, the next set of eggs you hatch, keep a journal & do a bit more research on hatching. Make notes every single day what the humidity/temp is like, any changes you do, the daily egg rotations (you did rotate eggs, right?) and so on. If anything unexpected happens (power outage) mark that down in your book as well (and cover the incubator w/ a towel to keep it insulated).

The yellow balls btw is the yolk. While they're growing in the egg they will begin to absorb the yolk. When they hatch normally, they will have big bellies where the yolk is absorbing. 24 hours after they hatch, they will have absorbed it all - that's why it's not needed to take them out of the incubator until they're all fluffy; they don't need to eat till later.

Also, when you hear them peeping inside the egg, it's very important you do not force a hatch. All along the inside of the egg are blood vessels. If you were to accidentally cut one of those, the quail could bleed to death. They need to take their time with pipping (making their first hole) & zipping (breaking all along the side - to get out).

I hope this helps^^

 

[Rebacopter32]

Here's the second to last little egg from that hatch. He was dead too. This guy looks almost exactly like other ones. About a 3rd were unfertilized, a third died EARLY on, and another third looked like this. There's ONE left who is due tomorrow because he got put in later (bad timing on my part.) Maybe I'll get lucky. Well anyway that's all for now, a little late for this but maybe you can identify something, I don't know. Well, first hatch, I'm still learning. Thank you for all of the tips and information, they were a lot of help! I thin I'm gonna do WAY more research and careful planning before I try again. I feel like a murderer ):

 

[Quailsong]

Here's the second to last little egg from that hatch. He was dead too. This guy looks almost exactly like other ones. About a 3rd were unfertilized, a third died EARLY on, and another third looked like this. There's ONE left who is due tomorrow because he got put in later (bad timing on my part.) Maybe I'll get lucky. Well anyway that's all for now, a little late for this but maybe you can identify something, I don't know. Well, first hatch, I'm still learning. Thank you for all of the tips and information, they were a lot of help! I thin I'm gonna do WAY more research and careful planning before I try again. I feel like a murderer ):

To my eyes, the deceased chick looks perfectly normal, though may be a bit on the large side. I couldn't tell you just by looking at him why this one gave up. (although I have not hatched my own quail yet)

For your last sentence, please don't feel too bad. We all make make mistakes & the current way chicks are presented commercially ("toss an egg in an incubator & hatch!") doesn't really help. There is a bit of science/practice with hatching chicks which varies by breed & even location. Sometimes even the 'pros' can have a very bad hatch.

I am glad you're prepared to do more research. That determination & caring is what puts you far, far above those who just toss in eggs & toss 'em out later on when nothing happens. You care, it shows - or you wouldn't ask so many questions & take the time to show pictures.

*big hugs* I'm wishing you the best of luck with your research & future hatches.

 

[GrandmaBird]

did you have these eggs in a turner or were you turning by hand? If you did not turn them enough or too long - meaning too close to hatch they could have been in the wrong position to hatch. Do get the proper equipment and try again. good luck.

 

[Rebacopter32]

Yes, I have them in a turner I take them out of the turner 3-4 days before the hatch date. I didn't know waiting too long could affect their position, that's interesting. Does it help to lay them a certain way during lockdown?