Advice??

[Chicken Rescue]

I have about 32 eggs in an incubator. This is the 3rd weekend so they should be hatching. When candleing the egg is dark and full, but I see no movement. I have opened one and found it dead. I hope that all of them are not dead! What should I do?

 

[kuchchicks]

I assume you mean you saw no movement in any of the eggs? Sometimes at this far along movement can be so slight that you wonder if it is your eyes playing tricks on you or if you really saw/did not see anything. You said it is the 3rd weekend, so what is the exact day that you are on? I have never had a chick hatch after day 24. If you are beyond that, try holding the eggs up to your ear to see if you hear anything. If you don't and you are sure there is no movement, then make a small hole in the top of the egg very carefully where the air cell is. Once you do that try to take a look and see if there is movement. If not then maybe think about slowly opening them up to find out what happened. Just be ready to place eggs back in the bator if you see one alive. If it is alive and there is any bleeding where you are trying to open the egg, stop immediately! I will sometimes try to hold a Qtip on the bleed to stop it and then return to the bator.

Did you have any temp or humidity issues during incubation? Were your eggs local or shipped?

 

[Chicken Rescue]

My eggs were local. I forgot to note when I put them in the incubator. I do not hear anything moving in the shell. Temp and humidity are doing ok. I did open 2 eggs this morning, there was no movement, however when I pushed gently on the side, the other side moved. One of them actually looked at me and blinked! So I put them back in the incubator and covered them with a damp paper towel. Hopefully I can save it.

 

[kuchchicks]

Was your temp stable for the entire incubation? Are you sure you dates are right? Keep an eye and I will send good thoughts and prayers your way. Good luck!