African Geese Egg Incubating

[bloodykisses]

Hello, I'm new to this forum.
I have a question regarding incubation of African Geese.This is my first time. How many days does it take for this specific breed to hatch? I've read 31 days. Then I've heard they should start hatching on the 29th day thru the 31st. My eggs are on the 29th day today. Should hatching usually begin today or is it still too early? So confused. I candled the eggs just before lock down on day 27. Air sacks had really dipped. Movement and shadowing seen. I also noticed eggs wobbling slightly on that day, but no further movement since. I'm worried. Is it dangerous to quickly candle eggs at this late stage?

 

[Khota]

Yes, that timeline for the eggs hatching sounds correct to me. By now, they should start pipping and beginning to hatch. I'd leave them alone until Day 31, as opening the incubator at this stage can dry out the membrane inside the egg and make it impossible or difficult for them to hatch since the humidity will drop if you open the incubator. If you see no progress (Internal and External Pips) by late day 31 that's probably when I would begin to worry. At that stage I'd probably candle them to see if they've internally pipped, and if they have, make a safety hole they can breath through until they get the rest of the way out themselves. I know it's not a universally agreed on thing to make safety hole in the egg, however I'd rather give the baby bird a larger chance to survive just in case I messed up the hatching process somehow due to human error. (Though I suggest doing this in a humid room to prevent membrane drying. Going to the bathroom and turning the shower really hot and leaving it running while plugging the crack under the door works for me.) But if you see that they are truely struggling (When you make a safety hole, you can check the membrane to see if it has dried. If it's the color of paper, they probably won't be able to get through it since it has dried out and has toughened.) I think it's not unfair to support in slowly assisting the baby's hatch with a pair of sterile tweezers.
I know it's a super worrisome wait waiting for the babies to hatch, but it's certainly worth it at the end when you get your babies!! Good luck!! Please post some pictures when they hatch, I'd love to see!

 

[Khota]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/goose-incubation-hatching-guide-completed.491013/

This thread is also super helpful for this.

 

[bloodykisses]

Thank you for your response Khota.
How will I know they have internally pipped? Is this something that I can see without candling? And shouldnt I see the eggs wobbling with movement now?

 

[Khota]

Sadly, the only way to tell 100% for sure is by candling. You will see a shadow of the bill moving around in or sticking into the air cell. There's pictures in the thread linked above if you want to see an example. I don't really suggest candling at this stage, but if you can't resist and your incubator is moveable, I suggest doing the bathroom thing like mentioned above.
This should be about when you see egg movement, yep! Though it will probably be more and more as 'hatch day' closes in. If I recall, the egg movement isn't really that noticeable unless you're staring at it. Though I have seen eggs roll around a bit lol

 

[bloodykisses]

Ok. I suppose I won't bother the eggs just yet until day 31. And yes...I've been staring at the eggs, (there are only two) they would slightly wobble, but no movement at all for two whole days now. When I candled them on 27th day, (day of lockdown) I was pretty sure I saw pipping, and the air cell had dropped WAY down. Very shocked at how much. Just as I thought, now with no further "wobbling" as hatch is very near, I have a bad feeling.
My incubator was set at 100 F but was told to lower it to 99.5 for hatching which I have. And increased humidity to 70% since day if lockdown. I will be heartbroken if these two babies don't hatch because of a mistake I've done.