Air Bubble Too Small. I dont want chicks to drown. Please Help!!

[ChickenMechanic]

I just did my day 18 candle of my eggs. Of the eggs I have full chicks in, I believe the air bubbles are to small. In some it seemed hard to see any. They are mostly brown eggs. A few lighter ones I could see a little bit of an air bubble.

I hope my chicks don't drown. I thought maybe I would increase the humidity of my hatch this time around because last time it seemed of the five chicks that were ready to hatch, two died, due to getting stuck in their shell.

Last hatch I was hatching between 30 to 40% humidity. This time I thought I would try 40 to 50%. It is currently sitting at 44%.

I know I'm supposed to increase humidity 65 to 70%. But due to the air bubbles being small, should I allow my incubator to go dry for a couple days to day 20, then increase the humidity up to hatch level so they don't get stuck.

Also, the eggs I left in the bator where black all the way through. Am I supposed to see an air bubble at all at this point? Am I just worried about nothing?

Please, I need to know, any info will be great. I don't want these chicks to drown. I have 18 eggs ready to hatch.


Thanks.

 

[sumi]

I would leave the humidity low (35-40%) until I see the first pips and then bump it up to 65%. Have a look here also, just to make sure, this is what they should look like:



The eggs that are black all the way through, how long have they been in there? If they are also on day 18 and there is no visible air cell something is very wrong. There should be a visible air cell within the first week of incubating them. I'd remove those immediately.

 

[ChickenMechanic]

I would leave the humidity low (35-40%) until I see the first pips and then bump it up to 65%. Have a look here also, just to make sure, this is what they should look like:



The eggs that are black all the way through, how long have they been in there? If they are also on day 18 and there is no visible air cell something is very wrong. There should be a visible air cell within the first week of incubating them. I'd remove those immediately.

Thanks. The black eggs that I could see the air bubble on where quite small. Probably like day 7 air bubble. The ones I could not see the air bubble, I think it may be my candler. I could see the air bubble on the bantam eggs and the eggs that had nothing in them. The black eggs I'm hoping I could not get a good angle on the egg. i didn't leave the eggs on the candler to long because it gets quite hot.

I'm very wary of throwing eggs out because my last hatch I thought nothing would hatch and I ended up with 5 grown chicks.

I'll try your method. i'll leave the humidity low and bump it up at the first pip. Thanks.

 

[ChickenMechanic]

Just an update. I have 10 chicks hatched. Only 6 large fowl eggs left. All Jersey Giants. I believe these are the ones I had not seen an air bubble in. It is only wednesday and tuesday was day 21 so I'll leave them in until Saturday which is day 25 and see if any hatch. I'll keep you updated.

Do you guys recommend a different course of action?

 

[gimmie birdies]

the giants will take longer to hatch just because the egg is bigger. wait 24 days or longer. sometimes air cells are not big on day 18 i.e. too much water. it is best to catch this on day 14 because you have more time to adjust more or less water. what I would suggest on day 18 check before lockdown! if the air cell is too small, don't lock down and just know your chick will take a bit longer. It has to shrink down the fluids in the egg before hatching. learn more about the dry hatch next time you hatch and try it with half as much water. good luck!

 

[ChickenMechanic]

Thanks.

I didn't bump the humidity up to 65%-70% until the morning of day 21. I hoped this would let some of the humidity out of the egg. I let the humidity get down to 33% from 45% on day 18.

Then I bumped the humidity up on the morning of the 21st day to 65%. The chicks hatched. Now that I have the jersey giant eggs left should I just let the humidity come back down or keep it at 65%? Or do you think those couple extra days I gave should be enough and I should just wait it out?

My last hatch I tried dry hatch. A few chicks became stuck in the egg despite humidity being at 25 to 40%. All that hatched were jersey giants and I had one hatch on day 22, another on day 23, and the last one day 24. the other became stuck and was in the shell for up to 30 hrs. I tried to help, but it died. The last one never even piped and when I broke the egg open day 26 it was still in their breathing. But its membrane was dry.

I decided I'll try the weight method and measure the weight of the eggs on my third hatch.

This hatch, my second, I bumped the humidity up between 40% and 50%, But i believe thats to much for the jersey giant eggs.

Anyways, thanks for responding. Any more input would be great.

 

[gimmie birdies]

my dry hatch I would add a moistened paper towel water squeezed out every few days or so, then at hatching internal pip more moisture. everyone has diff results because everyone has diff bators, but I suggest as in science you have to try something 3 times in a row and make notes, then use what works for you. anyhow.. keep us up dated on the jersey chicks!

 

[ChickenMechanic]

Hey everyone. An update. Those six jersey eggs still haven't hatched. My last hatch I waited until day 25. Morning of day 26 I took the eggs out and put them in a basket. Day 28 I broke them outside to see why they didn't hatch. In one egg i had a fully developed baby jersey giant chick that still was breathing and active. But the cord had broke and it bled to death. I was breaking them open by popping them with my boot so it wasn't gentle.

This time around I candled eggs day 18 and left only the eggs fully developed in the bator. I know they are all full of developed chicks. I'm just afraid now they drowned because it was mostly jersey eggs with very to little air bubble.


I'm afraid to break the eggs open and then find breathing chicks. I would like to, if possible, try to hatch the eggs from the beginning. If they internally pipped then they most likely drowned and I'll see that. If not, then I'll break open the shell, internelly pip the eggs myself. I'll be going backwards.

Then I'll hatch it as if I was helping it after it already externally pipped.

I believe I should have heard some chirping by now. I have not heard anythings, the eggs don't respond if I tap them. I feel like either the chicks are dead, or they still didn't decide to internally pip like the chick I found from the last hatch.

Does this sound like a good Idea? Some input please.


Oh and if they decided not to internally pip in the first place, what would be the reason for this?

 

[ChickenMechanic]

Okay so I did some more research and found how to help a chick that could not internally pip and help them a long. I broke into the air end of the egg and found that out of the six eggs, 4 had no development, 1 was half developed, and 1 had a full chick that couldn't get into place. He looked shrink wrapped and was dead.

I don't understand how he became shrinkwrapped. All other chicks (10) hatched no problem, including 3 Jersey Giants. Either way, couldn't get into position and died. Fully developed.

So it is good to know that the rest were empty, or unfinished eggs. One dead chick is sad, but it is better then I was expecting.


The main question I have is when I candled these eggs they were black all the way through, no or very little air pocket. When I broke these eggs open the air pockets were the right size. No way a chick would drown. And they should have shown up on the candler. Why were the unfertile eggs show black as well. Nothing in those eggs, just yellow yoke.


What can make an egg show black, no air pocket and still be undeveloped or infertile?

My candler is a 100 watt lightbulb in a can with tinfoil on the inside. The top of the can has a whole cut to focus light through. It is very bright. It candles the other eggs fine.

 

[gimmie birdies]

I am sorry your birdies did not hatch. It can be discouraging and make you never want to hatch again. But then you may think of something you had not tried or would like to try. when something works and works well you will repeat your success.

As far as not getting all your eggs to hatch... you got the majority to hatch. some eggs are not fertile, you cannot know that before putting them in the bator. a portion of your eggs may have started but quit on days 3-7. when all the others are fine why??? they were not healthy enough. not your fault, when you have nice health eggs still in the bator. You made it to day 21 the rest of the chicks hatched 3 didn't? those are called quitters. you had 100% hatch that were meant to hatch congrats.


I just had a blonde chick hatch that was supposed to be a black and white maran- hoping for a chocolate splash maran like I had before. I named her Francesca.
She is waiting for 2 internal pippers under mom. I brought her in to get her away from all the chickens while she waits for the other 2 then mom gets all the babies and a separate pen.