APRIL Hatch a long ......Anyone?

[Drache]

I have one egg in the process of hatching but I am getting a little worried. This is the only surviving egg from a group of 6. I am hatching them for a friend and they were already 16 days old when I set them. Everything appeared to have been progressing well for this one, but it should have hatched about 24 hours ago.

I candled it briefly early this morning because it had stopped wiggling. I could see movement inside so I put it back. There was no internal pip at that point. About two hours later is started peeping, so I know it's pipped internally now. How long does it normally take between internal and external pip? This is my third hatch and I'm using a Hovabator this time. Last two times I used my big redwood and I can't hear them peeping in it until external pip, so I have no frame of reference. I am not above assisting this one but I don't want to jump the gun if it just needs more time.

Temp is 99.5 and Humidity is about 65.

 

[AmericanMom]

I have one egg in the process of hatching but I am getting a little worried. This is the only surviving egg from a group of 6. I am hatching them for a friend and they were already 16 days old when I set them. Everything appeared to have been progressing well for this one, but it should have hatched about 24 hours ago.

I candled it briefly early this morning because it had stopped wiggling. I could see movement inside so I put it back. There was no internal pip at that point. About two hours later is started peeping, so I know it's pipped internally now. How long does it normally take between internal and external pip? This is my third hatch and I'm using a Hovabator this time. Last two times I used my big redwood and I can't hear them peeping in it until external pip, so I have no frame of reference. I am not above assisting this one but I don't want to jump the gun if it just needs more time.

Temp is 99.5 and Humidity is about 65.

From the time in internally pips to an external pip could be 12-48 hours, then figure another 12-24 hours before it hatches.. Now is the time to sit back and not mess with it..

 

[AmericanMom]

Let me expand...From what I have learned here once it internally pips there is a lot of changes going on, these changes take time, when it externally pips I believe that's when it starts absorbing the yolk (if I am wrong someone chime in) you could wait another day or two before you see the chick try and emerge which I said its this time you really need to just sit back and wait.. I lost a lot of chicks because I "thought" I needed to help, they were late and I was inpatient.

 

[29PalmsRanch]

Let me expand...From what I have learned here once it internally pips there is a lot of changes going on, these changes take time, when it externally pips I believe that's when it starts absorbing the yolk (if I am wrong someone chime in) you could wait another day or two before you see the chick try and emerge which I said its this time you really need to just sit back and wait.. I lost a lot of chicks because I "thought" I needed to help, they were late and I was inpatient.

We've taken a 'hard' policy when it comes to hatching. We have very very few successful 'assisted' hatched chicks. I'm talking about when you have to break them out of the shell. This might not be right for everyone, but if they can't make it out of the egg on their own we let them pass.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi all. My hatch is due late 4/4. Set 28 EE x EE, RIR, PBR. One cracked egg sealed. I think it died within the last several days. 2 blood rings. All others doing well. I just laid them flat for hatch yesterday. Doing dry hatch in home made incubator, with humidity controlled with 1 x 2" sponge, keeping it between 10 - 30%. Letting it go a bit dry now for air cell size. Will put a nice big piece of sponge in for humidity tonight at lock down.

I'm finding that temp is much easier to control with a full incubator this time compared to the 6 eggs with the initial hatch.

For anyone who wants to convert their still air to a forced air: It's super easy to do, follow Rush Lane video tutorials. Save your money on a conversion kit. You can buy a used computer fan, (dirt cheap!) at any computer repair shop. You probably have a 12V convertor hanging around in your junk drawer. Go to his web site, and you should have your fan up and running in a few minutes. We used extra long bolts with double sets of nuts to position our fan, washers to keep the hardware positioned on the Styrofoam.

 

[Drache]

From the time in internally pips to an external pip could be 12-48 hours, then figure another 12-24 hours before it hatches.. Now is the time to sit back and not mess with it..

It just pipped the shell. Looks like I wont have to help after all.

In my last two hatches I did end up assisting a few eggs, but the eggs I helped were already pipped externally but had made no progress after 24 hours. I suspected that they had become stuck to their membranes because my humidity had dropped and it turned out that I was right. Every one of them survived and are now healthy. I don't like the idea of going in after them if they haven't pipped the shell, but since this egg is my friend's I guess I feel a little extra responsible. ;P

I'll post some pics once it's out.

 

[AmericanMom]

We've taken a 'hard' policy when it comes to hatching. We have very very few successful 'assisted' hatched chicks. I'm talking about when you have to break them out of the shell. This might not be right for everyone, but if they can't make it out of the egg on their own we let them pass.

I have come to the same conclusion... The last two hatches I have done I did some assisting, most of those chicks ended up with problems and had to either be culled or died on their own.. A few have survived but its really not worth it if you only have one or two survive out of 25..

I am incubating again as we speak, I have disregarded most everything I have read and went back to the instructions that came with my incubator, I had the best hatch rate (20/23) when I did that.
I'm not saying that folks don't give good advice, but what works for some may not work for others, and sometimes there seems to be several different answers to a question. I am going back to hands off approach and let nature take its course.

 

[AmericanMom]

It just pipped the shell. Looks like I wont have to help after all.

In my last two hatches I did end up assisting a few eggs, but the eggs I helped were already pipped externally but had made no progress after 24 hours. I suspected that they had become stuck to their membranes because my humidity had dropped and it turned out that I was right. Every one of them survived and are now healthy. I don't like the idea of going in after them if they haven't pipped the shell, but since this egg is my friend's I guess I feel a little extra responsible. ;P

I'll post some pics once it's out.

Pics are a must!

 

[29PalmsRanch]

I have come to the same conclusion... The last two hatches I have done I did some assisting, most of those chicks ended up with problems and had to either be culled or died on their own.. A few have survived but its really not worth it if you only have one or two survive out of 25..

I am incubating again as we speak, I have disregarded most everything I have read and went back to the instructions that came with my incubator, I had the best hatch rate (20/23) when I did that.
I'm not saying that folks don't give good advice, but what works for some may not work for others, and sometimes there seems to be several different answers to a question. I am going back to hands off approach and let nature take its course.

It just sounds cold I guess. Broke my heart my first year hatching that's for sure. But everything from ostrich to button quail applies. If it doesn't happen in nature, we don't let it happen in our environment. There are exceptions to every rule of course. Ostrich chicks can sometimes bust out just enough egg to get their head, neck, and "shoulders" through and then it looks like they are wearing an egg dress or something. But they can't get the leverage to break out the rest of the shell. Their legs are basically kicking air. We candled one last week that was in this state. When they have gotten themselves into that position, we will wait until they have been out for a total of 2.5 days. And then and only then will we assist them. They get banded immediately. We record what we did, when we did it, and we observe that bird all the way to juvi age. Those are the ONLY cases in which we have a survive rate of over 90%. Everything else? 10% if you are lucky.

 

[AmericanMom]

It just sounds cold I guess. Broke my heart my first year hatching that's for sure. But everything from ostrich to button quail applies. If it doesn't happen in nature, we don't let it happen in our environment. There are exceptions to every rule of course. Ostrich chicks can sometimes bust out just enough egg to get their head, neck, and "shoulders" through and then it looks like they are wearing an egg dress or something. But they can't get the leverage to break out the rest of the shell. Their legs are basically kicking air. We candled one last week that was in this state. When they have gotten themselves into that position, we will wait until they have been out for a total of 2.5 days. And then and only then will we assist them. They get banded immediately. We record what we did, when we did it, and we observe that bird all the way to juvi age. Those are the ONLY cases in which we have a survive rate of over 90%. Everything else? 10% if you are lucky.

Oh I know it sounds cold, and its not easy to watch a little one struggle to only die in the end, its difficult to watch an egg wiggle around then go still and never hatch, there is always a question as to whether it could have been helped. I speak only for myself, like I said, others feel different and more power to them, I am just speaking to what I have decided..