ASAP HELP!!!!! SOS!!!!!

[Woodey2]

I have my first quail egg ready to hatch today is day 22. I just candled two of the 4 eggs. I can see the chick in the air sack . Should I do anything? I do not see any pipping going on.

HELP... I don't want to lose these two babies.

Brenda

 

[Woodey2]

Should I help crack the egg? I am so excited I just cant wait and don't want to lose them. I spent yesterday building their first cage.

 

[Mylied]

Are they moving?

 

[le_bwah]

I'm assuming bobwhite or valley quail. How long have they been internally pipped? It can take a while between internal and external pip, as the babies get their first gulps of air. I've heard it's actually the buildup of CO2 that causes them to struggle out, but I've never read a paper on it.

As long as the chicks are still moving and breathing inside the egg, they are likely okay. I would be reluctant to handle eggs that could pip and zip at any moment. Wait for more experienced advice before you go cracking anybody open!

 

[ronott1]

Should I help crack the egg? I am so excited I just cant wait and don't want to lose them. I spent yesterday building their first cage.

Cracking the egg is almost never the answer.

This is from an paper on eagles:

What happens during hatch? As the embryo approaches its maximum size, the gas exchange capacity of the chorioallantois (membrane) becomes insufficient, resulting in the decrease in blood oxygen and increase in blood CO2. These changes in the blood trigger hatching contractions

 

[Fishkeeper]

Leave it alone. Birds are programmed to hatch. Leave them in the incubator, they'll get out on their own.

 

[Woodey2]

Thanks everyone for getting back to me.

Yes, they are moving and still in the incubator. They are bobwhites. I can candle the eggs without touching/moving the egg. I space my eggs apart from each other so I can candle them. I like the way the eggs lay naturally on their side. I just hold the light up close to the eggs and still can see everything.

So how long do you think it will be before pipping or hatching?

 

[le_bwah]

I've heard 24hrs being used as a reasonable time between pips for chicken eggs, with hours to a day before hatch, but I don't know about the average time for quail. I've only hatched Coturnix, but my longest took about sixteen hours between pips. He wound up being the runt, but I think that was more genetic than due to hatching time.

I would avoid opening the incubator as much as possible right now. You want to keep humidity high. During hatch, that extra humidity helps soften the inner membrane, making it easier for the chicks to free themselves and preventing shrinkwrapping.

Birds have been hatching out of eggs since before there were people; it works the majority of the time. Just give the little critters a chance to do it themselves.

 

[Woodey2]

Well they still have not pip yet. I will just sit and wait. Ill try to post something again around noon to let everyone know what is going on.

Thank you all for the information.

 

[Woodey2]

We have a live hatch. Now waiting on number 2. It looks like the egg has been pip. LOL Now I am checking every half hour. I had checked them and then my daughter looked in half hour later and yelled. Scared me half to death. LOL "Look, look". Yes I just did and nothing, but it looks like both eggs are pip. She said "no there is one out".

Happy Dance..... 8)