Assist hatching vs Natural hatching?

[LunaMarieWolf]

Hello everyone!

I was just wondering what people think about assist hatching vs natural hatching?

I have always done assist hatching after piping externally, because I have had chicks who had died inside the shell because of shrink wrapping.

Also I have had to assist hatch because of the chicks position being wrong (had a chick with its head not by the air cell)

Plus I assist hatch because I want all of my chicks to hopefully survive.

I have only had 1 chick successfully hatch without my help.

What are your opinions on assist hatching or natural hatching?

 

[Chicken-lovebirdchihuahua]

Assist hatching should be a last resort most of the time. Chicks can easily get killed by people opening their eggs before they has absorbed their yolk sac.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Do you have pretty good results with your assists?

 

[superduckrescue]

Assist hatching should be a last resort most of the time. Chicks can easily get killed by people opening their eggs before they has absorbed their yolk sac.

If you know what you're doing you won't kill the chick. It is mostly a myth that if you help a chick it will die. I've had to hatch almost every hatch because ducks get so shrink-wrapped. None have been too weak to thrive at all. If you see blood vessels you stop yes you could easily kill a chick if you open the egg to early but you will know if it's too soon.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

Do you have pretty good results with your assists?

Yes I do.
I always have flour on hand incase I hit a blood vessel and need to stop it fast.

I don't go tearing in there like and I wash all utensils that I use before and after.

Then I keep a little cup of warm water and q-tips to dab at the membrane to make it better to see whats all going on.

I haven't lost a chick while assist hatching.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

I wait until chicks have internally pipped and are cheeping.

Then I shine a light in the egg and break open a bit in the air cell (and I mean maybe a pin size hole) with a safety pin.

Then I wait a few hours then I start to break away at the shell at the air cell.

Then I either let them start breaking themselves out, or if I see they need help I help them.

But I never fully help them hatch.

I will go as far as removing this much..

(Sadly this chick didn't make it, I tried to let it natural hatch and when it stopped peeping I went in and started removing the shell and membrane but it had suffocated)

The membrane shrink wrapped and covered its beak and nostrils.

I didn't know it shrink wrapped bc it had just made a tiny outside pip hole.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

Those 3 are babies I hatched out today or this morning.

I have 1 drying off in the incubator and 2 hatching right now inside.

 

[careeka22]

I learned my lesson last hatch trying to assist. I got worried because one had externally pipped and died and 3 others were DIS so I freaked and started to help the others. They didn't full absorb the yolk and ended up still dying. This time the only assisting I will do is to move them if they get rolled over or pip the wrong end. I'm going to let nature do it's thing.

 

[superduckrescue]

We originally got 60% hatch rate for natural hatches. For our breed, that's considered good. Now that we help, we average 90%. All healthy. Many of our ducklings are breech and would die without assistance.

 

[Kiki]

I have only had 1 chick successfully hatch without my help.

How many eggs have you set?


What incubator do you use?
Do you have a calibrate calibrated thermometer and humidity gauge in the bator?

How often do you turn the eggs while their incubating?