Assisted Hatching

[1saddlebredgirl]

 

[GitaBooks]

They're always hope while they're still alive.

 

[gpop1]

Reasons a chick isn't hatching (feel free to add any comments or advice. I want to learn as much as I can about this. This is what I have read can cause difficult hatching):

It just isn't ready yet.

It got cold during incubation and was delayed. It should hatch in a couple days.

The egg shell is too thick, the egg is too large, or the egg is misshaped

Poor handling of the eggs, poor storage (not turning them during storage, temperature, chemicals, ect), or shipping can cause the air-sac, yolk, or chick to become damaged or misplaced in the egg which causes developmental issues. Those that survive to hatching may not be able to make it out.

Genetics are a big part. A genetically weak or deformed chick will not be able to get out of its shell. Sometimes it can be a weak strain, other times it is just a weak individual that passed it on. If you continue to get poor chicks then look into the flock you are getting them from and consider culling the one laying the eggs.

The chick is in the wrong position, such as being upside down or a wing or foot being in the way of its beak


The mother was not given proper nutrition so the chick is weak from poor development.

Bacterial infection from the a dirty incubator or handling with dirty hands during incubation. Chemicals getting onto or their fumes getting into the eggs.

Incorrect temperature which can cause either too slow or too fast development, leading to weakness

Incorrect humidity which can drown the chick with too much moisture or dry out the membrane, causing it to stick to the chick during hatching (shrink-wrap)

Poor oxygen intake

Eggs that have not been turned enough during incubation

all good points.


i see nothing wrong with assisting and i have some health chickens that would not have survived with out assistance (shipped eggs) i just hope that people understand there may be a good reason the chick isn't hatching.
I suggest that before assisting you ask yourself if you are capable of culling a chick. It seems harder to cull after assisting as you've now become vested in the health and wellbeing of the chick but you have to realizes that some were never meant to hatch.

 

[GitaBooks]

all good points.


i see nothing wrong with assisting and i have some health chickens that would not have survived with out assistance (shipped eggs) i just hope that people understand there may be a good reason the chick isn't hatching.
I suggest that before assisting you ask yourself if you are capable of culling a chick. It seems harder to cull after assisting as you've now become vested in the health and wellbeing of the chick but you have to realizes that some were never meant to hatch.

So true. We had to cull a dying chick once and it is so very sad because they begin to depend on you and you've bonded with them. Any time a chick dies in my hands it is very, very sad. Its so hard to know if they are dead or not because sometimes they make a come back when they seem so weak and other times they do not. The one time we assisted too early both chicks died. I had fallen asleep holding them, and they rested under my shirt. I woke up to one dead and not longer afterwards the other died as well. It was heart-breaking. The one egg that we didn't assist had a live chick in it that died because we didn't help it either.

Sorry, that was my heart-break story. That is why I've learned so well when and how to open eggs, because of all the times we have done it wrong. I hope this helps people not make the same mistakes we did or to understand, if it happens, that everyone does it sometimes (or oftentimes).

 

[CooperDooper]

Hi - I have one egg that hasn't hatched (out of 7). Today is Monday, 9am. Day 21 began Friday night at 10pm, so it is day23 and 12 hours. The last in the group hatched Saunday 10am. I candled this last egg and it has a sizable air sac, there is still movement, but no peeping. I can't tell if there's in internal pip, but I don't hear anything. I did mark the air sac with a pencil and put it back in the incubator. Temp is 100.2, humidity 70%.

When should I intervene?
Thanks!

 

[GitaBooks]

That's a hard question. If there is movement but the airsac is large then chances are it will have problems hatching. You could try opening up a small hole in the very top so you can see inside. This is how I check my eggs to see if they are dead in their shell or just taking their own time. If the veins are absorbed when you look inside the chick probably needs help. If they are still full then its possible it was just slower to develop for some reason or another.

So my suggestion is to open up a small hole in the top and see what is going on in there.

I hope all goes well. Best of luck!

 

[crazycateye]

Subscribing to this helpful information, Thanks!!

 

[CooperDooper]

Thank you for your words of encouragement! I appreciated the quick response.
I had planned to start assisting that afternoon, but unfortunately, my 9 yo daughter had an accident at a friend's house and we ended up in the ER getting stitches in her foot. (She is fine) Anyway, this delayed my intervention and by 9pm when I got to it, the chick was dead.

It was positional - the head was at the wrong end. Sadly, the yolk was about half absorbed so I'm thinking if I had started pipping it sooner, it may have made it! I do have pics, but they are on my phone, I'll have to post them from there.

Again, GitaBooks - thank you!

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm sorry to hear that.

When a chick is upside down they often seem to have issues with drowning or suffocating because they can't reach the air-hole, but they are still too young to pip (the veins aren't ready to be broken), so there is little that can be done in such a case.

I'm glad your daughter is alright though.

 

[mandarin1]

I have a gosling that internally pipped between four and five days ago and it is now on day 30 and it never externally pipped whereas all my other goslings hatched completely on day 30, so it was suggested to do an artificial external pip. I did this with no problem whatsoever and despite the fact that I had a damp paper towel around the egg and my humidity is 78%, this gosling started to get shrink wrapped (I guess b/c I had it out of the incubator to make the external pip). I reluctantly pulled some more shell away so that I could try and moisten the inner membrane that was getting shrink wrapped, while doing this I nicked a vein that started to bleed, but right away I got it to stop bleeding. I then tucked a damp paper towel all around the inside of the hole to try to prevent anymore moisture loss, but now I'm a nervous wreck! The gosling is still chirping and breathing fine, so I guess it's time to sit on my hands other than making sure my humidity stays up. Is there anything else I can do? I'm worried about it getting more shrink wrapped and not being able to free itself from the membrane, what do you do if it becomes wrapped up like this? I've read where someone removed the entire shell and then wrapped the chick and membrane in a damp towel until it broke free of the membrane, but I don't know if that would be advisable.